Some People's Lives

Performer: Bette Midler
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Bette Midler (vocals); Gene Bertoncini, Dean Parks, Michael Landau, Andrew Gold (guitar); Phil Bodner (clarinet); Andy Snitzer (soprano saxophone); Nino Tempo (tenor saxophone); Marc Shaiman, Bernie Layton (piano); Robbie Buchanan (keyboards, programming); Joe Mardin (keyboards); Michael Boddicker (synthesizers); Ron Carter, Neil Steubenhaus (bass); Grady Tate, Carlos Vega (drums); Steve Kroon, Gary Coleman (percussion). Recorded at Ocean Way Studios, Studio 55 and Studio Ultimo, Los Angeles, California and Battery Studios, BMG Studios, Elecric Lady Studios and Greene Street Recording, Inc., New York, New York. Originally released in 1990, SOME PEOPLE'S LIVES continues Bette Midler's move away from campy diva and toward sincere adult-contemporary crooner. As usual with Midler, the ballads are standouts, and the album's single "From a Distance" and the stirring title track are cases in point. The repertoire is varied, including uptempo groovers ("One More Round"), standards ("Miss Otis Regrets"), and contemporary fare (Diane Warren's "Moonlight Dancing"). The production is a bit overwrought at times, but Midler's vocal performances are powerful throughout.

Stereo Review (1/91) - "Her first non-soundtrack album in nearly eight years ...Midler returns to the kind of middle ground she inhabits best, a musical arena in which she can be free to be both emotional and campy without crossing the line into excessive sentimentality."

Honolulu-born Bette Midler's flamboyant stage persona, born in the 1970s (though she had been singing professionally in the 1960s), is what makes people take notice, but the self-proclaimed Divine Miss M is more than a singing comedienne. In addition to being a skilled TV and film actress, she's also a canny interpreter of pop and novelty songs in a multitude of genres, some ranging back as far as the Jazz Age. She's tackled everything from the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden" to an album's worth of Rosemary Clooney-associated tunes with equal aplomb, and has made a splash on the silver screen many times (THE ROSE, SCENES FROM A MALL, BEACHES, and numerous others).

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