Ann Hampton Callaway - Sibling Revelry

This entertaining live show from New York's Rainbow & Stars club in 1995 joins singing sisters Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway. The former is a suave jazz singer with a darker tone and sensational versatility; the latter is a clear-as-a-bell soprano best known for her late-'90s stint as Broadway's Grizabella in Cats. The album is sort of a musical autobiography, as the sisters sing together as well as trace their separate artistic developments through their choices of solo numbers. Ann demonstrates her cabaret repertoire with Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer's heartbreaker "Old Friend," while Liz displays her Broadway background with Stephen Schwartz's glorious "Meadowlark" and Frank Loesser's tender "My Heart Is So Full of You." The two also playfully spar with snappy patter and humorous duets, the most notable being "The Huge Medley," which strings together bits from over a dozen female duets, and the theme song from TV's The Nanny, which Ann wrote and the sisters recorded for the opening credits. A terrific recording. --David Horiuchi Amazon.com

Pure Delight

This is a great live album featuring these two talented sisters. Their voices are wonderful and the musical selections outstanding. First rate stuff. February 21, 2008

Don't Just Sit There -- Buy This Album!

Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway are a Dynamic Duo. Individually they are phenomenal singers but together they are remarkable! Recorded live in concert, it's an evening to remember even for those of us who weren't there! It allows us to enjoy and relive it again and again without ever tiring of their amazing blend, their individual vocals and their sisterly banter. December 29, 2007

Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves...

Ann Hampton and Liz Callaway have been well-known by Broadway and Cabaret afficionados for years. This CD, recorded live at the Rainbow & Stars in 1995 is a wonderful showcase for older sister Ann's deep jazz-tinged crooning and younger sister Liz's clear-bell Broadway soprano. Together or apart, their singing is definitely top notch.

Highlights are "The Huge Medley Parts 1 & 2" where the sisters go through a medley of every song that was recommended them by friends and colleagues who knew they were doing a show together. It's hilarious!

Also, their "jealousy-tinged" version of "Friendship" is good for several laughs at the expense of sibling-rivalry and "The Nanny Named Fran" is also an example of how even a sitcom theme can sound classy if approached with creativity and elan.

However, the CD has a few clunkers and they mostly occur when the sisters sing solo. While Ann Hampton does wonders with a medley of "My Buddy" and "Old Friend", she loses my interest with "Rhythm in My Nursery Rhymes". It's less about her scat singing (which is quite good), and more about the dullness of the song itself. Little sis Liz fares no better with the tepid Frank Loesser tune "My Heart is So Full of You", although she does ignite some sparks with her take on Stephen Schwartz's "Meadowlark".

Suprisingly, what would seem to be the most suitable duet on the album, Stephen Sondheim's "Our Time" (from the wonderfully difficult show MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG) sounds tired and lackluster. But the sisters soon rebound with a brilliant English version (a capella no less!) of Michel Legrand's "You Must Believe In Spring", from Jacques Demy's wonderful film LES DESMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT.

Overall, a great CD, that despite a few low points, is still pretty fun to listen to and an important addition to any musical theatre fan's collection. June 16, 2003

Never Such Devoted Sisters

I listened to Liz Callaway's album The Story Goes On, also on here, in a store and wondered where I had heard her voice. I remembered hearing her as the singing voice of Anastacia in the animated musical and liked her voice then. I fell in love with her voice and purchased that cd. I checked on Amazon for other recordings and saw this one so I ordered it. I loved it. The best song by Ann Hampton Callaway is My Buddy, My Old Friend. It is sure to make you cry and I play it over and over. I already had Liz Callaway's album and one of her songs is on this album as well as The Story Goes On, "Meadowlark" which she does with such a clear voice and this is a great arrangement of the song. I am partial to Liz's voice although they blend well together and as I stated earlier, "My Buddy... is a 3 hankee weeper song with a gorgeous piano and vocal arrangement. The duets including "The Nanny" and "Friendship" are fun to listen to. I was a big fan of The Nanny show so I enjoyed hearing that again and remember Friendship mostly from I Love Lucy episode. I enjoy the banter between the two sisters with cracks on age and who has won the most awards and The Big Medley is fun and has great vocals as well. It has many familiar songs from Broadway and elsewhere including Enough is Enough( Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, Sisters from White Christmas, Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy that Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland sang. I don't know what else to say to sell you on this album. This album and Liz Callaway's solo are probably two of the best cds I ever owned and I own hundreds so that is saying a lot. I am sure you won't be disappointed in this cd! November 29, 2002

A Must-Have for any self-respecting theatre-goer!

Ann and Liz really shine on this one. Their mix of Broadway and jazz styles, along with their great senses of humor, make this one of my all-time favorite cd's. Sorry Alice & Emily, these "real" sisters have you beat! June 13, 2002

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