Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight - Karrin Allyson, Taylor, James [Soft
Wild World
(Goin') Wild for You Baby
Help Me
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
I Got Eyes
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Karrin Allyson, Webb, Jimmy [1]
It's Too Late
Mind on My Man
The Right Thing to Do
Feel Like Makin' Love
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
With this collection of '70s-era pop tunes, Karrin Allyson makes a bold, post-Norah Jones career move--and has a kittenish new look to show for it. We know not to judge a CD by its cover, but judging this smart and distinc... more »tive jazz singer by her song covers--Carole King's "It's Too Late," Cat Stevens's "Wild World," James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," Joni Mitchell's "All I Want"--we can safely say that the pop tunes that have dotted previous albums were less stylistic departures than indicators of her formative influences. Still, thanks to their limited harmonic potential, it's easier to embrace pop classics than to make them work as jazz. Aside from a few scatted lines, Allyson makes no obvious attempts to jazzify the material. Rather, she reveals her improviser's gift by craftily playing with the melodic lines--here holding back, there stunting her phrasing--and trusts in the smoky clarity of her voice to carry tunes in more straightforward fashion. Sometimes her delivery is too reverent, and there's nothing she or arranger Gil Goldstein can do to overcome the kitsch of songs like "Feel Like Makin' Love" or the certain cloying nostalgia to the overall concept. But Allyson deserves a wider following and if this is one way for her to get it--before returning to what she does best--who's to complain? --Lloyd Sachs« less
With this collection of '70s-era pop tunes, Karrin Allyson makes a bold, post-Norah Jones career move--and has a kittenish new look to show for it. We know not to judge a CD by its cover, but judging this smart and distinctive jazz singer by her song covers--Carole King's "It's Too Late," Cat Stevens's "Wild World," James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," Joni Mitchell's "All I Want"--we can safely say that the pop tunes that have dotted previous albums were less stylistic departures than indicators of her formative influences. Still, thanks to their limited harmonic potential, it's easier to embrace pop classics than to make them work as jazz. Aside from a few scatted lines, Allyson makes no obvious attempts to jazzify the material. Rather, she reveals her improviser's gift by craftily playing with the melodic lines--here holding back, there stunting her phrasing--and trusts in the smoky clarity of her voice to carry tunes in more straightforward fashion. Sometimes her delivery is too reverent, and there's nothing she or arranger Gil Goldstein can do to overcome the kitsch of songs like "Feel Like Makin' Love" or the certain cloying nostalgia to the overall concept. But Allyson deserves a wider following and if this is one way for her to get it--before returning to what she does best--who's to complain? --Lloyd Sachs
"Karrin Allyson is as the NY Times says a "gifted" vocalist and this CD proves it. Her greatest strength is the melancholy standard. Her "Too Young to Go Steady" (on an earlier CD) reinvented that song. Like any true artist, she likes to stretch her wings. On many of her CDs she makes admirable attempts to sing the blues, but she isn't convincing as a blues singer. In this new CD she brings fresh air to oldish standards. These are not covers. They are attempts to make oldish songs new. In most songs she succeeds, but in others the attempt comes close to reinvention but fails. My sense is that she and her record company need to capitalize on her strength with the sad song and stop trying to make her into something she isn't. In the end what audiences long for is authenticity. Nevertheless I like this CD and find it something different from re-warmed, tired, jazz standards, and therefore refreshing. If you have the chance to see Karrin Allyson sing in person I urge you to do it. She is an aluring performer just coming into her own."
A divine singer, but not her best work
Swamp Dog | Our Nation's Capital, USA | 05/06/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I read through the other reviewers comments, and I agree with them for the most part. The Joni Mitchell covers, in my opinion, are the most lively, and show obvious love and reverence for the material. And they swing. Joni Mitchell is such a distinctive artist, she is very hard to cover, and Karrin pulls it off. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" . . actually would not have been out of place on one of Karrin's earlier recordings.
But, I agree that most of the material is pretty tired, and it if I never heard the original of "It's too late" or "Wild World" again, it would be too soon. So covers of these songs are pretty painful to listen to.
My main reason for the review . . is to plug Karrin's CD 'Ballads', which is a masterpiece, brilliantly conceived and executed. If you want to own one Karrin Allyson CD, buy that one. It's dark and dreamy . . . and accomplishes what many would have thought impossible . . . a vocal artist's homage to John Coltrane.
"
An Offer You Couldn't Refuse
Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 11/01/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Karrin Allyson's "Wild for You" is an excellent set of fairly familiar pop gems given a creative twist. The opener is probably my very favorite as Allyson has a natural affinity for Joni Mitchell's work. The excitement comes through with Gil Goldstein's insouciant piano punching at the melody as Karrin sighs & sways. Born in Great Bend, Kansas, Allyson bases out of Kansas City. Her second Mitchell track comes from the "Court & Spark" period with the lovely "Help Me," where Mitchell herself began to experiment more with jazz inflections. Allyson communicates the excitement as she quivers on, "I think I'm falling in love too fast." On Melissa Manchester's "I Got Eyes," Allyson is full of sass & swagger, "I want to smother my bad a*s lover with kisses to make him wise, an offer you couldn't refuse." Jimmy Webb's "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" has been covered so often that it qualifies as a bona fide standard. Allyson expresses an exquisite sadness through the lyric, "The moon a phantom rose through the mountains & the pines." Allyson does a thorough remake on Carly Simon's "Mind on My Man," making it her own. She is equally successful on Simon's "The Right Thing to Do," making the track contemplative. The last two tracks of songs made famous by Roberta Flack finish this set in fine fashion. "Wild for You" is an excellent set by this fine Kansas City singer, an offer you shouldn't refuse. Enjoy!"
It's not "Ballads"; but it will do
Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 08/02/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I am one who believes that Karrin Allyson's "Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane" is one of the best vocal jazz albums of the new millenium (so far). I'm also one who believes that the period of the '70's, between the breakup of the Beatles and the advent of disco, was one of the golden ages of pop of the 20th century that has been too-long ignored by jazz singers. So, I was thrilled to hear that Ms. Allyson was releasing an album of tunes from that era, and couldn't wait to hear it.
Frankly, I'm a wee bit disappointed. But only a wee bit.
Some of this is great, mind you. For example, Ms. Allyson and her band do Joni Mitchell's "Help Me" in 7/8, and the jagged rhythm enhances the dizzying quality of the song. They do a similar polyrhythmic treatment to Carole King's "It's Too Late", and take the song from the tearful retrospect of the original to a more frantic message of hope's glimmer. My favorite is their straightforward treatment of "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word," which removes Elton John's maudlin tone while adding a wonderful accordion solo from Gil Goldstein (that sounds like Toots Thielemann's harmonica!). Also, perhaps contrary to what you read above, the "funkified beat" of Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love" is an improvement on the original.
But not all of it works. Ms. Mitchell's "All I Want" sounds too much like a '70's working of the tune (Ms. Allyson even sounds a wee bit like Ms. King on this one). I prefer Cat Stevens' treatment of "Wild World", frankly; and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" likewise isn't an improvement on what isn't one of James Taylor's better tunes. In fact, one thing I wish the band hadn't done was to have so much Fender Rhodes on this album. It seems like the Fender Rhodes was the staple of early '70's pop tunes, and I'd prefer to hear an interpolation, not a recreation, of these tunes.
However, this album again proves that Karrin Allyson is one of the best female jazz singers out there. She is always in control of a very pure instrument. For that reason alone I recommend this; but if you've never heard her, get "Ballads" first. RC"