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| Dwayne Britton CD Review |
Reviewed by Steven Stanley, Editor, LAStageScene.com
With a voice of exquisite purity, yet with just a touch of huskiness and a dash of
vibrato, Dwayne Britton makes a memorable debut on his self titled CD. On
some songs, it’s just Dwayne and musical director Scot Wooley on piano. Other
tracks add percussion, a guitar, and a violin for a fuller yet still intimate sound.
Listening to Dwayne’s CD is like having this special performer right in your living
room, singing just to you.
Dwayne’s background in musical theater has given him an actor’s
understanding of the power of lyrics. Even listeners who’ve heard Billy Joel’s
“She’s Got a Way” time and again will feel that they’re hearing the words for
the first time. Perhaps that’s because like all good actors, there’s spontaneity to
Dwayne’s vocals, as if he’s thinking the words right as he sings them. This is
especially true in his interpretation of “Moon River” (which he opens with a few
bars from Leslie Bricusse’s “When I was Younger”). Henry Mancini always said
that no on truly conveyed the meaning of Johnny Mercer’s lyrics better than
Audrey Hepburn. I think he would say that Dwayne Britton comes close.
In the same vein, Dwayne sings a romantically folksy “The Rainbow Connection”
from The Muppet Movie in a way that Kermit the Frog could only dream of,
accompanied only by a solo guitar. Another kid’s film, Pete’s Dragon,
introduced Al Kasha’s “Candle on the Water.” Helen Reddy had the hit, but on
Dwayne’s CD it sounds brand new, Dwayne once again making the lyrics
spontaneous and fresh.
“Why” features Dwayne and a solo acoustic guitar in a rendition of Annie
Lenox’s 1992 hit which starts soft and grows increasingly passionate, and he
gives Trisha Yearwood a run for her money in his quietly emotional interpretation
of her powerful “The Song Remembers When.”
Some of the CD’s songs are new to me. Stephen Schwartz and Dean Pitchford’s
“More than This” is a passionate song about frustration and hope, which has
Dwayne harmonizing with himself … exquisitely. “Under the Tree,” from the little
known Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt musical Celebration, has a quiet jazz sound,
enhanced by Ted Karas brushing the cymbals.
The CD has many high points, but perhaps the two most memorable tracks
come one right after the other, Tracks 8 and 9, which are both discoveries for me.
Brian Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan’s “Run Away With Me” turns out to be all over
YouTube as a lot of young tenors’ current cabaret song of choice. No wonder.
With poetic lyrics, a heart wrenching melody, and a ¾ beat that gradually
increases in speed and intensity, this is a song which defies anyone to listen to it
unmoved, and Dwayne’s heartfelt, un-theatrical rendition is possibly the best of
those on the net.
Right after “Run Away With Me” and before you have a chance to recover from
one emotional rollercoaster, there’s yet another, Tori Amos’ quietly
heartbreaking song of lost love, “Baker Baker,” which Dwayne sings without a
changing “he” to “she,” making this especially powerful to gay listeners.
The album concludes with Alan Menken and David Zippel’s “Go the Distance,”
from Disney’s Hercules. Those familiar only with Michael Bolton’s “power ballad”
original will most likely be hearing Zippel’s inspiring lyrics for the first time, and be
mesmerized by the intimacy of Dwayne’s poetic rendition.
Dwaye Britton The CD was produced by Dwayne Britton and Scot Wooley for Lee
Lessack’s LML label. (Two of the tracks were co-produced with Lessack.) Britton
joins other LML artists which include LAStageScene.com favorites Susan Egan,
David Burnham, and Tami Tappan Damiano. Clearly Lessack know “how to pick’
em,” and in Dwayne Britton he’s found an artist sure to become one of the
label’s brightest shining stars.
With a voice of exquisite purity, yet with just a touch of huskiness and a dash of
vibrato, Dwayne Britton makes a memorable debut on his self titled CD. On
some songs, it’s just Dwayne and musical director Scot Wooley on piano. Other
tracks add percussion, a guitar, and a violin for a fuller yet still intimate sound.
Listening to Dwayne’s CD is like having this special performer right in your living
room, singing just to you.
Dwayne’s background in musical theater has given him an actor’s
understanding of the power of lyrics. Even listeners who’ve heard Billy Joel’s
“She’s Got a Way” time and again will feel that they’re hearing the words for
the first time. Perhaps that’s because like all good actors, there’s spontaneity to
Dwayne’s vocals, as if he’s thinking the words right as he sings them. This is
especially true in his interpretation of “Moon River” (which he opens with a few
bars from Leslie Bricusse’s “When I was Younger”). Henry Mancini always said
that no on truly conveyed the meaning of Johnny Mercer’s lyrics better than
Audrey Hepburn. I think he would say that Dwayne Britton comes close.
In the same vein, Dwayne sings a romantically folksy “The Rainbow Connection”
from The Muppet Movie in a way that Kermit the Frog could only dream of,
accompanied only by a solo guitar. Another kid’s film, Pete’s Dragon,
introduced Al Kasha’s “Candle on the Water.” Helen Reddy had the hit, but on
Dwayne’s CD it sounds brand new, Dwayne once again making the lyrics
spontaneous and fresh.
“Why” features Dwayne and a solo acoustic guitar in a rendition of Annie
Lenox’s 1992 hit which starts soft and grows increasingly passionate, and he
gives Trisha Yearwood a run for her money in his quietly emotional interpretation
of her powerful “The Song Remembers When.”
Some of the CD’s songs are new to me. Stephen Schwartz and Dean Pitchford’s
“More than This” is a passionate song about frustration and hope, which has
Dwayne harmonizing with himself … exquisitely. “Under the Tree,” from the little
known Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt musical Celebration, has a quiet jazz sound,
enhanced by Ted Karas brushing the cymbals.
The CD has many high points, but perhaps the two most memorable tracks
come one right after the other, Tracks 8 and 9, which are both discoveries for me.
Brian Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan’s “Run Away With Me” turns out to be all over
YouTube as a lot of young tenors’ current cabaret song of choice. No wonder.
With poetic lyrics, a heart wrenching melody, and a ¾ beat that gradually
increases in speed and intensity, this is a song which defies anyone to listen to it
unmoved, and Dwayne’s heartfelt, un-theatrical rendition is possibly the best of
those on the net.
Right after “Run Away With Me” and before you have a chance to recover from
one emotional rollercoaster, there’s yet another, Tori Amos’ quietly
heartbreaking song of lost love, “Baker Baker,” which Dwayne sings without a
changing “he” to “she,” making this especially powerful to gay listeners.
The album concludes with Alan Menken and David Zippel’s “Go the Distance,”
from Disney’s Hercules. Those familiar only with Michael Bolton’s “power ballad”
original will most likely be hearing Zippel’s inspiring lyrics for the first time, and be
mesmerized by the intimacy of Dwayne’s poetic rendition.
Dwaye Britton The CD was produced by Dwayne Britton and Scot Wooley for Lee
Lessack’s LML label. (Two of the tracks were co-produced with Lessack.) Britton
joins other LML artists which include LAStageScene.com favorites Susan Egan,
David Burnham, and Tami Tappan Damiano. Clearly Lessack know “how to pick’
em,” and in Dwayne Britton he’s found an artist sure to become one of the
label’s brightest shining stars.
| Click here to read LAStageScene. com's interview with Dwayne |
| Purchase Dwayne's CD |
