Jo Harrop is, without doubt, one of the UK's leading jazz vocalists. There is a warmth to her voice that brings out the meaning of a lyric. Be it happy or sad, the words are conveyed with the emotion they demand.
She does that here and much more - much more, much, much more. The difference on this compelling album compared to her previous releases, and they themselves were outstanding, is the strength of her lyric writing on eight of the eleven tracks. The other three lyrics are by Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell and Steve Earle and Jo Harrop's words lose nothing by comparision.
Never Lonely in Soho with music composed by fellow north east expat Paul Edis is so evocative that I'm there too and I don't need a Strand cigarette either (remember the advert? No? You must be one of the younger fellas).
Too Close to the Sun is another Harrop/Edis composition with a beautiful line 'even angels make mistakes' which would also have made for a great song title.
Hurt (music by Geoff Gascoyne) - a late night gem guaranteed to tear your heart out.
They're but three of the songs. All beautifully sung with an ace band. Amazing!
An album that, in years (maybe weeks) to come could, arguably, be ranked alongside those late night classics such as Sinatra's Wee Small Hours or Billie's Distingué Lovers - it's that good and certainly won't do her any harm when she returns to NYC (the Django on June 5) and LA (the Village Studios, where the album was recorded, on June 7) as well as popping back to Soho to do a show at Ronnie's on July 4. Lance
Release date: June 7 on Lateralize. YouTube.
Beautiful Fools; Whiskey or the Truth; A Love Like This; Travelling Light; The Path of a Tear; Never Lonely in Soho; If it Wasn't For Bad; Too Close to the Sun; Hurt; Goodbye; Stay Here Tonight.
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