Marin Mazzie fans are fortunate that Broadway’s wonderful soprano has finally released a solo album after more than two decades of charming us on the stage. Following in the line of previous stage performers, the album Make Your Own Kind of Music is a an addition to the 54 Below Live Series which has seen various musical theatre stars revealing solo albums of their concerts.
Her only previous non-musical album was the divine Opposite You (2012), a duet album with husband Jason Danieley. As a fan of Marin’s lush voice, I was looking forward to this recording of her 54 Below Concert. Billed as an opportunity for her to tell her own story using music she’s never sung before, Make Your Own Kind of Music presents a different side of Marin. And, it is possibly the most personal of the 54 Below albums in recent memory. Traveling through her adolescent to teen years living in Illinois, and Middle America, with her parents and brother, Marin traces how her music shaped her life – and not theatre music, but top 40 music of her era.
The album provides a splendid chance to hear Marin as we do not usually hear her. A highlight is her note-perfect rendition of Dusty Springfield's "Son Of A Preacher Man" and the eponymous number from the album, "Make Your Own Kind of Music". The album's greatest treasure is its ability to display the dynamic, and sometimes, conflicting sides of Marin the performer - from warm and sweet on "I Think I Love You" to sultry on "Begin the Beguine" to wise and reflective on "Make Your Own Kind of Music". Sometimes the change in personality occurs mid-song. It's an ambitious set of songs. They don't seem readily complementary, but through sheer nerve Marin makes it work.
The ambition and personality attached to the album makes it an unusual task for criticism. Marin remains in top form and even on songs that do not quite complement her voice (or working with arrangements that are not ideal for her rich timbre) each number has something impressive to offer. Where the album reaches its main hurdle, is where so many live albums do. Performing live is more than just a vocal thing, and the constant titters from the audience indicate that Marin is both delivering interest vocal as she is delivering some fascinating visual addition. Of course, though, that visual aspect is unable to be translated through to an album. It’s an inherent issue with any live album, but it feels more perceptible here. In the fabric of the show, part-way renditions of the songs add to part of the entire whole of the experience Marin is taking the audience on, and although this live recording is a memento of that it robs the album of a great deal of its listenability. Any Marin fan would enjoy the anecdotes of her childhood, and they’re an integral part of what Marin attempts here.
But ultimately it’s that personal aspect, translated through her monologues, which becomes Make Your Own Music’s biggest crutch. The stories she tells give us a lovely chance to hear Marin work her comedic bones. But, it’s a shame, the chance to get intimate with Marin comes at the expense of her beautiful voice. A good example is “Evergreen”. Marin takes a chance to sing the Oscar-winning Streisand tune from A Star is Born and sounds gorgeous doing it, but her mellifluous tones are interrupted mid-way through for some midway context. The story of her Catholic teacher’s skepticism about the song’s subtle sex references is, indeed, hilarious but it leaves me feeling robbed the opportunity of hearing Marin’s voice soar with the power of that song. This is an example too common on the album which thrills, but never soars as much as you'd hope it to.
"Make Your Own Music" becomes a key piece of any Marin fan's discography of this excellent singer, with more than a few numbers to treasure, with a personal account of Marin's youthful life. As a compilation of music, it's idiosyncratic and unique but is never quite as immaculate as one could hope. But, it's hard to stay mad at the music Marin makes when her voice remains in such fine form.
