Bootleg: Boardmixes from the Road

Beauty Accessible to All

I'm far from qualified to comment with authority on Betty Buckley's voice, but those with the musical wherewithal and facility for assessing such talent say she's the very best in the theater. I've no trouble believing that.

However, it's when performing material like this - for me, at least - that her gifts are most personal and accessible. If you've seen her perform in an intimate venue on the road, you know this already. She has the ability to make a connection with the listener that feels like it is meant for you alone. That magic comes through on this collection of songs. And one gets the sense that if you could sit down with Ms. Buckley and ask her why she chose these particular selections for this CD, you'd hear a real story or two.

There's an authenticity to it I'm not able to describe. Let's just say this CD would make a nice gift for a friend you've not seen in a while but who is special to you. Listen and you'll understand.

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Another jewel in the Betty Buckley collection

This recording by the incandescent Betty Buckley is another jewel in her collection. "Ghost in This House", a duet with the talented Peter Eldridge, is hearbreakingly beautiful; the arrangement of "Blue Skies" (a preview track from her new recording with Oscar-winning T-Bone Burnett due out in 2011) is inspired; each track is a special and unique gift. Billie Holiday's "Stormy Blues" is more than reminiscent of that singer. Buckley's rendition shows how thoroughly she understands the song and how important the legacy left by Holiday is to her as an artist. Throughout, the meltingly burnished and rich tone of one of the best singers and interpretative artists of our time, makes this a favorite disc among favorites. This is no ultra-mixed, ultra-produced and technologically enhanced studio product; these are board mixes from various concerts, and, in my mind, the real thing; pure, unadulterated talent that needs nothing but some instrumentalists and a mike. Brava once again, MsB.

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Wonderful recording from an incredible singer!

This recording by the incandescent Betty Buckley is another jewel in her collection. "Ghost in This House", a duet with the talented Peter Eldridge, is hearbreakingly beautiful; the arrangement of "Blue Skies" (a preview track from her new recording with Oscar-winning T-Bone Burnett due out in 2011) is inspired; each track is a special and unique gift. Billie Holiday's "Stormy Blues" is more than reminiscent of that singer. Buckley's rendition shows how thoroughly she understands the song and how important the legacy left by Holiday is to her as an artist. Throughout, the meltingly burnished and rich tone of one of the best singers and interpretative artists of our time, makes this a favorite disc among favorites. This is no ultra-mixed, ultra-produced and technologically enhanced studio product; these are board mixes from various concerts, and, in my mind, the real thing; pure, unadulterated talent that needs nothing but some instrumentalists and a mike. Brava once again, MsB.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Kickin'Classy Contemporary Classic...Betty Buckley Straight Up!

Betty Buckley's newest release, and soon to be classic, Bootleg:Boardmixes From The Road, is possibly Ms. Buckley's "edgiest" musical exploration of the many and circuitous perils and predicaments of contemporary love and relationships. Her "signature" vocal depth,range, and intensity are sensitively manifested throughout this kickin' classy "bootlegged" collection. From Ms. Buckley's monogrammed spurs, cowboy boots, and "burn the blue" jeans to the predominantly Buckley "branded" country/pop/torchy,jazz-standard lyrics, these boardmixed songs are road-tested and raring to go...anywhere and everywhere! Ms. Buckley aptly starts her vibrant journey through the woes, lows, elations, and highs of love and longing with the Michael McDonald collaboration...Honest Emotion. She lays bare the emotional energy that as authenticated by the wounded heart propels her through "the door" of risk and personal involvement of the song. Ms. Buckley poignantly conveys through her "hurt full" expression of true feeling for McDonald's lyrics, not only the "tatters" in an irrevocably broken heart, but the "falling through" "the waters of pure love" to once again "walk through the door" to deeper feeling. She then moves on to Lisa Loeb's quest for more than the proverbial "one night stand", Falling in Love. Ms.Buckley imbues this trampin' around song with both the initial elation of the early days of a relationship, the "falling in love" phase, and the ultimate stark improbability of it ever lasting. She takes the Alison Krauss song of burned out love, Ghost In this House, and vocally wrenches every drop of emotion from your heart. Buckley's plaintive rendition of hopelessness, despair and indifference is haunting.She utterly becomes the train-wrecked ghost imprisoned in a ghostly memory of an all encompassing body and soul heartbreaker...she leave us drained and overtaken as well. This is, without doubt, the finest version of Ghost In This House ever recorded. She then gives us a breezy,jaunty "yipee-kai-yo" rendition of On The 4th Of July that brightly captures James Taylor's sweet contemporay nostalgia for the telephone interludes of a non-committal relationship in-the-making, and the patriotic fun of sharing with a new found love the "classic" 4th of July celebrations ...watchin' fireworks on the grass, listenin' to a tinny radio band playin' along, and,most of all, the buoyant joy of having one's heart in one's hand and the indomitable belief of all new relationships..."love", like freedom and the rights of man, "must stand".."forever and ever"! In Blossom Dearie's Bye Bye Country Boy, Ms.Buckley once again makes it her very own "signature' song. She becomes the insouciant "big star" in this wry dismissal of the star-struck sweet,shy country boy whose transient interlude of fun and pleasure just might mean something more to her, if only her heart and mind... weren't already miles away! Ms. Dearie would,indeed, be pleased with Buckley's "owning" of her trenchant lyrics. Ms. Buckley ends her musical peregrinations through love's frustrations,dilemmas,longings and futility with an ultimately supremely buoyant, uplifting, and optimistic denoument of pizzicato,guitar-tinged Blue Skies. She so perfectly expresses the brighter side of love,finally,gone right.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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CD is FANTASTIC!!!

All the songs in this CD are great and I highly recommend anyone to listen to this great lady. Betty's voice and music is honest, from the heart, the clarity and the strength of her voice is amazing. The talent is phenomenal. She is incredible, easy to listen to, and knows what music is. I never cease to be amazed by this woman's talent. Lovely music, anyone will absolutely enjoy this CD, you won't be disappointed. Betty is a true timeless and ageless artist.

A beautiful CD sung by a very skilled, beautiful, gifted legend.

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Up close & personal

I've been lucky enough to see Betty Buckley's concert work in venues ranging from concert halls to intimate jazz clubs & cabaret settings, and this CD is a revelation -- I've never heard her voice as up close & personal; this CD truly captures the intimacy of her live performances. These unadorned recordings (taken from soundboard recordings) place her voice in the foreground, giving the effect of a private concert: with the exception of Blue Skies (a preview track from her next studio CD), the entire album sounds like she's right next to you, singing only for you. These rare recordings will make a wonderful addition to any fan's collection & are the perfect introduction to this world-class performer for those discovering for the first time the raw energy, intimacy & sheer emotional power of Buckley's live performances that critics & fans have raved about for years. Simply put, this CD captures the real experience of a live performance by one of the finest interpreters of song at the top of her game, and is not to be missed. The unique sound & song choices here make Bootleg a distinct & natural addition to Buckley's body of work and a perfect complement to her other live CDs. This Tony Award-winning artist has recorded big, belting Broadway numbers with full orchestras on the Carnegie Hall & London Concert CDs and more quiet, intimate theatre songs & standards on the Grammy-nominated Live at the Donmar CD. On Bootleg, Buckley shows us yet another part of her musical personality: that of the "girl singer" whose musical soul is grounded in the roots country & blues of her Texas childhood. The simple, country-inflected arrangements of Honest Emotion, Falling In Love, Ghost In This House & Bye Bye Country Boy put the focus on Buckley's voice, which conveys every emotional detail of these beautiful songs exploring the landscape of love & loss. In the poetic Honest Emotion, Buckley moves from a full-throated embrace of our enormous capacity & yearning for love to a regretful awareness of the walls we build in response to heartbreak. Bye Bye Country Boy is a deceptively simple song about a performer's fling with a young man who comes to her show and ends in a deeper reflection on choices made & not made and a longing for permanent, real love. Buckley mesmerizes in her exploration of the emotional fallout at the end of relationships, be it one that starts out as "tramping around" but quickly turns real in Falling In Love, or an all-consuming love whose loss literally inhabits the one left behind in Ghost In This House. The remaining songs reflect a lighter mood. James Taylor's On The 4th Of July, a gentle love song about the shy awakening of love between old friends, brings warmth to this too-cold winter & leaves you humming. WWII-era classic Straighten Up & Fly Right is jumpin' from the get-go, and It Might As Well Be Spring captures the joyful bubbling-over of a giddy heart. Billie Holiday's standard, Stormy Blues, builds so perfectly to Buckley's powerhouse cutting-loose at the end that I forgot to be blue--I was too busy holding onto my hat! The delightful Blue Skies is from Buckley's next studio CD, Ghostlight (set for release in 2011), produced by multi-Grammy & Oscar winner T-Bone Burnett. The collaboration with Burnett takes this already highly sophisticated artist to an even higher level of artistry, and I can't wait to hear the rest!

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