The Carlyle Set

From USA Today
By Elysa Gardner

"The Carlyle Set (***½ out of 4) Not all sopranos can summon the warmth and intimacy cabaret singing requires, but like Barbara Cook, musical-theater veteran Andreas has the technical and emotional range to pull it off.  Andreas' bell-like tone and fluttery vibrato still sound as fresh as the ingénue roles she built her reputation on.  But whether offering a jazzy, playful take on Lerner and Loewe's "Show Me" or a wistful, caressing "Alfie," this girl singer is never just a pretty voice.  At a time when posers such as Rod Stewart are reinforcing the ignorant perception of traditional pop and Broadway standards as lounge-lizard fare, it's refreshing to hear this material handled with the intuition and class it deserves."

Here's to the Ladies

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"For Chanteuse, Happy Days are Here Again"
by Wendell Brock

As Eliza Doolittle in the 20th-anniversary production of My Fair Lady (1976) and Laurey in the 1980 revival of Oklahoma! Christine Andreas has portrayed some of Broadway's most beloved heroines. But her two Tony Award nominations and one solo recording haven't aroused the kind of fuss to make her a Big Name outside the fairly narrow corridors of the cabaret world.

To hear her new CD -- a lovingly sung personal scrapbook of favorites, originated by the likes of Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Julie Andrews and Angela Lansbury -- is to know what an egregious oversight this is. One of the year's best recordings of Broadway material, it's a showcase for a voice layered with preternatural sparkle, girlish sweetness and a startling grasp of character and control.

Andreas has a better sound and wiser soul than Barbra Streisand, and she may be the only pop soprano working today to rival Barbara Cook. If you think Merman gave the definitive reading of "Some People," listen to Andreas' gutsy, "goodbye to blueberry pie" anthem of maternal resourcefulness, from Gypsy. I can't turn it off. If Martin's "A Wonderful Guy" made you believe in the homespun splendor of romance, the tintinnabulous orchestration of Andreas' crystalline version will make you want to shout out to the nearest cornfield.

Some of the credit for this success should go to the fabulous 45-piece band, directed by Lee Musiker. Fortunately, it never overshadows the sound of Andreas' instrument, which reinvents her leading ladies' work in ways that make us believe again in the American musical.

From The Detroit News
By Eric Henrickson

The two-time Tony Award nominee's latest CD is a tribute to the great divas of an earlier Broadway: Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, Angela Lansbury and more. Her thrilling voice moves easily between the tenderness of Annie Get Your Gun, "They Say It's Wonderful" (Merman), to the belt of Funny Girl, "Don't Rain on My Parade" (Barbra Streisand). In between, there's the classic "Shall We Dance?" from The King and I (Gertrude Lawrence) and Peter Pan, "I'm Flying" (Mary Martin). She also has a knack for choosing songs. There are several classics on this CD, but she has thankfully chosen some that are less often recorded: the touching "The Music That Makes Me Dance" from Funny Girl, overshadowed by the more popular "People," and "My Ship" from Lady in the Dark. Backed by a full orchestra and with fresh arrangements, Andreas does a beautiful job of making each song her own without begging comparison to the original performance. She's not trying to make you forget them, but you just might.  4 Stars - Splendid!

From The Tucson Citizen
By Chuck Graham

Making a Broadway show tune sound intimate is not as easy as it sounds. Show tunes are written for booming voices in big theaters, not sexy voices in smoky cabarets. The New York Times called Christine Andreas' voice "a blend of lyricism and sweet sensuality." That sounds good for Broadway, but for playing this album on your own CD player while sealed up in your car or at home stretched out on the couch, different words are needed.

If I only knew what those words would be. Slipping the disc into the player for the first time, I heard a bluesy orchestral introduction to the less familiar "Moonshine Lullaby" from Annie Get Your Gun. Then came her voice - soft, intimate, confident. "Behind the hill is a busy little still," she sings lightly. The ears perk up, like when you hear the throaty purr of a finely tuned Ferrari.

She drops the clutch and roars into the torchy chorus, building to a full-blown ending. The range of intensity is matched by her ability to fill each word with meaning. Even when the words are silly. On the next track, with "They Say It's Wonderful" from the same show, she is singing about love. This time adding the weight of a wondering heart.

If you love the power of a musical show, but sometimes feel as if the singers arrive on stage from a different world, then go back to that world after the show is over, you need this album. Christine Andreas wants to be up close and personal. She can sing you show tunes while sitting before the fire, twisting the fur of a white bearskin rug between her fingers. Marshmallows toasted while you wait.

Love is Good

"Christine Andreas has one of the four or five most compelling voices to be heard in the Broadway theater."
- Stephen Holden, The New York Times

"Many singers have lovely voices.  Very few interpret lyrics the way they were meant to be sung.  On this, her first solo CD, Christine Andreas does just that.  As a lyricist, I can only applaud."
- Hal David