Subtitled “The Songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen,” this album by evocative chanteuse Barb Jungr brings folk tunes from the 60s and on up to modern times, sounds and interpretations. Her chestnut tone works well, and she uses her dynamics on the lyrics to tell stories, which is what these songwriters had in mind. She mixes and matches with the team of Neville Malcom-Steve Watts/b, Richard Olatunde Baker-Gary Hammond/perc, Clive Bell/fl, and Simon Wallace/key with songs that take on gentle percussive grooves, as on “Everybody Knows” are bluesy moods like on “First We Take Manhattan.” At times she can be hard hitting, as on the dramatic “Hard Rain,” and other times evoke images of Monument Valley with Indian flutes on “Blowin’ In the Wind” and “Masters of War.” She delivers like she means it, with a nuance that can only come from living a full life. Impressive!
Kristalyn Records
www.barbjungr.com