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From Musical Discoveries/USA:
The third album by Christine Guldbrandsen and first on her new label is aptly entitled Christine. The three year gap from her prior release has distanced the artist from mainstream pop and rock to produce a project best classified as progressive Celtic. The artist's development from pop to easy listening to progressive Celtic is evident in the instrumental arrangements. The transition has been made thankfully loss of emphasis on Christine's powerful and crystalline vocal texture. A combination of traditional and modern instruments works well with the primary change to Norwegian lyrics.
The songs on this album span a wide range of styles, from ballads with choir and piano to richly arranged soundscapes. Christine has written several of the songs in collaboration with her creative team. Among these is the standout track "Alvedansen," Norway's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. This popular song was reworked for the album. Apart from one Norwegian folk song the rest of the album is new material. And every song was obviously prepared with Christine's stunning crystalline voice in mind. Enthusiasts will be pleased with the booklet that accompanies the CD. In addition to a wide range of stunning artist photos, full lyrics are provided in the booklet.
Artists can often deliver more emotional content when singing in their native tongue and this evolution has worked well for Christine. To broaden her appeal worldwide, she should consider balancing English with Norwegian in the future. Following the upbeat "Dansekjolen," Christine moves into a tender piano backed ballad entitled "Langt Bortenfor." Strings add additional color to the number. The cinematically styled English lyric "Journey's Song" and choral "Dove" are an album standouts.
The combination of traditional instruments and modern arrange- ments work perfectly to support Christine's far ranging vocal power. Improvements in emotional delivery are evident track to track in upbeat folk numbers, sweeping West End styled tracks and very light Norwegian ballads. Bravo Christine!
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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