Gladys Knight Honors The Great Performers Before Her

"Before Me" is a tribute CD released on May 2, 2006.  This CD was produced by the talented music genius, Phil Ramone. The orchestra is perfect for these jazz ballads and standards. I can't find out who these superb musicians were but if anyone out there does, please share the info with me. I love the sound of Gladys Knight's voice and while her voice on this CD is smoother and clearer, it works perfectly for this group of great songs I have listed below.  I particularly loved her version and arrangement of "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me". "This Bitter Earth"is also one of my favorites on this CD.   I read a lot of reviews for this CD and was surprised to see quite a few reviews from Gladys Knight fans that were  not moved by it.  I think the problem is that  the core Gladys Knight  fans like her when she is sings R & B and gospel songs and had difficulty moving into these jazz  standards.  I had no problem, in fact, the songs on this CD fit  like an old comfortable glove. If you love the sound of Gladys Knight and the great evergreen songs listed below, you need to get this CD.  Over the past few years, we have seen many popular contemporary singers like Rod Stewart, who have put out CDs of songs from the Great American Songbook. While I was personally happy to see this occur, most of the product offered has been pretty average in my opinion.  None the less, the results were good for all lovers of these great songs because Mr Stewart and others have exposed their fans, many for the first time, to our "Special" music. I have listed the songs on this CD below and wonder how many of my readers can identity who the performers were that did the signature recordings of these songs.  If you can name any or all of the signature performers on these songs , please let me know.

1. "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me"

2. "The Man I Love"

3. "Good Morning Heartache"

4. "Since I Fell For You" 

5. "God Bless The Child"

6. "This Bitter Earth"

7. "I Got It Bad"

8. "Someone To Watch Over Me"

9. "But Not For Me"

10. "I'll Be Seeing You"

11. "Stormy Weather"

12.  "Come Sunday"