You’ve really got to admire Diana Krall. She could easily rest on her laurels and spend the rest of her life filling theatres and selling discs doing standards. Instead, she takes artistic changes like her album of originals a few years back, and here she’s going a bit off the path as well. Going forward by looking back in her past, as she revisits songs that her dad used to play around the house when she was growing up; pre swing material from the wonderful world of Gatsby era and Depression era 78s. The only ones you might already be familiar with is “Lonely Avenue” (made popular by Ray Charles) and the title track. All others are winsome tunes from a bygone era, but with the production duties given to T-Bone Burnett (of “Brother, Where Art Thou?” fame), the songs have that sort of traditional roots feel . The multiple guitar duties by Marc Ribot who goes from Ukelele in ”Just Like A Butterfly…” to Banjo in “Here Lies Love” to acoustic guitar on “Wide River to Cross” and electric guitar all throughout, and he turns into the background master here, creating different and divergent moods throughout, while The rest of the band go from folk revival to rockabilly to Saturday Night at the VFW. Krall’s voice is a perfect tool here , as she comes across like someone who is from the era, and not pandering to it. A strong and intriguing outing.
On a side note, I’m not sure why she’s doing it except to prove that a mom still has a mojo, but Ms. Krall’s boudoir photos on the cover and inside have an unnatural look to them. She’s more of a Betty than a Veronica in the Archie Comics of life, and the twain should never meet.
Verve Records
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