Search - Rita Coolidge :: And So Is Love

Rita Reinvents Standards

Harry N. Cohen | New Haven, Ct. USA | 06/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am listening to And So Is Love as I write this. When I got the cd yesterday, the first thing that impressed me was how beautiful Rita looked on the cover. I looked at the song selection and almost was alarmed at what at first glance seemed an uninspired selection. Leave it to Rita to take these very well known songs and turn them into unique newly realized pieces. Rita's warm,smoky, caramel tinged voice works wonders on these tunes. Standout tracks include Cry Me A River(Rita has always reminded me of Julie London, so this cut is particularly appropriate), I Don't Know Enough About You, and my two favorites...Don't Smoke In Bed and Don't Go To Strangers. Rita's southern roots show to wonderful advantage throughout this beautiful collection, darlin'. A special shout out to all of the excellent musicians accompanying Rita, especially Terri Lynne Carrington's drums and Herb Alpert's stunning trumpet work on Estate. Thank you Concord Records for signing Rita! And to everyone reading this, if you buy only one standards cd this year, you owe it to yourselves to purchase And So Is Love."

Send Your Perfume to My Pillow

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 08/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Born in 1945, at age 60, Rita Coolidge makes a tour-de-force recording with "And So Is Love." On the jazz label Concord, Coolidge's vocals bend around a classic like "Cry Me A River" and milk the drama from the lyric with a small jazz combo. While Carly Simon's new "Moonlight Serenade" uses a wall of strings, Coolidge keeps the arrangements simple with a few players than makes you feel like you're in an intimate setting, a small club with a truly talented vocalist. One of the newer songs is Boz Scaggs' "We're All Alone" that Rita effectively re-tools into a jazz setting, similar to Paul Anka's recent "Rock Swings" effort of taking rock tunes and recasting them in a jazz context. Herb Alpert guests with trumpet on the lovely "Estate," "How your golden sunlight bends the willow, Your blossoms send your perfume to my pillow for who could know you half as well as I?" Les Brown's "Sentimental Journey" pulses with new life with Alan Pasqua's piano urging Rita's sultry alto to caress the familiar lyric, "Got my bags & got my reservation." Peggy Lee's "I Don't Know Enough About You" has the witty lyric and Rita's coy vocals, "You've got me in a spin, Oh, what a stew I'm in." "Don't Smoke In Bed" packs a dramatic wallop with this classic breakup song. This is a handsome sounding set, perfect in song selection and Rita Coolidge's ability to deliver the emotional payload. Enjoy!"

Jazz... Yep, Rita Coolidge can do that!!!

Terance Healy | Pennsylvania | 06/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rita Coolidge has always been one of those category-defying singers. Her voice stands out whether it blues, ballads, rock, or pop. Now you can add jazz to that list of music genres.



At the onset of this cd, Rita promises she'll "love you like nobody's loved you - Come Rain or Come Shine." This line opens the door on one of the most amazing collections of jazz tunes. Rita is in complete control of each song - nothing is overdone. There is no struggle between vocalist and band. Everything is so perfectly balanced.



Anyone who has seen Rita perform in recent years knows that Rita is a huge fan of Peggy Lee. No surprise that a few of Peggy's great tunes are delivered here so smoothly suggesting Rita has been singing these songs her whole life - I'm sure she has.



One of the coolest things Rita has always done with her records is let you think you know a song and then deliver it in such a way that you wonder if you'll ever hear it without thinking of Rita's version again. She never fails to take a song and immediately make it her own. In AND SO IS LOVE, Rita succeeds again and again. Song after song. Her talent shines.



Rita's closing words on this record some up the experience and offer some advice if you want an opportunity to hear some great music live and in person... "Don't go to strangers, Darlin', come to me."

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