You may know her as the voice of Elsa in Frozen or the original Elphaba in Wicked, yet Idina Menzel has released another solo album – and it’s passable at best.
This self-titled album has 12 original songs and they’re all of the pop genre. I would like to point out the lyrics were all written by Idina herself, which is commendable in today’s music industry.
Some tracks are more upbeat than others but they come across as tacky and generic, not something to expect from this Broadway actress. Most of the songs are about love and romance, but she also has a few about pain and empowerment – which make for an unusual combination.
I’m not entirely sure the album flows and the songs struggle to flow from one to another.
Idina seems torn between trying to develop herself away from her stage presence and writing songs similar to that of her time on Broadway. The song Cake definitely estranges the singer from anything else that she has done before, yet it feels unnatural and strained.
In contrast to this, Small World can be listened to at ease as it sounds very much like some of the songs from Wicked.
The album is still worth a listen – if only to see what else Idina can do apart from blast out power ballads. You also get to listen to a genuinely talented voice with no auto tune. It’s just disappointing that there was a multitude of bad song choices for this one-of-a-kind performer.
There are talks of her releasing a new album in the summer of 2017 so hopefully, Miss Menzel will improve on this album and show the full capabilities of her voice.