If Mr. Bennett's voice long ago lost the lustrous throb that made a recording like "Blue Velvet" an immersion in pure dreaminess, what has replaced it is a magisterial confidence and rhythmic ease, a transcendently vigorous appreciation of life stamped on every expertly turned phrase.
Oddly, however, given Heggie's growing reputation as a writer for the voice - his more than 50 published songs have been recorded by some of the most lustrous names in the singing world - the one nagging uncertainty concerned his handling of the vocal line.
"Won't Be Long," one of the first tracks she recorded for Columbia, captures her better than the lustrous orchestral ballads and brittle pop songs of later sessions.
Mr. Brownlee, who has earned a strong reputation in the bel canto repertory, with his agile voice and lustrous top notes, sang potently in the selections, which he has recorded for release later this year.
Yorke possesses one of the finest voices ever to grace a pop recording -- it circles operatically on its way to a lustrous falsetto, and it is what ultimately makes a Radiohead song a Radiohead song.
Roger Nichols, the recording engineer who gave the music of Steely Dan the lustrous sheen that became the popular group's sonic signature, died Saturday at his Burbank home after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer, his family said.
Some of the best pop tunes ever written, Alex Chilton's gorgeous voice, lustrous harmonies, crystal-clear production – perhaps the biggest surprise is that for music recorded almost 40 years ago it still sounds so contemporary.
The two recently released an impressive disc of Verdi opera scenes; Ms. Radvanovsky also recently recorded a CD of Verdi arias that illuminates her elegant phrasing and lustrous sound.
Neo soul is the pervading scent of the day, a genre fast approaching landfill; London synthpop duo Oh Wonder prove it a haven of lustrous melodicism, Australia's Chet Faker proves it a refuge for dull lounge singers with a James Blake record and a one-note saxophone.
Apex 2564 62018-2 Those unable to afford tickets to the main event of this season's Glyndebourne, with lustrous mezzo Sarah Connolly in the title role, can take consolation in the bargain price of this superb recording of Handel's masterwork under the benevolent Nicholas Harnoncourt.
