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The Bold and The Beautiful - December 25, 2000 |
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* 'Jewish Beat' appears on the last Monday of each month in the Jerusalem Post | ||||||||
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Chaim Muhlbauer Pitchu Li Gal Paz Chaim Muhlbauer's debut album is a nice example of how a person should use his voice - and how he should not. Muhlbauer's bold voice approaches that of a tenor. He could easily be a talented chazan in any synagogue in the world. And his talent comes through on the slower numbers on this album. The title track, for instance, opens with a peaceful relaxing piano intro, and by the time Muhlbauer starts singing, you are in a frame of mind to listen. Keeping true to the music, his voice is meoldious, full of character, and expressive, and inspirational, without destroying the mood the way chazanim can. He generally holds to this style on the slower tracks. On the faster numbers, however, the music becomes less polished and his voice becomes more intrusive, giving a not-too-pleasing effect. Several songs, like Kumah Hashem, come off sounding kitchy, where they could be good songs were a less powerful vocalist to perform them. Nowhere on the cassette cover was any credit given to the composer's of the songs, which is an inexcusable oversight, especially since one of the tracks is a cover of a well-known version of Pote'ach et Yadecha. With a little more professionalism, Muhlbauer could become a star in Jewish Music. He needs to stay away from faster songs and restrict himself to the ballads on which he shows so much promise. Gershon Veroba Variations 3 Gal Paz GERSHON Veroba has made a career out of English songs heavy with Jewish meaning. His first two Variations albums took popular songs from the American charts and conveyed Jewish messages with the same tunes. Unlike similar acts, however, Variations provided a more mature message. In this, the third release, Veroba continues the trend. His beautiful soulful voice, combined with harmonies by Jonathan Rimberg, Larry Gates, and Harold Fruchter, provides songs that are easy to listen to and which can inspire the listener through valuable lessons. Veroba has included a good mix of old classic tunes such as Simon and Garfunkel's Homeward Bound and The Beatles' I Wanna Hold Your Hand with more recent popular tunes such as Lou Bega's Mambo Number Five.. While Simon and Garfunkel's title remains, Veroba turned the others into I Wanna Hold My Land and Mesechta Number Five respectively. But he did it with such talent, keeping the original feel of the music and harmonies while expressing a uniquely Jewish message, that one cannot help but like this album. 'Jewish Beat' appears monthly. Comments and suggestions can be sent to butrfly@actcom.co.il |