I finally get round to listening to Alice Fearn’s 2016 album Where I’ve Been…Where I’m Going and enjoy it, a lot
“A late night ‘Yes sir’
leads to good press sir”
I’m always pleased to see musical theatre performers trekking a little off the beaten path when it comes to putting together the tracklisting for their albums. As deeply held a connection as they may have to this standard or that, it can get a little wearing to hear the same material regurgitated time and again. So Alice Fearn instantly gets brownie points for her 2016 collection Where I’ve Been…Where I’m Going.
Michel Legrand rubs shoulders with Andrew Lippa, there’s a deep dive into the Kander + Ebb archive, Sondheim is in there but he’s gender-flipped and there’s a track from Smash that reminds me I really need to get around to watching that show. And allowing her inspiration to draw far and wide just adds that extra level of interest, surprise even as in the case of the brassy delights of Frank Wildhorn & Jack Murphy’s ‘Big Time’ which was new to me and an instant fave.
Other delights include a swooningly lovely duet with Oliver Tompsett on Big Fish’s ‘Time Stops’, a beautifully tender glide through ‘What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?’ and that Kander & Ebb track ‘Sorry I Asked’, full of delicious melancholic storytelling. And clearly ahead of her time (and wouldn’t she have made a great Bobbie…), there’s a thrilling rendition of ‘Being Alive’ full of all sorts of subtleties that send shivers down the spine. Now she’s done in Wicked, I’m very excited to see what is next for her.
