Heart and Soul: New Songs from Ally McBeal Featuring Vonda Shepard

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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Moira McCormick
This latest musical missive from "Ally McBeal" chanteuse Vonda Shepard screams "tasteful" at the top of its lungs. Shepard's butterscotch mezzo-soprano voice is the centerpiece of a dozen-plus adult contemporary favorites, which include a handful of Shepard originals as well. There are pleasant, reasonably soulful covers of Motown standards, such as the Supremes' swan song, "Someday, We'll Be Together;" Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted," and the Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine Is Weak for You." In fact, Shepard picks most of these baby-boomer touchstones primarily from the '60s, including British Invasion pop like Peter and Gordon's "World ...
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Moira McCormick
This latest musical missive from "Ally McBeal" chanteuse Vonda Shepard screams "tasteful" at the top of its lungs. Shepard's butterscotch mezzo-soprano voice is the centerpiece of a dozen-plus adult contemporary favorites, which include a handful of Shepard originals as well. There are pleasant, reasonably soulful covers of Motown standards, such as the Supremes' swan song, "Someday, We'll Be Together;" Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted," and the Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine Is Weak for You." In fact, Shepard picks most of these baby-boomer touchstones primarily from the '60s, including British Invasion pop like Peter and Gordon's "World Without Love" and a leisurely take on Lulu's "To Sir, with Love," on which she duets with the ever-foxy Al Green. There's also the sublime homegrown ballad by the late Roy Orbison, "Crying," and a sentimental '70s weeper, Don McLean's "Vincent Starry Starry Night." But Shepard would do well to follow her own muse a bit more: Her self-penned selections all but one of them co-written with the likes of Mitchell Froom and James Newton Howard reveal her not inconsiderable flair for a singable melody and thoughtful lyric. Her duet with vocal twin Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, "Baby, Don't Break My Heart Slow," is really quite pretty; but it's the almost-rocker "Confetti" that really steals the show. Next time more Vonda, please.
All Music Guide - William Ruhlmann
Vonda Shepard's curious ascension into pop prominence on the heels of the Ally McBeal television series offers evidence that, if you just hang around Los Angeles long enough, you may finally get recognized. After years of laboring as a lower echelon L.A. rock singer/songwriter and backup singer (a second-rate Bonnie Raitt, one might say), Shepard hit paydirt of a sort playing a club singer on TV, and the quasi-soundtrack album Songs from Ally McBeal, which includes oldies covers from the '60s and '70s, was a million-selling Top Ten hit in 1998. The inevitable follow-up is more of the same, though this time around Shepard gets to pen five of the 14 tracks. On her own, Shepard is not untalented: "Read Your Mind," the lead-off track, is a tentative acceptance of love that might as easily be directed to Shepard's unexpected (and no doubt temporary) new audience as to a new boyfriend; "Confetti" is a '60s-style rocker that seems to be attacking the kind of kids who look to Ally McBeal for fashion and dating tips; and "Baby, Don't You Break My Heart Slow" is a good romantic ballad in the currently popular Diane Warren/adult contemporary style. Such material demonstrates that Shepard is worthy of a major-label release of her own songs, and not just in relation to Ally McBeal.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 11/9/1999
  • Label: Sony Mod - Afw Line
  • UPC: 074646391525
  • Catalog Number: 63915
  • Sales rank: 79,085

Album Credits

Performance Credits
Vonda Shepard Primary Artist, Vocals, Background Vocals
Al Green Track Performer
Charlie Bisharat Violin
Lynn Davis Background Vocals
Joel Derouin Violin
Davey Faragher Bass
Val McCallum Guitar
Emily Saliers Track Performer
Martin Tillman Cello
Suzie Katayama Cello
Leland Sklar Bass
Matthew Funes Viola
Technical Credits
Vonda Shepard Producer, Liner Notes
Rob Brill Engineer
Paul Dieter Engineer
Lamont Dozier Composer
Eddie Holland Composer
Brian Holland Composer
Bob Ludwig Mastering
John Paterno Engineer
Tony Flores Engineer
Sylvia Moy Composer
Jeff Burns Engineer
John Tyree Engineer
Sebastian Haimerl Engineer
Alan Sanderson Engineer
Greg Collins Engineer
Lior Goldenberg Engineer
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