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Review: Dame Shirley Bassey – The Performance

Posted on 25. Nov, 2009 by Mike in Music, Reviews

Shirley Bassey - The Performance

With a career spanning over 50 years, Dame Shirley Bassey has always been in the public eye, maintaining a strong presence which has touched many different generations. Personally I remember her ’70s TV specials, the iconic Bond theme tunes, her guest recordings with Yello and the Propellerheads and the brilliant “The Living Tree”.

Many people´s perception of Shirley is that she just belts out her songs and has become a parody of herself, but I say think again! Here she shows just what a good interpreter of other people’s songs she really is with a subtlety that at times makes you wonder is this the same singer who sang “Diamonds are Forever”?

The Performance is her first album of new songs for twenty years and by using the writing skills of today’s contemporary artists combined with lush production from David Arnold it really has been worth the wait.

Amongst the composers who worked on the album are John Barry who wrote Our Time Is Now, KT Tunstall Nice Men (I love the vocal on this one), Gary Barlow and The Manic Street Preachers (the weakest song here).

Among my favorite tracks are the opener Almost There written by Tom Baxter, which is a real grower and starts slow but builds with an emotional & dramatic ending, fantastic!

Richard Hawley’s beautiful After the Rain is delivered with much restraint as Shirley repeatedly sings This girl just can’t take it anymore over piano and cello, just gorgeous.

I Love You Now is a fantastic Bond-esq song and so unlike anything Richard Hodgson has written for the Kaiser Chiefs. I also love The Apartment by Rufus Wainwright which has an up-tempo, flamenco feel and is very, very camp.

For me the stand out track is The Performance of my Life which is destined to become a classic and is a perfect fit for Shirley. Written by The Pet Shop Boys it opens with the line A brave face, stiff upper lip will do the trick, the mask is firm the face is mine and ends with I had applause I had a career, until the final day I play this part the only way I can, for to live I have to give the performance of my life.

Yes, Dame Shirley Bassey, this could well be the performance of your life – a truly wonderful record.

Sparkle Rating, 9 out of 10

Tags: Dame Shirley Bassey, Gary Barlow, James Bond, K T Tunstall, Manic Street Preachers, Pet Shop Boys, Rufus Wainwright, sparkle, Tom Baxter

Mike Belshaw

Author for the online friendship and dating site Sparkle and creator of the very successful blog "Off the Record"

Mike - has written 30 posts on Sparkle in my life. Contact the author

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