Live The Dream

Album Review

With a debut album that truly lives up to her inspiring breakthrough story, twenty-something singer Kelly King gives hope to thousands of young cruise ship singers who dream of greener (in a multitude of ways) pastures. Trying to make her way in the Big Apple at age 18, King signed a six-month contract to be a lead singer in a musical extravaganza aboard a cruise ship that went from N.Y.C. to Bermuda. Aboard the ship, she met veteran William Morris booking agent Randy Chaplin, who was expanding into musical management at the time. When King's cruise commitment ended, he brought her to Manhattan, booked her in two off-Broadway musicals (Our Sinatra and Moses), and sang her praises to legendary pop arranger Charles Calello (the Four Seasons, Laura Nyro, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand). Calello kept saying he didn't have time to listen to King's makeshift demo, but serendipity brought the singer and the arranger together one night when Calello was opening in New Jersey for the Four Seasons and his lead singer for "All By Myself" got sick. In a panic, Calello called Chaplin to find a high-profile replacement; Chaplin offered King instead and the upstart singer earned a five-minute standing ovation. Cut to Live the Dream, King's powerful, multifaceted debut on CMG (Calello Music Group), which came out after King had already performed with Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Brenda Lee, Al Green, Dolly Parton, and numerous others. The disc quickly spawned a Radio & Records' AC Top 25 hit single with the seductive ballad "I Don't Wanna Sing That Song," which was co-penned by John Rich (of Big & Rich). It's a likable track, but is only one of a few mellow songs on what is otherwise a slickly produced, groove- and electric guitar-intensive dance date. Among the others are the delicate and soaring "Dreamer" and the Walter Afanasieff co-write "How Can We Say Goodbye," which could easily have gone to Celine Dion. The great news is that even on infectious body-burners like "Get Over It" and thumping numbers like "Unlock the Flow" and the disco-fied "Gravity," King's high-powered five-and-a-half-octave-range voice leaps in front of the edgy production values. Adding to the great variety is the scorching acoustic blues jam "I'm a Fool." Aside from being a solid kickass presentation of King's multitude of gifts and musical interests, this diverse date celebrates everything good about indie-minded music-making in the mid-2000s.