White's fifth album and the fourth to have been reviewed on BSH lives up to the high stand of the other three. Described as 'songs of love's complexities' the lyrics, in the main, meet that criteria.
The smoky voice, the kind of voice you used to hear in a night club scene in an old black and white movie, usually just before somebody got shot, is tailor-made for the material. As it happens, one of the earlier albums, Out of the Past, did indeed feature songs from noir films.
The numbers here aren't cinema related but they could have been.
Donald Fagen's I'm Not the Same Without You isn't as gloomy as the title suggests. Just the opposite in fact. Off with the old on with the new.
Jimmy Dorsey's I'm Glad There is You has a guitar solo by Koonse that keeps the slow bossa alive.
Ron Boustead's Unlikely Valentine has a clever lyric with trumpet and sax helping it swing along nicely.
Lauren was inspired to record German trumpet player Till Brönner's Our Game after hearing a version by Mark Murphy.
Tin Tin Deo was arranged by Johnson as a cha-cha. It would have gone down well at the Copacabana in one one of the aforementioned movies but Buckingham's flute solo moves it closer to Birdland.
Joshua Redman's Lowercase has more clever lyrics, this time by Mark Winkler.
Paul Jost joins Lauren for Vrohoula. Koonse once again laying down a fine solo with Jost scatting away to beat the band which he doesn't.
Making it up as we go Along by Eddie Arkin and lyricist Lorraine Feather. A perceptive lyric relating to relationships.
The Bergmans provided I Have a Feeling We've Been Here Before, Stevie Wonder kicked in with Make Sure You're Sure and Bill Evans provided Turn Out the Stars to conclude a most enjoyable album by an excellent singer.
Available March 15 on Café Pacific Records. Lance
No comments :
Post a Comment