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There comes a time in the life of every entertainment reviewer, and usually more than once, when one feels sure they should have chosen an easier career path, such as being a paid executioner (unfortunately, the two professions bear a great deal of similarity at moments). It is towards that end, and with necessary regret, that this writer is forced to report on the recent CD release party at the Triad for singer Sunny Leigh and her first disc, Sweet Feelings.Though the engineering and mastering of the album couldn't be more top-notch, it is the weak composition of the music and lyrics, coupled with Leigh's vocal abilities (such as they are) that make for a disastrous combination, as well as the fact that the thirteen songs showcased therein seem unsure as to which genre they belong.
Laden with extremely predictable rhythms, melodies and titles (such as "Can I Love You?" "Stay Sweet Darlin'" and the repetitive, and oft-obnoxious, "The Power Of Your Love"), the music for the most part could best be described as a bizarre mix of lounge, hip-hop, techno-pop and mediocre 1980s dance tracks; in point of fact, it most often resembles the sort of music played at Danceteria twenty-five years ago late at night after all the Beautiful People had paired off and gone home. None of this is helped in the slightest by Leigh's choice of couture; squeezed tenuously into a gold-sequinned disco dress with strategically-placed abdominal cutouts to emphasize her shape, she looks rather like Mariah Carey in the flop movie Glitter, and nowhere near as talented to boot. As if this wasn't enough, Leigh has seen fit to employ three male dancers, who seem to have a much easier time upstaging her than they do of upstaging each other, although all three give that task a valiant try (which, at least, gives them something to do as they all prance about the stage with no syncopation whatsoever). It's truly piteous that this is the result, for Leigh has a singularly beautiful face and could probably render a serviceable tune under the right circumstances.
More surprising than anything of all is the fact that Leigh has produced this album with a simply wondrous team of musicians. These include Gary Haase on bass, Frank Vilardi on drums, Mark Minchello on keyboards, and the usually-incomparable Barry Levitt on piano, who has never been a slouch at making a silk purse out of a sow's ear when it comes to developing cabaret artists. This time around, unfortunately, the sow's ear remains a sow's ear, and a sorely-untalented sow's ear at that.
In closing, it's never easy to face the fact that cabaret has for decades always had its share of self-indulgence coursing through its veins. To that list of so-called artists, Sunny Leigh most assuredly must be added. And this is not to say that she might not completely surprise audiences in the future, after a desperately-required overhaul. But for right now, she has very little to offer, and is best left unexamined by the public at large.
Laden with extremely predictable rhythms, melodies and titles (such as "Can I Love You?" "Stay Sweet Darlin'" and the repetitive, and oft-obnoxious, "The Power Of Your Love"), the music for the most part could best be described as a bizarre mix of lounge, hip-hop, techno-pop and mediocre 1980s dance tracks; in point of fact, it most often resembles the sort of music played at Danceteria twenty-five years ago late at night after all the Beautiful People had paired off and gone home. None of this is helped in the slightest by Leigh's choice of couture; squeezed tenuously into a gold-sequinned disco dress with strategically-placed abdominal cutouts to emphasize her shape, she looks rather like Mariah Carey in the flop movie Glitter, and nowhere near as talented to boot. As if this wasn't enough, Leigh has seen fit to employ three male dancers, who seem to have a much easier time upstaging her than they do of upstaging each other, although all three give that task a valiant try (which, at least, gives them something to do as they all prance about the stage with no syncopation whatsoever). It's truly piteous that this is the result, for Leigh has a singularly beautiful face and could probably render a serviceable tune under the right circumstances.
More surprising than anything of all is the fact that Leigh has produced this album with a simply wondrous team of musicians. These include Gary Haase on bass, Frank Vilardi on drums, Mark Minchello on keyboards, and the usually-incomparable Barry Levitt on piano, who has never been a slouch at making a silk purse out of a sow's ear when it comes to developing cabaret artists. This time around, unfortunately, the sow's ear remains a sow's ear, and a sorely-untalented sow's ear at that.
In closing, it's never easy to face the fact that cabaret has for decades always had its share of self-indulgence coursing through its veins. To that list of so-called artists, Sunny Leigh most assuredly must be added. And this is not to say that she might not completely surprise audiences in the future, after a desperately-required overhaul. But for right now, she has very little to offer, and is best left unexamined by the public at large.
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