Search - Melody Gardot :: Worrisome Heart

Shivery intimacy: she evokes nights in dark, smoky clubs.

luc_doc7 | 03/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The 23 year old Philadelphian turned to music while recovering from a horrific accident and her recovery process led to a new career.

Before the accident she'd already been working part-time as a lounge pianist to help fund her studies, playing tunes by Duke Ellington or Billy Joel against a hubbub of hecklers and clinking glasses, and one of her doctors said she should try music-making as part of her recovery process.

The recordings she made in a wheelchair at her hospital bedside were eventually released in 2005 as "Some Lessons - The Bedroom Sessions".

Picked up by the same DJ who discovered Norah Jones, Melody started gaining acclaim and signed to Universal/Verve.

Well, if you liked Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux's beguiling mix of jazz, blues, country and folk, then check out this young singer-songwriter-guitarist, whose voice is purer than Peyroux's but just as characterful and charming.

"Worrisome Heart" will appeal to anybody fond of Norah Jones or Madeleine Peyroux, though its understated bluesiness also seems to reach further back to the heyday of vintage American songwriting.

She displays a rare knack for imbuing music that can sound false or clichéd in lesser hands with a shivery sense of intimacy, as though she sneaked up behind you to blow in your ear. She looks the part, too, smiling quizzically from behind a Veronica Lake peek-a-boo hairstyle. Add a penchant for crimson shoes and lipstick and fishnet tights, and you have the kind of dame who'd know how to keep Humphrey Bogart in his place.

It is extremely sexy and intimate - listen no further than the title track or the groovy "Goodnite'" - and on swinging numbers, such as "All I Need Is Love", it has the bounce and ebullience of a young Billie Holiday.

It's also true that tracks like "Sweet Memory" and "Goodnite" have similarities to Norah Jones' standards but unsurprisingly this survivor also has an edge.

A rising star of the modern jazz scene, this album has 10 songs which evoke nights in dark, intimate clubs before smoking was banned.

This album deserves to have the same cultish success as Peyroux's Careless Love and Jones' "Come Away With me".

It's quality stuff and ideal for turning the lights down low to and allowing you to sink into the mellow, seductive sounds of Melody.



Some Lessons -The Bedroom Sessions

Careless Love

Come Away with Me

The Reminder"

Enticing, intoxicating mix of blues, jazz and the occasional

South End | 06/08/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At twenty-three, singer-songwriter Melody Gardot has a hauntingly beautiful, silky voice that can melt event the hardest of hearts.

Drenched in a sublime vapour of mellow blues, eclectic folk and above all jazz, 'Worrisome Heart' is a ten-track collection of original songs co-produced by Melody Gardot and Grammy Award winning producer Glenn Barratt.

With a superb narrative, nuanced phrasing and skillfully constructed arrangements, this is a rare and unique album.

Echoes of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald belie her jazz heritage, whilst the lyrics communicate a wise, determined and occasionally lighthearted take on life.

What's more, these fragile tales of love are all self-penned.

Backed by the some of the finest musicians on the American jazz scene, she has already drawn rave reviews everywhere.

Melody, who is just 23, manages to sound wise beyond her years without sounding foolish.

She combines old school jazz with fresh and original self penned lyrics - no rehashing covers for this songbird.

The album opens smooth and mellow with the title track, "Worrisome Heart", where she asks for love, eccentricities and all. Moving into the lighter, upbeat "All That I Need Is Love", she reprimands the male species for being oblivious to a woman's finer needs.

Her songs flow in this manner through the rest of the album, with gems such as the Cole Porter-esque "Love Me Like A River", the seductive "Quiet Fire", and the sentimental, optimistic "One Day".

Her resulting inner steel cuts through best in top tracks "Worrisome Heart" and "Love Me Like A River Does", lifting them above standard dreamy jazz classics.

On the album's title track, she calls herself a "worrisome, troubling, baggage free, modern day dame, ain't nobody the same".

She's right there. Meanwhile "Love Me Like A River Does" stands out for its simple yet devastating lines such as: "Baby don't rush, you're no waterfall - love me that is all".

The tunes are understated and simple yet when paired with her strong, clear voice, the mix is intoxicating.

Her warm, broken phrasing and the band's close backing put one in mind of Ella Fitzgerald's work with Johnny Mercer.

This isn't an album that blows you away. It sneaks up on you.

Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux have some serious competition on their hands."

Goosebumps!

J. L. Bertram | South Africa | 11/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All I need say about this album is, if you love a soothing, sultry voice and are looking for something a little bit different and unpredictable, this is the album for you. My two top tracks are the title track and 'Love me like a river does', which never fails to get those goosebumps going."