Didn't have to wait 'til Tuesday

[Bruce Bernard Williams]

Just picked up my copy of "Now" and it surpasses anything and everything I'd expected. Sounds richer and fuller on my home system as opposed to the samples on my computer. Dionne really outdid herself on this one! Wish someone would suggest to her and Phil to do a "Now II".

[gillanddon]

I also like 'Now' a lot Bruce .. especially the new songs 'I Just Have To Breathe' and 'Be Aware' ..beautiful timing and tone to them I too hope Dionne will record again and I'm sure she will. She has had huge coverage here in the UK and Europe with a +++ hectic schedule. I look forward to FULL bodied Country and Western album.

[GehVorbei]

Now, finally I got a CD in my hands here in Germany, too. After the progression from online samples, over the full streamed album, downloads through iTunes etc. I'm now totally blown away by the sound and the production values of the CD. It's funny after all the discussion we had here that this turns out so perfect and rich and expensive sounding: Real instruments everywhere, big name studio musicians, big name background singers. And the impact and the quality of at least the 4 special songs plus "Make It Easy" "Be Aware" and " I Just Have to B." matches everything that she has done at Arista. I think "It Was Almost Like A Song" is her best power ballad sing "I Know I Never..." and "Love Is Still The Answer" her best Bacharach recording since "Finders Of Lost Loves". And "99 Miles to L.A." becomes an instant classic...Maybe it's just me but I'm not trying to promote anything here anymore it's the way I really feel. And I loved the Jimmy Cahn album but "Now" will stay closer to my heart for the decades to come.

I could have done without the more obvious rerecordings but they are part of the package and were probably a precondition for the whole thing to happen...

Given the present status of the industry, the unavailability of new material to older artists and the relatively moderate chart-success of "Now" in the UK, I'm pretty sure that this will prove to be Dionne's final full album. I don't think she has ever - not even Heartbreaker- promoted an album more aggressively in the UK than this but the moment she left the country "Now" dropped out of the top 100. So, I think this is her final album but I'm very, very happy that "Now" happened.

[face]

GehVorbei, I finally got my CD. I agree with everything you've said, and I'm surprised that no one is really talking about the CD here. Her current voice is still a pleasure to listen to when it is recorded and produced properly (as the Christmas CD, the Sammy Khan CD, and this one demonstrate so well). I wonder, though, why do you think that this will be Dionne's final album? The fact that she is still able to get deals and release music every few years must mean that her sales are strong enough to support the investment, even if the albums don't sell truckloads anymore. No label is going to intentionally lose money on her, even if she is a legend, so I think that loyal fans like us are buying enough of her output to enable her to record for as long as she wants to even though she hasn't had a bona fide hit in over twenty years now. Nonetheless, if this does prove to be her final full album, I'd be satisfied, because this one is worthy of her legacy.

One last thing: In "Almost Like a Song," there is a moment that is just so classic Dionne. When she sings, "January thruuuuuuu December..., " it's just so uniquely Dionne. I can almost picture music notes gliding out of her mouth and floating towards Heaven, which is the image that Dionne always creates for me when she is at her best. No one does it like her.