Center Stage | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 22, 1998[1] | |||
Recorded | 1998 at Westlake Audio Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | Pop rock[1] | |||
Length | 47:05 | |||
Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
Producer | Bruce Kimmel | |||
Helen Reddy chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Billboard | positive[2] |
Center Stage is the sixteenth studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy that was released in 1998 by Varèse Sarabande. Reddy describes the album as the perfect melding of two areas of her career: "the recording studio and the theatrical stage. I tried to select songs from various songwriters in different eras. I've also included (of course) a song from each of the musical shows I've performed in."[3]
The album version of "Surrender" and a longer dance version were released together as a CD single but did not have any appearances on Billboard's Hot 100[4] or Adult Contemporary charts.[5] Of the album version, Reddy writes, "Andrew Lloyd Webber is very rigid about his songs being sung exactly as written. I gave him his due in the first pass at this song from Sunset Boulevard (originally sung over the body of a dead monkey). However, my need for self-expression found its voice in the second half."[6]
Joe Viglione of Allmusic described the album as "masterful"[1] and writes, "The song selection is tremendous, and the performance is a milestone for a singer who has already conquered other formats. Center Stage is a delightful treat and will be a considered a classic years down the road, on that you can be sure."[1] Billboard clarifies, "It's not that she has refashioned her vocal approach -- it remains an affecting ballad voice. But it's employed in the interest here of classy, mostly rarely recorded ballads from the world of musical theater."[2] They conclude, "Reddy makes daring choices throughout this album and meets the challenge every time."[2]