This is my review for his albu "Reflection"
Name: Reflection
Artist: Kevin Tarte (born on March 15 in 1957 in Seattle)
Duet partners: Pia Douwes (dutch musical actress, niece of Doris Day, most famous for playing Elisabeth), Willemijn Verkaik (dutch musical actress, played Elphaba in Wicked in Germany, West End and Broadway, dubbed Elsa in the German and Dutch dub)
Languages: English, Italian, German
Release year: On "Sound of Music" November 2014, on Kevin's own shop, Amazon and worldwide January 2015
Classical to Pop: Difficult to say. I've seen that kind of rating on the site and I don't know how to apply it here. It has more contemporary, but some Classical Crossover songs and some musical songs. It's well mixed. The music is played by a classical orchestra, which gives all the pop songs a cc feel to it.
Music: An orchestra, all players picked individually, recorded in the St. Wolfgang Church in Pfullingen, because of it's great sound
Highlights: (IMHO) Bali Ha'i, Nella Fantasia, If I Loved You, Mi Mancherei, Into The West
Kevin's singing: Kevin's voice is very distinctive, he has a very characteristic voice. And it's shown perfectly on that cd
His rich voice and his wide range are amazing as always, even though his high head notes show that he has aged (more on that later). Still, his singing is very, very good overall and his ability to sing very, very powerful and still very gentle is unbroken. He is emotional, but never overly dramatic.
The music: The arrangements are beautiful and all of them suit Kevin's voice perfectly. Also, there are long instrumental parts on the cd, which adds a wonderful feeling. Especially since most musical singers (at least here, in Germany) usually use their musical theatre standarts and simple playback music.
The overall quality: Very, very good. Kevin's singing is fantastic, so is the singing of his two duet partners. The orchestra and solo musicians are all very, very good. The arrangements are perfect. The choice of songs is unique and still truly matching. I mean, the songs match each other and the singer
The sound is amazing. Also, the cd box is beautiful. It's not made of plastic, but of cardboard neatly folded. There are many fine pictures, and the booklet has many nice pictures and informations, aswell as nice words by Kevin, too. The names of artist and album are in silver coloured print on the cover.
Indian Summer is a beautiful way to start the album. Kevin sounds warm and rich, just as one would imagine an Indian Summer. The arrangement is very beautiful with very prominent strings. Also, the solo violin by Atanas Kostadinov sound very beautiful.
If I Loved You is complete, starts with the half talking. Kevin sings very powerful, but still gentle. The arrangement is very suiting, it's in the style of the album, but still very R&H-esque. I might be biased as a R&H fan, but I think it's one of the albums highlights.
Remember is in a way darker mood than most of his songs. I assume it's because most of his fans - who are Tanz der Vampire fans - would want one of his standarts from the show like "Die unstillbare Gier", but he didn't want to use any of his often-sung standarts. Still, there is one darker, gloomier song. And it still fits. His singing is very, very powerful, so is the music. Everything is powerful. And loud. He never screams, though. Overall, it's surely the most dramatical song on the cd. And it's a good way for him to show off his full power
Mi Mancherei is surely a typical cc song. It has again a beautiful solo violin, the violinist is Gia Jashvili. Kevin sings it beautifully in a typical classical crossover style. Still, he doesn't schmaltzy. Not at all. That's - in my opinion - always the greatest risk (especially for a man) to sing emotionally and gentle, but not schmaltzy. It's a fine line, but Kevin did not step over it. In fact, it's emotional, rich and another highlight.
The Prayer is a powerful duet with Pia Douwes. There is already a recording od Kevin singing that song, on a compilation cd by musical singers, but as a duet with Willemijn Verkaik. Anyways, this version is way different, because it's more powerful, the arrangement is different and because Pia is not Willemijn
It's a very beautiful song, but it's often sung. However, the song still sounds "fresh". Pia has a very beautiful voice and the harmony is great.
Dein Lied is a modern pop song and it's originally in German. I understand that Kevin wanted to have a German song on his album, without using one of his musical songs. I would have chosen a classical German song, instead of a pop song, since I usually don't like modern German music, but... I think it fits. The arrangement is very beautiful, Kevin doesn't sing as powerful as he usually does, but the song suits his "pop voice". He said in an interview a few years ago, that he most recently discovered pop music for himself and I think he enjoys to sing it now, since he usually sung opera, musical and swing. This song is usually considered a highlight on the cd, and it's growing to be one of my favourites, even though it's usually not my preferred taste.
As Long As You're Mine is a beautiful duet with Willemijn Verkaik, who has sung this song very often ;D Willemijn is one of the most popular Elphaba's in Wicked, having played the part very often and in many productions. It's arranged in a theatrical style, with thunder, rain, birds and some talking at the end. It still has the arrangement style of the rest of the cd. Willemijn sings powerful and gentle, in the same way Kevin does. I am not a big Wicked fan, but that duet is very, very beautiful. Their voices harmonize perfectly and it's surely a favourite by many people. Hearing Kevin sing such a modern musical hit is unusual, but great. The part is usually sung by way younger men, but he souds just fantastic.
Music Was My First Love is the only song that shows his voice has aged. There are several high head notes in this song and some of them sound a bit squeaky or simply thinner if you listen to the song with a lot of volume. Anyways, all of his deeper notes and most of his high notes sound absolutely fine, and everything sounds fine if you listen to the song iwth less volume. His head voice was never squeaky or thin, but all people age. Anyways, he sings very powerful. There are long instrumental parts and the arrangement is more contemporary.
I Wish You Love is a very calm and gentle song. It's a nice song to relax to and a beautiful calm break between those powerful songs.
How Do You Keep The Music Playing is again a calm song, but jazzier than the others and with many powerful bits. The solo saxophone is played by Georg F. Mayer.
Bali Ha'i is as mysterious and beautiful as it should. My personal highlight. Nuff said.
Nella Fantasia has a long instrumental intro and many instrumental parts in between. The oboe is beautifully played by Ivan Danko. It's again one of my highlights and Kevin sings unbelievably beautiful, again using his gentle power.
Into The West is stunningly beautiful and a perfect way to (nearly) end the album. It's calm and still powerful, it's a song full of hope - and I am a LotR fan. Kevin uses hsi personal singing style and his "character voice" more than on any other song on that album. The mood is very beautiful, the arrangement is amazing.
True Colors is a very pop-ish bonus track. I am mostly used to the Celtic Woman version, so Kevin's version - which is surely closer to the original - surprised me, even though I should have expected it would be a popsong. It's faster than the other songs more upbeat. It perfectly shows Kevin's versitility, considering the completely different style.
My personal opinion: I love it! It's surely one of my favourite albums of all time! The choice of songs is unique, the styles are different but all of them fit each other, the quality is very high, it's very emotional. I love it!