Hayley Westenra

[organ]

Anybody listen to her? She's from New Zealand. I got into her music a little over a year ago and I'm hooked. The sweetest female vocalist I've heard. And the sound quality on her newest release (Odessey) is hardcore reference material.

Her music is a lot like Sarah Brightman's in her earlier days with "Time to Say Goodbye". Classical crossover. She sounds just like an angel. Check out her CD if you're into this type of music.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AXWHPI/sr=8-1/qid=1142059404/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-8491973-2678408?%5Fencoding=UTF8

While we're on the subject of soothing music, did anybody pick up Andrea Bocceli's latest release? The album is called "Amore". Beautiful music and vocals. I LOVE it!

Maurice

[jcaut]

AND... she's not bad looking either.

[organ]

Believe it or not, she's only 18! She's very beautiful but can't really say she's my type.

[neomagus00]

i have 'pure', and it's really just that... a very simple, smooth voice, not a lot of emotion or complexity behind it, but still a chill vocalist to listen to... a rather limited range, which surprised me (she skips an octave up in 'amazing grace', and sounds great doing so, but never leaves her 1.5-2 octaves anywhere else on the CD, for whatever reason)...

from a quick googling, it seems to be her first album, in which case it's a very respectable one, but i do hope she's improved on the depth in her sophomore release... if so, i'm all for it...

[organ]

i have 'pure', and it's really just that... a very simple, smooth voice, not a lot of emotion or complexity behind it, but still a chill vocalist to listen to... a rather limited range, which surprised me (she skips an octave up in 'amazing grace', and sounds great doing so, but never leaves her 1.5-2 octaves anywhere else on the CD, for whatever reason)...

from a quick googling, it seems to be her first album, in which case it's a very respectable one, but i do hope she's improved on the depth in her sophomore release... if so, i'm all for it...


Pure is her second album. I agree about her vocals on "Pure". IMO, that album just showcased her voice. No feelings/emotions IMO. Just nice and sweet, nothing more.

You should definitely check out the new album. "Pure" can't even come close. Her voice and singing style is so much mature now and she's singing better songs as well. There's actually emotions in the songs. The duet with Bocelli on "Dell'Amore Non Si Sa" is so beautiful.

Oh yeah, she's hitting those high notes with no effort now. On "pure" and her self titled debut, you can actually hear her struggling on some notes, probably why she left some out like you mentioned.

Her voice is slightly warmer now but much more powerful.

[shack]

I agree about her vocals on "Pure". IMO, that album just showcased her voice. No feelings/emotions IMO. Just nice and sweet, nothing more.

Bingo. I've not been able to figure out why this album never really did much for me. This describes it very well.

[Zero]

I always saw "Pure" as an album released a bit too soon. On top of whats said above, I also felt the compelation of songs were a bit jagged and not entirely appropriate for her voice.

Just the same, I look forward to giving her latest a try - better song selection and a maturation/extension in vocals could work wonders..

[organ]

Oh boy, you guys are going to be in for a real treat with the new album. Everything is better. The sound quality alone is worth the purchase. This is one of the best sounding cd I've heard.

Shack,
Same here. I only liked that album for about 2 weeks. I needed something more and finally got it with the new release.

Sean,
If you like this type of music, you should really consider this cd... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000002SMW/ref=pd_kar_gw_1/002-5289513-5553609?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=5174

This is probably my favorite classical crossover album. The music is just beautiful. Her later albums are not so good compared to this. Excellent recording too if you dig vocals. Try out the samples on the link I provided.

Maurice

[neomagus00]

ooh, sarah brightman... i've never heard anything but the phantom...