Bryan Terfel - Something Wonderful

In the opening song of "Something Wonderful," Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel sings, "All the sounds of the Earth are like music." They most definitely are when Terfel surrounds them with his resonant baritone. Every phrase of Rodgers and Hammerstein's music is imbued with uncommon sensitivity, impeccable phrasing, and dazzling beauty. Terfel's rich and meaty voice shares a plate with delicate pianissimos, unabashed sentimentality, and swaggering forthrightness. He successfully tackles songs originally written for women. In "It Might as Well Be Spring," he transforms dippy into dapper. And he turns "Bali Hai" into a foreboding, demanding, and seductive call; the listener must helplessly succumb to the world of his sensitive manliness. His interpretations of the old standards–"If I Loved You," "Soliloquy," "This Nearly Was Mine," "Some Enchanted Evening"–are stellar. Despite the temporary lulls caused by the second-class songs from "Allegro," Terfel does a first-class job of bringing them to life. Undoubtedly one of the best crossover records of all time. –Barbara Eisner Bayer


Track Listings
1. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'
2. It Might as Well Be Spring
3. Some Enchanted Evening
4. Surrey With the Fringe on Top
5. Bali Ha'i
6. June Is Bustin' Out All Over
7. Something Wonderful
8. So Far
9. Fellow Needs a Girl
10. I Have Dreamed
11. What a Lovely Day for a Wedding - Keith Mills, Bryn Terfel
12. No Other Love
13. Edelweiss
14. If I Loved You
15. There Is Nothin' Like a Dame - Maurice Bowen, Stephen Briggs, , Stephen Dowson, Keith Mills, Bryn Terfel
16. Younger Than Springtime
17. Come Home
18. This Nearly Was Mine
19. Soliloquy
20. You'll Never Walk Alone