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JAZZ PROMO SERVICE
TAEKO FUKAO/One Love: In which we find the Japanese songbird staking more of her claim to the Big Apple with a charming set of standards that shows her love of jazz and world sounds. Adding her own new, special sauce to the familiar, Fukao delivers a pleasing and pleasant session that wasn’t made to be a barn burner but was made to be a comfortable stopping point when you want a cool, audio getaway. On the money throughout, jazz vocal fans are sure to enjoy this one.
(Flat 9)
LOST HIGHWAY
SHELBY LYNNE/Just a Little Lovin’: This album was probably tougher than it looks. Originally commissioned by Capitol, it got shelved and the whole thing went into limbo. Barry Manilow inspired it and Phil Ramone brought it home. With some jazzbos bringing up the rear, Lynne reinvents herself again putting her Ahhbamma accent to good use on the sound Dusty Springfield appropriated when she took it to Memphis. Springfield is just iconic enough to cast a long enough shadow over this tribute project, but Lynne reaches down and finds something you wouldn’t expect. This project is not just another good idea that just lays there, Lynne finds a common plain with Springfield and reinvigorates a bunch of classics that just don’t seem to get the proper respect. This may be a first blush for many to go deeper than “Son of a Preacher Man” and for those, it’s certainly a great introduction. For the rest, it’s a first class tip of the cap.
WILLIE NELSON/Moment of Forever: Ol’ Shotgun Willie is a real team player, but he is the guy that said ‘old age and treachery will beat youth and guile every time’ so you could see from a mile away that his pairing with Ryan Adams last year was going to be a one off. Here we have Nelson riding that middle ground between his Cindy Walker albums, his oldies albums and his contemporary albums, right in the comfortable groove his staunchest fans feel most comfortable with. He pairs with Kenny Chesney here and the combo works well. It doesn’t light sparks but it gives off a nice warmth as Nelson goes long in interpretations in this set. Something real fans may pick up on is that this feels like the first time Nelson is looking back as opposed to being nostalgic.
VANGUARD
DEANA CARTER/The Chain: Since she debuted, the thing that’s always held Carter’s albums above water is a certain loopy charm that comes through no matter what. This set finds her paying tribute of sorts to her guitar slinging pop but traveling through the songs he played on and bringing in acts he played with. A Nashville mainstay for a long time, you know this was stuff she heard around the house in various stages of completion when she was growing up. The loopy charm is augmented by a genuine affection for the old man that makes what might other wise seem to be a disparate collection of oldies hang together in a way that makes sense to more than just her. If you liked Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s tribute to his pop, you will be a sucker for this as well.
PATTY LARKIN/Watch the Sky: The always reliable Larkin is back with an element of some high tech folk to her arsenal, but the writing and the performing at still the front and center focus. Still sounding like open skies, Larkin may take her time crafting the right statement, but if you are a fan, the wait is worth it. Clearly a shining example of what the whole singer/songwriter genre is about these days.
Volume 31/Number 79
January 18, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record
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