Published on Dec 9, 1999
Anne Murray’s singing career began in 1968.
You heard that right — 1968.
Since then she has recorded 35 albums, including a live album in
1997, and had at least 10 compilations of her songs (various
Greatest Hits permutations) available. She has sold more
than 40 million albums and was instrumental in paving the way for
Canadian singers such as Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and k.d. lang.
In addition, Murray helped break down the barriers between pop and
country, setting the stage for country music’s explosive growth in
the 1980s and 90s.
Many of her songs have entered the national consciousness,
including: “Snowbird,” “Danny’s Song,” “Broken Hearted Me,” “A
Little Good News,” and of course, the once ubiquitous, “You Needed
Me.”
While the level of success Murray enjoyed in the 1970’s is
probably behind her for good, she proves with her latest effort, a
two-disc collection of timeless hymns and other inspirational
songs, that she still can compete with the best of them when it
comes to ability.
Her voice has lost none of its appeal over the years. It is
still a warm, supple, instrument capable of transporting the song
and the listener to a new place. On
What A Wonderful World, her new effort, she shares some of
the songs she’s been singing since she was a kid. Her
interpretations of classic hymns of faith such as “Amazing Grace,”
“Softly And Tenderly,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and “In The Garden,”
should earn this disc high praise from Christian music
listeners.
While some of the pop-music songs she’s chosen as
“inspirational” could be questioned (“Let It Be,” “I Can See
Clearly Now,” and “Put a Little Love In Your Heart”) her
interpretation of them cannot be faulted. Not content to merely
record these great songs, Murray attempts to put her vocal stamp on
them – and in most cases is successful.
One of the highlights on these discs is a duet recorded with her
daughter, Dawn Langstroth, 20. Murray and her daughter recently
went through a very public struggle with anorexia. The duet, “Let
There Be Love,” was written by Amy Sky and Steven MacKinnon, and is
the first single to be released.
Langstroth’s soprano is not as pleasing as her mother’s famous
alto, but she certainly holds her own in the song and blends nicely
with Mom. Of course, it should be noted Langstroth is not a
professional singer so she gets mega-points just for participating.
It would have been nice to hear more of her, to see how she would
handle other songs. But, the duet is lovely.
Another magical moment comes in Murray’s rendition of Leonard
Cohen’s lovely “Song Of Bernadette.” Some fairly impressive
singers, including Jennifer Warnes and Aaron Neville, have recorded
this song and Murray’s version is equal to either of those. When
her cozy voice caresses the refrain “I just want to hold you, come
on let me hold you, like Bernadette would do” it is entirely
believable.
Other highlights include: covers of Bob Dylan’s “I Believe In
You,” Don Williams’ hit “Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good,” Red
Foley’s “Peace In The Valley,” and the title track.
Are there a few missteps? Certainly. Any double disc runs that
risk. Unfortunately, Murray adds nothing to her version of Bill
Withers’ “Lean On Me” and her nearly a capella rendition of the
church campfire song “Jacob’s Ladder” is a challenge to listen to
all the way through. But, that’s a small complaint, really,
compared to the pleasure of hearing her voice again.