Sarah Brightman
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 11:22 am
Sarah Brightman has of course been around for years and years, and everybody will know her from at least one song, and most people probably associate her with classical music and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
But she does have a few outstanding moments from her highly successful solo albums, and she has tried to transcend boundaries over the years, fusing her soprano sound with everything from trip hop to metal to world, and even covering songs by other artists like Dido and Lisa Gerrard. And she's done incredibly well - her albums have sold some 73million copies according to Wikipedia!?
But while tracks like "Time to Say Goodbye" are probably in everybody's mum's CD rack (it's a nice song), it's the lesser known tracks that I think are sometimes amazingly good. Just listen to this track. I first heard this 10 years ago, and I still think it's her best track ever...
"You Take My Breath Away" (and no, it's not the same song as the one by Berlin from the movie "Top Gun")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtJ_YBHcsmM
It starts with an Indian style, then evolves into a really powerful, soaring pop/world-music track that just builds and builds and builds.....and the final chorus simply flies. I need someone else to tell me I'm not crazy, and this is still awesome. Anyone?
I remember when I first heard it. It was actually used as the music for a montage during the Sydney 2000 Olympics TV coverage. It was so perfect. I instantly went and bought the album, which was...
Fly (1995)
I'd also recommend her track "Eden" from the album of the same name.
Eden (1998)
"Eden"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR99U4PEOjY
Yes she pinches styles (Eden reminds me of Enigma) and songs (Eden was actually originally by now defunct trip-hoppers Hooverphonic), but sometimes it really comes together regardless.