There are singers and there are singers and then there is Diana Krall.
Anyone doubting her class need only listen to any 11 of the 12 tracks on this Verve album. An album as emotional as any
late-nighter issued since Sinatra laid down the bench mark way back In
the Wee Small Hours of the Morning. The phrasing, the feeling, the
relaxation that only comes when the lights are dimmed, are all here. Sometimes
it's a satisfied contentment at the start of a new romance, other times it's
the sadness when love goes wrong. Krall handles both extremes as well as the
ones in between, usually accompanied by her distinctive piano playing.
Amazingly (or not) but the one track
which doesn't quite cut it for me is the title track - Bob Dylan's This Dream of You. It has a countrified feel about it that seems
incongruous sandwiched as it is between Don't Smoke in Bed and I Wished on the Moon.
Still 11 out of 12 is pretty high and, in truth, Krall probably gets more out
of the Dylan number than anyone else could apart from BD himself!
But Beautiful is just that with some
orchestral backing which includes a cello solo by Vanessa Fairbairn-Smith. That's All/Azure-Te;
Autumn in New York - close your eyes and you are a lover on a bench in
Central Park.
Guitar solos, duo tracks, orchestral moments arranged by Alan
Broadbent, even Singing in the Rain with Clayton Jr. doing the
legendary dooby-do-do-dooby-dooby-do-do on bass works. Let's face it, nobody
would dare to do this tune without it in one form or another!
I'm going to play it again and let it lull me to sleep. That's the
theory, chances are it will keep me wide awake luxuriating in the voice, the
piano and the arrangements, whether large or small, that make this a worthy
addition to your night owl's library.
Lance
But Beautiful; That's All/Azure Te; Autumn in New York; Almost
Like Being in Love; More Than You Know; Just You, Just Me; There's No You; Don't Smoke
in Bed: This Dream of You; I Wished on the Moon; How Deep is the Ocean?;
Singing in the Rain.
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