Josh Groban always skirted the edges of middlebrow pop so it's a certain relief to hear the classical singer go all in on 2015's Stages, a tribute to the great songs of the Great White Way. He throws a few movie tunes in for good measure, including the opening "Pure Imagination" from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and "Over the Rainbow," but the concentration is on A Chorus Line, Les Miserables, The Fantasticks, Into the Woods, and Sunday in the Park with George -- lots of Sondheim, lots of musicals from after the peak of '60s crossover. Nevertheless, in its handsome deliberation, Stages does feel like a throwback to '60s LPs comprised of tunes everybody knows, sung by singers everybody knows. Groban in some ways benefits from a less operatic setting, as it naturally scales back his soaring excess, and the record is also nicely modulated -- a mellow, attractive journey to the middle of the road, a place that seems to suit Groban just fine.
Josh Groban
Stages
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AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Track Listing
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4:23 | |||||
| 2 | 4:49 | |||||
| 3 | 3:23 | |||||
| 4 | 4:02 | |||||
| 5 |
feat: Kelly Clarkson
|
3:59 | ||||
| 6 | 4:39 | |||||
| 7 | 4:26 | |||||
| 8 | 4:36 | |||||
| 9 | 4:28 | |||||
| 10 | 4:21 | |||||
| 11 | 3:08 | |||||
| 12 |
feat: Audra McDonald
|
4:16 | ||||
| 13 | 3:27 |
