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Live For Life (Bella Blue)
The tenderness and passion Opie Bellas imbues in the opening
Since You Stayed Here sets the tone for Live For Life, a simply
wondrous and imaginative collection of nine familiar songs
that sound anything but in Bellas' alluring interpretations and an original work that sends one searching
for the socks that have been knocked off - only after the
tears have been wiped away.
Framed by Michael Moricz's lush and layered orchestrations,
Bellas crafts an emotionally raw and deeply heartfelt listening
experience as she subtly pays tribute to the memory of one
who so touched her heart, her brother John, who Bellas remembers
in her heartbreakingly gorgeous My Brother John. But more
than that, Bellas creates a roadmap that marks moments of
memory that are as universal in their familiarity as they
are personal to Bellas.
Not While I'm Around takes on a sorrowful tone in Moricz's
minor key arrangement, which casts it in an entirely new light,
while the optimistic joy of a life lived is celebrated in
the uplifting title track and sweet Rainbow Connection.
Live For Life is a work that reaches deep into your soul
and ranks as one of the year's finest creations.
Jeff Rossen
Cabaret Scenes Magazine, New York
July Issue, 2002
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