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| Artist: Tarja
Label: Universal Int'l
Category: Music
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $10.01
You Save: $9.97 (50%)
New (29) Used (9) from $7.99
Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 47453
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.5
UPC: 602517466876
EAN: 0602517466876
ASIN: B000X5KSWM
Release Date: November 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 27
 Trying to avoid comparisons... March 26, 2008
anime watcher (San Diego)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
but how can you not as it would be a rare person who didn't come to Tarja from Nightwish. I happened to buy both Dark Passion Play and My Winter Storm together because I wanted to listen to them together with no biases ahead of time as to what I would like or not.
Unfortunately I found DPP very lackluster, due to no fault of the new singer. I listened to it twice, the second time to confirm that it was still just as boring as the first time. Even had Tarja been on it, there was no saving it. I do own all their previous cds.
My Winter Storm, on the other hand, I've been listening to quite a bit. I'm actually surprised at how much I'm enjoying it, considering my favorite Nightwish song is Dark Chest of Wonders. There is nothing with that kind of hard punch on this cd at all (though Die Alive has a decent hard drive to it). But if you enjoy Tarja's singing, I don't see how you wouldn't like this recording. The songs create an atmosphere that suit her voice and style perfectly.
A Decent Listen May 1, 2008
S. Hierspiel
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
There is inevitably going to be comparisons with this and with "Dark Passion Play" Nightwish's new album that has also been released recently. People are going to be acrimonious and be either "for" or "against" and will likewise spam both albums with their viewpoint.
This will not be one of those reviews. I am both a fan of Nightwish, and a fan of Tarja. Each album deserves the respect of being judged on its own merits, and not on the merits of what "could have been".
That being said, I find this to be a decent attempt at Tarja establishing herself. She has had one previous album, but was still with Nightwish at the time. Now that she has not that protective failsafe, I find her caution with certain things understandable. This album offers a little to the rockers with some of the heavier songs, and the bombastic like deliveries of music. It also offers the crooning ballads. It tries to be many things to give many people a little of what she thinks they want.
It is VERY clear that her self-pride is intact. Her defiance seeths in "I walk alone", and casting herself as the phoenix that burns those that come near while she draws them in is classic Diva.
Ultimately this album is about Tarja showcasing her lovely voice. On that she delivers.
I allow myself this small comparison to Nightwish, because I feel it germane...the lyrics on this album are not very subtle. Tarja never strikes me as a subtle person, but I do rather miss the multi-layered and poetic lyricism of Tuomos to place her voice against. It is my hope in future albums she will become more comfortable and willing to expand into challenging material.
All in all, this was a competent, satisfying and safe debut as a totally single artist.
 Another missed opportunity June 20, 2008
Justin Gaines (Atlanta, GA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
The split between Tarja and her former band Nightwish was as public as it was bitter, so I won't dwell on that, save to say that I had high hopes for both parties. Sometimes these splits do in fact work well for everyone concerned (see Helloween/Gamma Ray and Angra/Shaman). Unfortunately that wasn't the case for Tarja's former bandmates in Nightwish. Instead of recruiting one of the readily available "opera metal" singers to take Tarja's place, they wasted what would otherwise have been their most epic and ambitious album with a singer (Annette Olzon) who was painfully inexperienced and out of her league. I was hoping that my disappointment with Dark Passion Play would be alleviated by My Winter Storm, but sadly that was not the case.
My Winter Storm could have been a triumph. Tarja's voice is in terrific shape, she assembled a solid backing band, and the symphonic elements that made Nightwish so appealing are in place. Unfortunately the album is, well, boring. It lacks anything remotely resembling a pulse. You hear the electric guitars kick in and start thinking "oh yeah, this is where it's going to start to rock", and then...nothing. The song ends. Imagine if every song on Once sounded exactly like "Creek Mary's Blood" and you'll get a feel for My Winter Storm. I realize Tarja probably wanted to distance herself from Nightwish, and that's understandable, but trying to suddenly become Sarah Brightman has the potential to alienate a huge group of the people who made her a household name (in Finland) in the first place. There are a handful of beautiful songs on this album ("I Walk Alone" is terrific), but by and large My Winter Storm just seems like another missed opportunity from the Nightwish breakup.
Oh, and as much as I love a creative cover song, Tarja's version of the Alice Cooper hit "Poison" is an absolute disaster. It literally makes my ears hurt.
Ultimately Nightwish fans lost out twice. Nightwish is no longer what it was, and Tarja's solo material is nowhere near what it could have been. It's a shame, but I guess we'll always have Once.
 Tarja delivers! January 2, 2008
Yaroslav Trofimov (Brooklyn, NY United States)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've got this CD as New Year gift for myself. I'm very glad I did, Tarja voice is very strong, powerfull. One most important thing she delivers all songs with so strong emotions, and passion. Thank you Tarja!
Nightwish's loss is the world's gain January 29, 2008
T. B. Willis (Aiken, South Carolina USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
WOW!! The voice of Nightwish releases this disc of absolutely fabulous tracks that can open one's mind to the true emotion buried within. This collection quire possibly will prove why Nightwish has been a powerhouse in the rock genre Good luck to Nightwish to recover from such a loss. But, the world can enjoy an unhindered presence of Tarja and her magnificent pipes.
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