Rod Cook - "After All"

by Carol Dunphy

I was naturally curious when a friend of mine gave me this CD of show tunes and other pop standards. This is the type of CD a reviewer puts on with crossed arms. Within minutes, though, I was intently listening to something surprisingly worthwhile.

Granted, having a bit of familiarity with the songs and the original recordings (I personally own Secret Garden and Les Miserables) enables a quick comparison. But the more I compared, the more I realized that this album is an achievement. These songs were done in Anchorage with, judging from the credits, nearly forty musicians. This remarkable CD is not only comparable with any recording from a major label, but is in many ways superior.

After All shows a wide variety of styles that at first don't seem complementary. But unlike the narrow vocal style of, say, Mandy Patinkin - who attempts the same range and type of material - Rod Cook uses his vocal ability to great effect in connecting these tunes. The producing team of Kurt Riemann (also the engineer) and Cook himself certainly put in a lot of work in making this CD cohesive. Cook has a strong tenor voice well suited to his material, with a touch of pop interpretation.

Four of the songs use a full symphony orchestra and Cook never seems to get lost through the heavily orchestrated "Stars", "Bring Him Home" and "I Dreamed a Dream", all from Les Miserables. In "Bring Him Home" Cooks voice pulls back at all the right moments, creating an honestly touching interpretation. Some of these versions are actually better (there, I said it) than the original cast recordings. Those are so distilled from over-rehearsal that they seem less genuine than Rod Cook. After All is refreshing because it's not likewise overbaked.

Over The Rainbow, with a simple nylon string guitar performance by Shawn Lyons as a backdrop for the classic Oz song, works well as a contrast. The choice of material runs the range from Kenny Loggins to Billy Joel. The pop tunes aren't huge hits and give you some leeway to enjoy Cook's interpretation.

Now mind you, this music isn't for everyone - I happen to like show tunes and standards, whereas others don't - and if you're looking for polished New York material, there's plenty of that already on the shelves.

There are some vocal moments that at first seem to falter but on a second and third listening these seem to be emotive moments that tend to be whitewashed on other albums. It's refreshing to hear actual "performances" as opposed to a pastiche of perfect takes. I felt that the singing and music read the intent of the songs. Rod Cook isn't a voice we all grew up with, like Sinatra or Jarreau, so it will take some attention to find out who he is. But that attention will be rewarded.

After All aims high. And certainly you could try to find something about the performances to quibble with. I think he probably could have dropped a couple of the slower tunes. But honestly, something that attempts so much needs to be compared with other major releases. And one could find exactly the same faults with the major artists because on a larger scale perfection isn't the issue, music is. Turning a critical eye to the genre does no good, you must take the music head-on for what it wants to accomplish.

I look forward to a second album. And while I'm uncertain if he is looking for national attention, he certainly has achieved something worthy of it.

Carol Dunphy is a sometimes music and theater reviewer and member of the Alaska Music Industry Association.