The seventh album by
Danish jazz singer/songwriter Mette Juul maintains her high standard both as
singer and songwriter, dwelling upon the storytelling aspect of her words in
the latter category. The general theme relates to coming to terms with, and
relating to, the dark and frightening world we live in.
Not all are doom and gloom. The dark
despair of On Dragon Wings is countered with Thank You,
a lyric that acknowledges being rescued by that special someone.
Be a Blessing to Someone - an ode to spreading that blessing to someone who needs it almost as much, maybe even more, than you do.
Dream On is thoughtful and
meditative - words to digest before daring to go to sleep.
Lucky is a happy song: Lucky to be at the right time and place,
when you came along and the world could be hopeful and free. You told me not to
dwell in the darkness, but to keep on walking through the night, you said
there was a light on the other side.
Let Me Go has a suicidal
feeling to it: Drifting in the darkness of love. becoming dust in the
air, no longer hears the call of love ... She has gone and flown away.
Privileged Life. Like all of Juul's lyrics there's plenty to dwell upon here. Meaningful words open to the listener's interpretation. The mark of an astute writer who has the tools to make you think. Some
nice piano by Rosendal.
Disturbance is all about a
man across the street shouting prophesies of doom through a megaphone. I
suspect it goes deeper than that but I'm not sure what! It stomps along merrily
with Danielsson's bass well to the fore and more good piano.
Irving Berlin's Let's Face the
Music and Dance is a surprise choice. Taken at a mega slow tempo with
a sonorous bowed cello solo it perhaps typifies the mood now as much as
it originally did back in the 1930s: There may be trouble ahead ...
Little Devil Blue. A tale of a
relationship that breaks down but may be rekindled on the storyteller's terms.
To a Friend, a wistful tale of
parting long ago. Maybe one day ...
To Make You Feel my Love. The second of the two non-originals, this one's from the Poet Laureate of folk - Bob Dylan. The first verse says it all: When the rain is blowing in your face, and the whole world is on your case, I could offer you a warm embrace, to make you feel my love.
Lots to think about in the words, less
so in the melodies which aren't designed as instrumentals. They do the job as
do the accompanying musicians.
On top of everything else, Mette Juul
has a beautiful, soft and sensuous voice. No other singer could capture her meaningful
words quite so well. Lance
Available April 4 on Nilento Records.
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