Center Stage | ||||
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Studio album by Helen Reddy | ||||
Released | September 22, 1998 | |||
Recorded | 1998 at Westlake Audio Los Angeles, California |
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Genre | Vocal Pop/Rock |
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Length | 47:05 | |||
Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
Producer | Bruce Kimmel | |||
Helen Reddy chronology | ||||
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Center Stage is the sixteenth studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy that was released in 1998 by Varèse Sarabande. Reddy describes the album as the perfect melding of two areas of her career: "the recording studio and the theatrical stage. I tried to select songs from various songwriters in different eras. I've also included (of course) a song from each of the musical shows I've performed in."
The album version of "Surrender" and a longer dance version were released together as a CD single but did not have any appearances on Billboard's Hot 100 or Adult Contemporary charts. Of the album version, Reddy writes, "Andrew Lloyd Webber is very rigid about his songs being sung exactly as written. I gave him his due in the first pass at this song from Sunset Boulevard (originally sung over the body of a dead monkey). However, my need for self-expression found its voice in the second half."
Joe Viglione of Allmusic described the album as "masterful" and writes, "The song selection is tremendous, and the performance is a milestone for a singer who has already conquered other formats. Center Stage is a delightful treat and will be a considered a classic years down the road, on that you can be sure."Billboard clarifies, "It's not that she has refashioned her vocal approach -- it remains an affecting ballad voice. But it's employed in the interest here of classy, mostly rarely recorded ballads from the world of musical theater." They conclude, "Reddy makes daring choices throughout this album and meets the challenge every time."