Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson Present "Ultimate Voice Coach" (Alpha Video)

Apr 11th, 2005

By RON E. HARRIS, Associated Press Writer

In the car with the CD player blasting, or in the shower while humming along to the radio, we've all thought for a fleeting moment that we could carry a decent tune. That our voice was that of an angel.

"Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson Present Ultimate Voice Coach" taps into that hidden wish for stardom by presenting a series of vocal training exercises that may reveal what you should have known all along: you've either got it, or you don't.

The good news is that the lessons are easy to follow along with, and may help you learn how to hold a note while properly controlling your breath. The bad news is this 3-disc collection of DVD video footage and CD audio lessons is mind-numbingly boring and made on what appears to have been the lowest budget ever.

Abdul and Jackson say hello and goodbye within minutes on the DVD introduction and quickly turn everything over to Gary Catona and Ron Anderson, billed as "voice coaches to the stars." Abdul and Jackson have done nothing more than milk a little mileage out of their "American Idol" fame by slapping their faces on the packaging. Sure, the word "idol" appears nowhere on the materials, but we get the picture.

Here's what you really get. Static, unimaginative scenes with Catona and a singing student sitting in what appears to be a budget hotel room practicing making the "eeeeeeee" sound. It frankly looks a bit creepy.

I scanned forward, hoping to see things get a little jazzier, but that's about it. Catona plays three notes on the piano and the student points his index finger at his teeth and makes the "eeeeeeee" sound in key with the notes. Catona goes up a key and so does the student — again and again and again.

Anderson kicks it up a notch by playing a short scale of notes, and the student sings them with various mouth shapes. It's kind of like Maria bouncing around the mountains teaching the von Trapp kids to sing, minus the fun.

In addition to the DVD, there is an audio CD with similar vocal lessons and another audio CD with the music to classics such as "Auld Lang Syne" and "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow." It's a small collection of the most pedestrian songs ever and were likely chosen because they were free or cheap to use.

If you can stay awake through the lessons, you'll be thrilling them at Bingo night in no time. Otherwise, this is a pure dud.

Courtesy Yahoo! News / AP

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