BWW Album Review: Linda Eder's IF YOU SEE ME

Linda Eder's career has had the kind of variety many performers would envy: everything from Broadway to solo albums to concert halls. If You See Me, her latest release, is her seventeenth solo album, which itself is an applause-worthy feat. The album itself is mostly a greatest-hits journey through theatre history, from Gershwin to Sondheim and plenty of others in between. Although some of the tracks don't quite hit the mark, others are genuinely wonderful.

The album kicks off with a pair of classics: "Before the Parade Passes By" from Hello Dolly and Sunset Boulevard's "As If We Never Said Goodbye." These are deceptively tricky songs: emotionally rich and sometimes difficult to perform without ending up very mannered. Eder's vocals vacillate back and forth: she nails the most powerful parts, but sometimes strays into a slightly breathy style that takes us out of the moment.

The energy picks up a bit later in the album, as the song choices take a turn for the jazzy. "Down With Love," midway through the album, is one of the highlights. This type of music is clearly in Eden's wheelhouse, and her voice is perfectly suited to the style.

Some of the tracks here are a little on the overdone side. "What Did I Have That I Don't Have" has some odd vocal mannerisms; combined with the easy-listening vibe makes it one of the more skippable tracks. There are a pair of medleys, both of which sound great on paper, but in practice, do little to transform the songs beyond singing them one after the other instead of as separate tracks. It's a shame that the arrangements don't do a bit more, because some of the pieces - especially the section of "The Best Is Yet To Come" - are excellent on their own.

Eder is by far at her best with the unadorned songs that give her a chance to show off simple, pure vocals. Aside from oddly-chosen backup vocals, her "Pure Imagination" is genuinely beautiful, as is her rendition of "Bring Him Home." By far the best song on the whole album, though, is Carousel's "You'll Never Walk Alone." It's one of the most powerfully moving songs in the American theatre canon, and Eder's calm strength more than does it justice.

One of the effects of covering so many famous songs is that it can be hard to put your own stamp on them. Eder sidesteps this by closing out the album with a pair of songs that feel like they're allowing her personality to shine through. "I Have A Voice," originally written as a charity single for an anti-bullying campaign, feels like the album's anthem: self-assured and hopeful. Finally, "If You See Me" closes out with plenty of energy and charm. If You See Me is a mixed bag, but there are plenty of gems to be found within.

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