Track Listing

1. Rejoice
2. I (Who Have Nothing)
3. Sancta Maria
4. Secret Love
5. Le Cose Che Sei Per Me
6. How Do You Leave The One You Love?
7. Requiem For A Soldier
8. Somewhere
9. Shout In Silence
10. Be Still My Soul
11. Kiss from a Rose
12. I Will Pray for You
13. Viva Tonight

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1998 in Music
• Released on: 2007-11-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 51 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Reviews
After carving a somewhat lucrative niche as a classical crossover artist, award-winning Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins has seemingly gone "pop" for her fifth album, "Rejoice". Fans can relax, however. Far from attempting a Charlotte Church-style reinvention, Jenkins manages to slide gently and mellifluously into the world of popular music, retaining her trademark operatic vocal style and smooth, unruffled coherence throughout. The slightly arbitrary tracklisting on "Rejoice" mixes up music-theatre standards, modern pop and new material; Seal’s "Kiss From a Rose" nestles comfortably next to evergreens such as "Somewhere" (from West Side Story), classics like Shirley Bassey’s "I Who Have Nothing" and new tracks written by the likes of Steve Mac (Westlife, Toni Braxton), Take That’s Gary Barlow and Simon Franglen (Céline Dion, The Bee Gees). Of these, Barlow’s lush "Viva Tonight" is a highlight, though all are competent enough to add a convincing contemporary veneer to the collection. Far from selling out to the pop market with "Rejoice", Jenkins has made pop fit into with her own inimitable style. --Danny McKenna

CD Description
One-woman classical crossover cottage industry Jenkins follows 2006's 'Serenade' with this, her fifth album in as many years. While on this release she continues to tackle pieces from the classical repertoire and "classicized" renditions of pop standards, it also sees her developing more of a pop sound, with big production numbers sung in English, includingtwo songs written specifically for her by Take That's Gary Barlow.

Customer Reviews

The Good just got Better

Rejoice is the 5th studio album (excluding imports which are largely the same as the UK versions) by Katherine Jenkins. The album stands apart from its predecessors for two reasons: Katherine's new image, and the style of music represented on this latest release.

Firstly the image. Gone is the girl next door look (`Premiere' album cover) to be replaced, thanks to the photographic skills of `Rankin', with an appearance that now does her full justice, as anyone who has seen her live or on TV will probably agree. The cover and sleeve booklet images are in a league above anything seen on her previous albums.

Also, the front cover does show a striking resemblance to Andrea Bocelli's `Sacred Arias' 2002 album, notably with the lack of eye contact and similar smile, and this I think can only be regarded as a compliment to Bocelli. (Incidentally, the 35 x 35cm poster included with the limited edition CD version is from the same photo session as the cover, but this time with eye to camera contact).

Second is the style of music, which is a diversion from that of the previous albums. Until now the song choice has been predominantly classical, opera and traditional mixed with some popular pieces. This time it's completely reversed, with the majority of the album consisting of (relatively) modern popular music, including many songs written specifically for this album.

The new songs such as the title track `Rejoice', `How do you leave the one you love', and `I will Pray For You' are romantic ballads by Steve Mac and Wayne Hector (Westlife, Il Divo, Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson songwriters). Other new compositions like `Shout in Silence' and `Viva Tonight' are contributions by Gary Barlow of Take That.

The classics, and of course there should be some, include `Sancta Maria' (Intermezzo from Mascagni's opera Cavelleria Rusticana) and `Be Still My Soul' (Finlandia by Sibelius).

The unusual are `Somewhere' by Leonard Bernstein, `Secret Love' by Sammy Fain for the 1953 film Calamity Jane, and the 1995 Seal hit `Kiss From a Rose'. These are inspired choices which really do add originality and variety to the album.

The surprises are `I (Who Have Nothing)' based on the traditional Italian love song `Uno dei tanti' (One of the Many) made popular by Dame Shirley Bassey, and perhaps not so surprising is the live `Green Green Grass of Home', complete with enthusiastic cheers and wolf whistles from the Millenium Stadium fans. Great stuff to make you smile.

The special, and my favourite of the album, is the heart rending `requiem for a Soldier' which I think reveals Katherine Jenkins at her emotionally deepest and vocally accomplished. This is a special song for a very special album.

Rejoice will no doubt exceed all previous album sales, and deservedly so, for I think it easily surpasses anything Katherine has released so far.

What next for Katherine?
Even though the new album has generated mixed feelings from many people, I feel that the new album shows the potential for Katherine to move from being a classical crossover artist (though I hate that moniker) to someone that could challenge the so called new "divas". Compared to the U.K's current number 1 album (which I have), Katherine demonsrates more emotion and feeling in a single song than the current No 1 album (2 Dec 07) has in its entirity.
Rejoice shows Katherine's voice off well, though the mix of "pop" and cross-over classical does not always fit well. The mix of songs is understandable considering the demands made on artists to appeal the most listeners possible. Even so, the album is worth every penny and shows the huge potential for Katherine Jenkins as a singing star.

I think Katherine has gone too much in the pop direction now
After hearing a snippet or two of her forthcoming album, I just felt I had to say that in my humble opinion, Katherine has gone too far in the pop direction with this 5th album. Getting to a 5th album must feel amazing, but perhaps the record company has pushed her too hard to try and appeal to the broader public - I don't think that makes sense. As many will also feel, Katherine is blessed with a rich mezzo voice, which really stirs emotion in her lower range. Applying this sumptuous voice to a more popera or pop-like repertoire seems a mistake to me. Her voice always sounds too low, where as in her previous classical tracks, it fits just fine. I don't know why this is, but it comes accross very strongly.

Katherine is a beautiful, talented girl, with a stunning voice. Let's not cheapen her with an attempt to bring her to the general public - she has a large and loyal fanbase (myself included), but we need to be kept with her based on the musical sound she created for us. Taking her in a pop direction, only serves to isolate the very people that loved her sound to start with. I look forward to Katherines "Viva la Diva" tour, which will be stunning I'm sure. She is just so lovely, and a UK institution, please don't cheapen her any further.

Kelly -Liverpool