Susie Deane - Time's A Dancer

Susie Deane - Time's A Dancer

2010, Humarock Music

Poughkeepsie, NY-based singer/musician Susie Deane is a diverse talent, performing actively in the diverse genres of traditional jazz, contradance and Celtic.  Deane has a voice that’s warm and expressive.  It’s not the voice of a diva; Deane is a utilitarian singer but she has the ability to sell a song in the Sinatra style.  Susie Deane’s latest effort, Time’s A Dancer, is drawn straight out of the American Songbook and run through the wine press of the Las Vegas stage.  Guest appearances include Peter Davis, Dave Davies, Vinnie Martucci, Harry Aceto and Sam Zucchini.

A collection of standards can’t go wrong starting with Johnny Mercer, and Deane starts out right with “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive” in a reverent reading consistent with the original.  The musicianship here is first class and Deane sells the song like her life depends on it.  “’Deed I Do” is pure Vegas style with Deane employing a talk/sing style that’s informed and entertaining.  Deane’s best vocals on the album come on “Black Coffee”, a song first made famous by the great Ella Fitzgerald.  There are few who can stand up to Fitzgerald, but Deane’s reading is effective.  “Lazy Afternoon” is vocally solid, but Deane doesn’t show the presence that she has up to this point in the album.  Deane’s rendition is honest and forthright but just doesn’t have the same magical sense to it.   And that’s really the summation for the rest of the album.  What started out with great energy and verve becomes a musically strong but vocally average experience.  Deane offers up signs of life on “Up A Lazy River” and “There’s A Fella Waiting in Poughkeepsie”, but it isn’t until the final track, a medley of “Kimberly”, “Star Of Munster” and “The Mountain Road” that Susie Deane fully revives.

Time’s A Dancer shows both the potential of Susie Deane and the limits realized by that potential.  Musically the album is much more than solid.  The players Deane has surrounded herself with would be worth paying to see any night of the week.  When Susie Deane is on her game there’s no doubt she fits well in that company.  Time’s A Dancer finds Deane occasionally at her best, but generally at a comfortable level that doesn’t call for much of a stretch from either the artist or the listener.  It’s a solid effort.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Susie Deane at http://www.susiedeane.com/, where you can order Time's A Dancer on CD.

Isabel Rose - Swingin' From The Hip

Isabel Rose - Swingin' From The Hip
2010, The Jubilee Recording Company

Isabel Rose is a lady who makes things happen, both onstage and off. Screenwriter, novelist, movie star, off-Broadway star... none of these callings has proven too much for Isabel Rose. It should be no surprise that her debut album, Swingin' From The Hip looks poised to prove another facet of this versatile and prolific performer. Born on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Isabel Rose has steeped in New York's culture almost from her birth, and her love of both jazz, Broadway and pop music shines through on Swingin' From The Hip.

Rose opens with the bossa nova swing of "Aquarius", adapted from the rock musical hair. Rose has a fine voice, a bit reserved but full of warm tone and a bit of Vegas swagger here (that sophisticated Rat Pack swing). Rose swings up Irving Berlin's "Lovely Day" (Call Me Madam) in fine fashion, keeping the Broadway feel of the original while updating it for hep cats everywhere. Rose goes big band for Rodgers & Hammerstein's "I Enjoy Being A Girl" (Flower Drum Song). The arrangement fits Isabel Rose nicely. "Temptation" is well done, and leads into the slinky nightclub arrangement of Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", injecting burlesque undertones into a generally torch-styled interpretation.

One of the highlights of the album is Rose's version of "Haven't We Met", where her voice takes on a slightly darker aspect that's nothing short of breath-taking. The clarity of vocal tone and warmth of Isabel Rose's voice is a real treat. Rose plays it straight on the Harry Noble-penned "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me", which originally spent 18 weeks on the Billboard pop charts for singer Karen Noble in 1952. Rose seems to have a special connection with this one, and makes it her own without substantially changing the song. Rose gives listeners a lighter moment with her cover of "I Only Wanna Be With You", the first single Dusty Springfield ever released. Perhaps Rose's only misstep on the entire album comes on the George Ira Gershwin tune "Boy Wanted". Perhaps it's just the chemistry of the song, but Rose never really sounds like she connects with this one (and its tough trying to stand in the shoes of Ella Fitzgerald, even for a performer of Isabel Rose's talent).

Rose rebounds nicely on Lerner & Lowe's "On The Street Where You Live" (My Fair Lady), an amazing swing version of the Broadway classic. Rose is inspired here, as will you be. Johnny Mercer's "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive" gets the royal treatment from Rose. Vocally the song is well performed, although the tempo, and therefore Rose, do sound a bit rushed at times. Rose closes with Cy Coleman's "The Best Is Yet To Come" in a stripped down arrangement that shows off Rose's voice and also features some tremendous guitar work.

Isabel Rose is now officially a quintuple threat. Swingin' From The Hip should establish Rose as a vocal force to be reckoned with, and you can't help but have respect for the highly professional and accomplished band she has behind her on the album. Rose recalls the days when great performers would tackle almost any style and make it their own. It's not just a matter of having a voice or a band; there's a cult of personality that surrounds great performers. Sinatra. Babs. Bette. Torme. Bennett. Newton. It wouldn't be entirely surprising if twenty years down the road people were adding Rose to that list.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Isabel Rose at http://www.isabelrose.com/. Swingin' From The Hip drops in the digital world on September 14, 2010, with a CD release planned for October 19, 2010.  You can pre-order the digital release from Amazon.com.

Review: Shayna Zaid & The Catch - Shayna Zaid & The Catch EP

Shayna Zaid & The Catch - Shayna Zaid & The Catch EP
2009, Shayna Zaid & The Catch

Shayna Zaid has been a television personality and recording artist since the age of twelve, and has developed a stage presence that can't be taught. Her smoky voice and enigmatic style mix with an extreme talent for writing lyrics and a sense of melody and arrangement that are far above the norm. We reviewed Zaid's debut EP, Au Fait, in 2008, and were wowed by her songwriting and persona, but Zaid continues to develop her craft. Her latest effort, Shayna Zaid & The Catch [EP] features band mates Joel Dean (guitarist/producer); Christopher Heinz (drums), Danny Stone (bass) and Yan Izquierdo (violin) in a wonderfully coherent and Pop-influenced post-genre album you have to hear to believe.

Zaid opens with Morning Sun, a bright, airy Americana tune offered up in acoustic format. Zaid's complicated, sultry alto is full of texture and personality that leaps out of your speakers. You can't help but move to this music; a celebration of each and every new day. Just Because, one of three carry-overs from Zaid's Au Fait EP, is pure infatuation in song. Zaid proves herself a master lyricist, putting thoughts into words that slip into your brain as if they were your own. This is a song that mooning teenagers (and none too few adults) will name their mix tapes after. Closer is a fluid love ballad written to one who is far away. It's buoyed by a gorgeous melody and lyrics that flow like water; written in sweet and sensuous phrases without becoming cloying or cliché.

The highlight of the album, perhaps of the century (thus far), is Fireflies. If Zaid's purpose was to attain Pop perfection, she can quit now and go home. Fireflies is Brilliant (note the capital B). You can't teach a moment like this, but anyone out there who has ever written a song or dreamed of written one needs to listen to Fireflies and take it in. Fireflies is the view of a new love as seen through the eyes of your best girlfriend and practically bubbles over with exuberance. Zaid captures a moment in words with the fluid grace of Johnny Mercer, pairs it with a melody that simply won't leave you alone and wraps it all in arrangement that frames the song in perfect light. Pure poetry in music is what you'll hear "when his name slips through your smile wider than the river Nile, then it's love... bet he'd drive a million miles just to see you for a while, then it's love. Fireflies... light up the night."

It's You is another bit of Mix Tape Magic; a devotional written with nothing held back. Zaid sounds like a cross between Norah Jones and Tina Turner here; the combination is gripping and the song is as emotionally raw as you could imagine. Bonita could be a song of love or support; sweet and loving either way. It's a light and airy arrangement that's very danceable. Zaid closes with Blow, a powerful, driven acoustic arrangement about the perils of cocaine laced with gypsy violin ala Joe Venuti. It's more of a character sketch in song, a brilliant take that sounds like it might have come from a Tarantino film (or perhaps a song he might choose to write a film about).

When I reviewed Shayna Zaid's Au Fait EP I knew she was a formidable talent, but she's upped the ante seriously in the mean time. I don't think it's any kind of stretch to start including Zaid in discussions of the best songwriters working in Indie Music. If it were just Fireflies you could make the argument that any songwriter can strike brilliance once, but there are no less than three songs here that are exuberant ten out of tens, and there's not a smidgen of mediocrity in the bunch. If Zaid has any shortcomings commercially it will be that she doesn't fit into a neat marketable package, but will fit nicely into a lot of niches, similar to artists such as Lyle Lovett, Randy Newman, Jeff Tweedy and the still rising Marian Call. Shayna Zaid & The Catch have magic in a bottle; magic of their own making. Shayna Zaid & The Catch [EP] is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Shayna Zaid at http://www.shaynazaid.com/ or www.myspace.com/shaynazaid. Shayna Zaid & The Catch [EP] is available digitally through both iTunes and Amazon.com. It should be noted that the digital versions of the EP have only five tracks. Just Because and It’s You do not appear on the digital download versions available on either iTunes of Amazon.com, but are available on the wonderful Au Fait EP. And hey, if you dig Shayna Zaid & The Catch, why not give them a hand? Shayna Zaid & The Catch are up for band of the month from Deli Magazine. Voting closes tomorrow, February 15, 2010. Just go to Deli Magazine and look for the “Band Of The Month” poll that starts three quarters of the way down on the right on the page as it opens and vote for Shayna Zaid & The Catch. (Of course, you can vote for anyone else too, if that’s your preference!)

Review: Simavi - Memories Of You

Simavi - Memories Of You
2008, Original Cast Records

New York City crooner Simavi spent several years putting together the 23 tracks on Memories Of You, released in 2008 on Original Cast Records. Back by a 50-pieces orchestra, Simavi tackles classics from the American Standard songbook as well as some lesser known gems. Arrangers for this disc include the likes of Quincy Jones, Johnny Mandel, Nelson Riddle and Billy May. The disc also includes video footage of a live performance from New York's Lincoln Center.

Simavi has a pleasant voice that is period-perfect for the material he's singing, but its not the best voice on the market. Similar to Frank Sinatra or Johnny Mercer, Simavi relies on his ability to sell a song to overcome those vocal flaws, but Simavi lacks the charisma of Sinatra or the panache of Mercer. The vocals are very straight forward renditions of the classics and near-classic Simavi's chosen for Memories Of You. The orchestration is incredible. The orchestra employed by Simavi creates an amazing musical canvas on which to work. Highlights include The Girl From Ipanema, I Get A Kick Out Of You, Love Looks So Well On You and Fly Me To The Moon.

Sinatra had an ability to electrify a song with his conviction. Johnny Mercer spent most of his time writing for others, but had a knowing warmth and a wink that made you feel like you were in on the joke. Simavi may be able to bring some of those qualities out in front of an audience, but they are absent here. The vocals are clean and technically proficient, but lack the heart and soul to make these songs soar.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Simavi at http://www.simavi.us/ or http://www.originalcastrecords.com/. You can purchase a copy of Memories of You at www.cdbaby.com/cd/simavi or download the album from iTunes.

Review: Smile Pretty Misery - Measured In Miles

Smile Pretty Misery – Measured In Miles
2008, Smile Pretty Misery

Baldwin, New York’s Smile Pretty Misery has been spreading their blend of Jazz, Pop and Rock all over Long Island for the last two-and-a-half years. With a wonderfully smooth mix of styles and sounds, stellar songwriting and smooth as silk vocalist Jaymes Welsh. In 2008, Smile Pretty Misery released Measured In Miles. Let’s check it out.

Measured In Miles opens with (You Know) You Gotta Love Her, a glorious pop/jazz hybrid that’s pure gold. Vocalist Jaymes Welsh is an old school crooner although there are a couple of notes here that are way out of his regular range. This is a doozy of a leadoff song, building significant expectations for the rest of the EP. For the most part, Smile Pretty Misery delivers. Will But No Way is a fairly typical alt-rock song recorded with minimalist instrumentation/effects. The melody is quite memorable and the lyrics show real thought and depth. Blood Red Ink is also highly memorable, building simultaneously in sound, intensity and emotion before deflating in self-realization at the end of each chorus.

June To September is based on an infectious melody, playing off Welsh’s lyric voice against jangly guitars and moderately aggressive percussion. This is the most sonically striking song on the album and the one most likely to have distinct commercial impact. Snake Oil Man is a pleasant listen, and Happy New Year closes out the set with a mellow benediction of personal change.

Smile Pretty Misery is a distinctive band with a unique sound. It’s not rock or pop, exactly, although they touch on those genres. Think more classic singer/songwriter style with a touch of old school vocalist (think Johnny Mercer crossed with Josh Groban.) In spite of the mellow, slightly repressed arrangements (ala Norah Jones), Smile Pretty Misery brings energy and vitality to every note. Measured In Miles gets high marks as a very enjoyable introduction to Smile Pretty Misery. Don’t miss this one.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Smile Pretty Misery at http://www.smileprettymisery.com/ or www.myspace.com/smileprettymisery. You can purchase a copy of Measured In Miles at www.cdbaby.com/smileprettymisery.

Review: Halie Loren - They Oughta Write A Song

Halie Loren - They Oughta Write A Song
2008, White Moon Productions

Halie Loren made quite an impression with her debut album, 2006's Full Circle. Loren proved she could write and perform songs that walk the line of emotional breakdown with a power and grace that are nearly unheard of in popular music. Loren, who is seemingly something of a musical restless heart, follows up with an album of classic jazz songs entitled They Oughta Write A Song. As good as Loren was on Full Circle, she sounds as if she were born to sing jazz. They Oughta Write A Song hits all the right notes from start to finish.

Starting off with the pensive title track, Loren's silky alto slides through the songs here like a hot knife through butter. Loren is smooth and full of a sensual grace that recalls Eartha Kitt at the top of her game. A Whiter Shade Of Pale is a gorgeous reading by Loren; she owns it like she wrote it, and it is one of the highlights of the CD. Blue Skies is performed in a mischievous, funky jazz arrangement that you won't soon forget. For all that's been said thus far, Halie Loren raises her game another notch on Autumn Leaves. The muted piano arrangement allows for maximum appreciation of Loren's virtuosic vocal, steeped in melancholy remembrance and regret.

Halie Loren really shakes things up on Fever. Get out your ice water, AC and oscillating fans. They won't be enough. Loren proceeds to find the heart of The Blues on God Bless The Child. I keep wanting to point out particular songs as highlights, but the difficulty is that everything here is just so good that the word highlight becomes meaningless. That being said, Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps is amazing. There is a mischievous quality to this performance that allows Loren to reach even higher and touch perfection for two minutes and twenty-one seconds. How Should I Know, The Dock Of The Bay and I Don't Miss It Much are up to the level that Loren has established throughout the album, and Summertime is absolutely glorious. Summertime is one of those songs that EVERYBODY who sings Jazz or Broadway tunes tries on at least once. As such it’s easy to listen to each new rendition with a jaded ear, but occasionally a particular performance will still pique interest. Halie Loren's version is full of soul; adopting the warm and easy feel of the prototypical summer's day that the song uses as its scenery. Loren waxes and wanes in intensity as she builds toward the song's peak. Her performance is a master class that avoids the attempt some singers make to overpower the song on the final chorus, letting the power of the song speak for itself.

I'm torn. After hearing Full Circle I very much anticipated Loren's next project. After hearing They Oughta Write A Song, it seems as if Loren was born with Jazz in her veins. Loren is one of those artists that can sing pop, rock, jazz and even Broadway without missing a beat. She could be equally successful in each realm. Hopefully over time she'll make time for both the pop/rock material and the jazz/show tunes. They Oughta Write A Song deserves to take a place among the great vocal jazz albums. Halie Loren becomes the first artist in the history of Wildy's World to have two Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Discs! They don't make them like this anymore.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Halie Loren and even purchase a copy of They Oughta Write A Song at http://www.halieloren.com/.