Customer Rating: 
Summary: Oh...Jerry....Jerry.........why couldn't......
Comment:
......you have allowed yourself the opportunity to "Grow Too Old to Dream" (as you so eloquently sing it in this production)?
Here, in this 1994 release, we have Jerry--at the height of his vocal powers--in these beautifully done popular and semi-classical numbers. To think that new issues from this voice are now lost to us forever is almost unbearable. As someone else has so touchingly observed: the Angels are now the beneficiaries of Jerry's beautiful gift.
PS--Just want to throw in recommendations for those of you who might be unfamiliar with some of Jerry's light operatic (operetta) works. Three of Lehar's compositions on the Telarc label are notable: "The Czarevitch" / "The Land of Smiles" / "Paganini." Oh, and on an even lighter note, give a try to a very well done Broadway vehicle, "Kismet" (on Sony).
****
Customer Rating: 
Summary: An overlooked treasure
Comment: The first time I listened to this recording, I was primarily interested in "Donkey Serenade," and I do not care for the arrangement here. So, I overlooked the rest of the disc.
With Hadley's untimely death, I decided to check it out again, and found what a treasure I had overlooked. The beauty of his voice is evidenced throughout the recording. His clear ringing high notes, especially in "Desert Song" and "Serenade," and his fabulous head voice ("Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," and "Indian Summer") match anything in recorded operetta material, and remind us of his wonderful operatic career.
Except for the aforementioned "Donkey Serenade" and the vaudeville "I Like to Go Swimmin' with Wimmin," this is a solid five star rating.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Golden Voice - Golden Memories
Comment: Jerry Hadley (who died tragically in July 2007 by his own hand) was one of America's finest tenors. What's more, he was one of the very few great opera singers who could sing light music convincingly, and he had the gift of making you feel that he was singing to you personally, and that he meant every word and every note. This CD is a treasurable memento of Hadley's art in operettas and musicals. Among the highlights are songs from The Student Prince, where he rivals Mario Lanza (who was thought to 'own' this operetta) in vocal beauty and surpasses him in sensitivity; there's even a 'duet' (Golden Days) where Hadley's voice blends seamlessly with Lanza's recording. But my favourite in this collection is undoubtedly 'When I grow too old to dream'. I don't believe anyone has ever sung this song more movingly and beautifully, a fitting memorial to a great singer whose life was tragically cut short but who left us enough to be grateful that he once lived.
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