Last time I heard a Freda Payne album were those two mid 60s classics After The Lights Go Down and How Do You Say I Don’t Love You Anymore (what was she, twelve?). These sessions had the likes of Phil Woods on alto and charts by Benny Golson. What, was she 6 back then? She still sounds GREAT! Naturally, any singer that’s lasted that long can get you worried with pitch and delivery, but she’s still got the tune and the ‘tude.
She’s got an attractive old school vibrato that she judiciously uses at just the right time on tunes like the torchy “Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry” and the luminous and glowing “Come Back To Me.” Bill Cunliffe’s arrangements mix between wondrously moody strings and punchy swing, which hit hard on the sassy “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” and the big bluesy and brassy “I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water,” both of which find Ms. Payne in a hot and earthy mood. She’s also out for a good time on the shuffling “You Don’t Know” and is as clear as a full moon on the alluring “Midnight Sun.” She skates like Dorothy Hamill on the gliding “Haven’t We Met” and is deft on the sensuous samba “I Should Have Told Him. “ You’re gonna be surprised by this lady. She still packs the heat!
Artistry Music