Cook, Dixon, & Young: Volume 1

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Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

LEAN BACK, LISTEN - YOU'LL ENJOY ! August 4, 2005
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Those who have heard this talented trio don't need to be told how thoroughly enjoyable this CD is. But, for those who haven't had the pleasure as yet - here's a heads-up.

Countertenor Victor Trent Cook copped a Tony nomination for his role in Broadway's "Smokey Joe's Cafe." His resume also includes appearances at the White House, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center.

Rodrick Dixon has sung with the Chicago Lyric Opera as well as pleasing audiences with his performances in "Ragtime" and "Showboat."

The third member of the trio, Thomas Young, must keep his suitcase packed as he has performed in the opera and concert halls of over 20 countries. Plus, he has appeared in the national touring companies of "Pippin" and "The Wiz."

Whether listeners have a particular love for classical music, jazz, soul, or gospel, all will find much to enjoy when this topnotch threesome sings out.

Volume One, which is being released to coincide with their PBS "Great Performances" special, is a showcase for not only the trio's vocal ability but also for their versatility with selections ranging from opera to jazz to classics.

A veritable treasure of musical genres, Volume One includes several selections from Verdi's operas, a hot version of Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing," as well as the rollicking "Luck Be A Lady" from Frank Loesser's "Guys and Dolls."

Mr. Dixon offers a soaring solo on "Fly Me To The Moon," while Mr. Cook poignantly revisits "Mr. Bojangles." And, that's not all. Lean back, listen, and enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

5 out of 5 stars

A Never To Be Forgotten Experience November 2, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

A few years ago I was blown away when I saw the PBS special featuring Cook, Dixon, and Young as "Three Mo' Tenors." I didn't think they could improve after such a dynamic and mesmerizing performance. I was mistaken. The "Cook, Dixon and Young Volume 1" CD is over the top. You are pulled out of your seat, wherever you are, with each new rendition. Opera, soul, broadway, R&B, mainstream, jazz, Hip Hop, gospel, are the selected venues this time. These amazing tenors attack their operatic roles with such confidence and passion. Even if you think you don't like opera, you will surely change your mind after listening to these three. The call and response excerpts involve audience and you can actually hear the enthusiasm in their response. "Three Mo'Tenors" excited us with "Minnie the Moocher." "Volume 1" takes us even higher with a little Hip Hop thrown into the mix. You experience, with the audience, the delighted surprise with its inclusion. The tributes to Ray Charles, Aretha, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Gladys(of course)brought the house down. Then they added the BeeGees' "Stayin' Alive." You can hear the shocked disbelief in the audience's response. They loved each note of "Stayin Alive" because Cook, Dixon and Young's voices were perfectly blended for that selection. "Give Me a Clean Heart" and "I Need You to Survive" are songs my choir sings in church. The vocal interpretation and arrangements were exactly right to showcase each tenor's voice. I loved the rendition of "Home." It brought chills to my body. Because of the escalated and wild responses of the audience, I felt like I was right there in the midst of this concert. The applause, the voices, the excited comments, the noise of appreciation was so genuine and filled with emotions. This CD will send you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. It is the only CD I have in my car right now. I am waiting for the DVD and for a repeat performance on PBS. Cook, Dixon and Young Volume 1 has been added to my special DVD concert collection. I wish everyone could share in this never to be forgotten experience.

5 out of 5 stars

They are back - and better than ever! August 5, 2005
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This album showcases the brilliant artistry of these three outstanding singers! There is a vibrant taste of every genre you want to hear and even a few things you weren't expecting but will end up loving! The arrangements are rich tapestries vocally and orchestrally - filled with humor at time(thanks Alvin Waddles) and many threads of color and depth. The group numbers are outstanding in core and delivery vocally. From Duke Ellington to Birdland to Clean Heart to Wayfaring Stranger to an amazing medley encompassing Ray Charles' Georgia through Stevie Wonder and Aretha to the Bee Gees (yes the Bee Gees!) we are taken on a journey of music and spirit that can only be served by the power of Cook Dixon & Young.
The solo songs and arias are exceptional and show these men at their best. Victor Trent Cook shows his light lyric tenor and vulnerability of character in a moving Mr Bojangles; his baroque stylistic ideas in the Handel aria Sento La Gioia gave space and dance and show his tremendous potential in this repertoire! And wait til you hear his "Aretha" - you'll be screaming for more!
Rodrick Dixon creates excitement and bravura in his aria from Il Trovatore giving this warrior definition and humanness. He creates a moving and exciting intimacy in Fly Me to the Moon. Cook and Dixon create a raw and exciting duet that will give you goosebumps in Bring Him Home/Home.
Thomas Young is at his best - but when is he not? His Celeste Aida is warrior-still in strength, power and passion, finding nuance texturally and vocally that puts him hands-down among the finest tenors EVER to sing this role. His love-song, When Did You Leave Heaven, claims truth and beauty and sizzles with a blues quality you feel in your bones. His Luck Be a Lady has depth of character and fascinating vocal and stylistic nuance - and yes! he bebops!
These men are themselves - Cook Dixon & Young - they share a spoken word on this album that will allow their fans a little more to touch and realize. It is exciting to hear the audience response to this on the album too!
These men have chemistry with their music and their art and each other! You can't replicate that and you can't teach that. They are unique; They are marvellous; They are COOK DIXON & YOUNG!

4 out of 5 stars

Good..not great October 31, 2005
8 out of 17 found this review helpful

First off, let me say that I love these guys and that I'm very pleased that they've come out with another project.
They are unparalelled in "tenor" history, for their multifaceted repertoire.

Let me also say that, in order to fully appreciate their talent you'll need to both listen to the Cd and then buy the DVD. The DVD for this concert is currently only available on PBS.com, but it is well worth investing in.

Now, on to the actual review, and on to why I didn't give this CD a 5 star rating.
I will review most songs for the benefit of those who may be familiar with the tunes.

Libiamo - Hmmm....not sure that was the best song to go with for those 3 period! Their voices are not suitable to this aria, mainly because it is a tenor/sporano duet. Mr's Dixon and Young take the tenor parts while Mr. Cook does the soprano section. NOT a good mix. Though, technically, a counter tenor is capable of singing a soprano part, it is NEVER a pleasing sound, nor does it fit the music.
Bottom line, the song doesn't work.

It' don't mean a thing - The old Ellington chestnut...they've done a good job with the arrangement, but gain, I just don't feel their voices to be suited for that sort of music.
Bottom line, I skip over this one both on the CD and DVD.

Fly me to the Moon - Mr' Dixon's first solo. Aside form loosing his pitch and an entire note, this is a very entertaining, and soulful reading of that old standard.
Bottom line, it works....just don't expect a Sinatra type of reading.

Mr. Bojangles - Mr. Cook's first solo. This has got to be one of my favs on both the CD and DVD. Mr. Cook sounds MUCH better in his natural, lower register and he really does a wonderful job on this song. Aside from a few pitch issues, this may well be the best reading of this song I've yet to hear.
Bottom line - It works. Great overall performance.

When did you leave heaven - Mr. Youngs first solo. Nice job. Of all three singers, Mr. Young is the oldest (by far) yet his is the most versatile of all three voices, and he just seems to be able to make almost any song work. Nice arrangement, nice interpretation.
Bottom line, not one of my fav songs, but it is very well done.

Birdland - Trio...they could have left that off! It's a swinging tune, but it did nothing for me. Another skip-over.

Di quella pira - Mr. Dixon's operatic solo. Well, the man has one of the biggest voices period, however, his sound is very different from what most people, including myself, would consider an operatic tenor sound, and as such, I'm a bit at odds with this one. On the upshot, all the notes are there, and seeing as this is one of the most difficult arias to sing, he nails it. He sustains the high C in the finale so long, it's almost ridiculous, but again, it works.
Bottom line, it works. Solid tenor performance.

Sento la gioia - Mr. Cook's operatic offering. I hate to say this, but this counter tenot stuff really doesn't do it for me. This is a baroque period song, historically performed by a castrati. The sound is un-natural and not at all pleasent to the modern ear. Also, Mr. Cook seems to have prepetual pitch issues, which do not help this whole deal.
Bottom line, if you like the counter tenor sound you may like this, other wise this too is a skip over.

Celeste Aidea - Again, Mr. Young prooves the most accomplished of the three. HIs reading of this famous aria is not perfect, but technically and vocally very solid. It's all there, the notes, the pitch, and the dynamics.
Bottom line, it works. Very good reading of the aria.

Spiritual Medley - Very nice. Sung in an ensemble, very restrained and appropriate. Voices fit the selection to a T.
One of the most moving pieces in the concert.

Luck be a lady - Mr. Youngs' turn on another solo. It works. I never liked that song regardles of who sings it, but all things being equal, Mr. Young does a nice job with it.

Home Medley - Mr's Cook and Dixon pair up here. Very nice. Mr. Dixon offers perhaps the most soul inflected reading of Bring him home to date. So much so that I'd have loved to hear this one in and by itself. Unfortunately, Mr. Cook's pitch problems tarnished this otherwise stellar perfromance at tad. He does a decent job on Home, but looses control of his notes throughout most of the song. Spectacular finale though.

Soul Medley: Trio again. Mr. young starts with Georgia on my mind and, of course, does it ever so well. Mr. Dixon comes in with my all time favorite song, Sam Cooke's A change...and totally undersung it. Inexplicably Mr. Dixon takes the song at a very low key, far below the original b flat, and though he tries to spruce it up with ad-libbing, it's a bit of a let-down.
Mr. Cook follows with a dreadful Aretha Franklin "Respect" cover. Once again, pitch is a real issue for him. The rest of the Medley includes an uneven "I wish" by Stevie Wonder, an equally insipid Gladys Knight "I heard it..", a dead in the water "Shinning Star" and a, has nothing to do with Soul, "Stayin alive"...also not anything that needed to be included in the program.

Spoken Word Interlude - Some may call this inspirational. I don't! Here each singer gives a "poetic" reading of who they are. Comes across as a pseudo "testimonial" as witnessed in many church services. If I want church, I'll go there.
Another skip-over.

Give me a clean heart - It's gospel time! Again, not a fan of religious music in a secular concert setting, but they did a really, really nice job on this one. Would have worked better in a church type setting, but great job non the less.

When the saints.. - Skip over! It's a cheesy, corny song...always has been, no matter who sings it.

I need you to survive - Church time once more and again. Now this is what really get's me about these guys. Leave your religion at home fellas! Nobody cares what their religious orientation is, and very few people will buy this CD/DVD to hear a Gospel concert. As for the song, it's cute, but falls in the skip over category as well.

WOW! With so many critial remarks, I'm sure you wonder why 4 stars?! The voices, the versatility, the uniqueness of the trio. No tenor ensemble does what they do, all in one concert. Like I said, I love these guys, and I love this CD.

5 out of 5 stars

Tremendous trio August 11, 2005
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Isn't it great to hear voices at the top of their games?
The range, the blend, the energy; all the very best for us to enjoy. These guys are fantastic!

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