The number of Canadian artists on the ‘pod is out of proportion. I don’t quite know the reason.
Not that it matters.
Here is another to add to the mix.
Karin Plato – Out of TownReleased – May 25, 2010
There are two different albums here, – one, I listened to on the big speakers across the room; the other is the one I listened to on the headphones while working; or through the earbuds on the train to and from work.
Of course, it’s the same album. But for me, the difference is huge, and I like the album I heard up close much better. What I’m saying is that Karin Plato’s voice is more suited for a more intimate way of listening.
And it’s quite a voice. No tricks with a band this small – piano (John Roney), Cello (Chrstine Newland) and bass (Brendan Davis), Ms. Plato hides behind nothing.
Not that she should.
This is intimacy of the highest order, swing without noise, improvisation without mumbly scat, heat without flame.
Seventeen tracks across a pair of discs – if I’d been producing, I’d have saved the money and chosen a dozen or so, but it wouldn’t have been easy, and where to cut is always the problem, isn’t it? Especially tough with this material. Some off-the-beaten path covers like “The Breeze and I” from Cuba, and “Blackberry Winter,” a song that’s only been recorded a few times since it was written some 35 years ago.
Two originals that I was able to identify – Ms. Plato’s own “I’d Rather Be Somewhere Hot,” which stands up just fine amongst this crowd (better than some), and “Reality,” written by Marguerita Spencer. It’s only a slightly eclectic group – songbook classics such as “Blue Skies,” or “Day In, Day Out,” are along side “If I Only Had A Brain” and Sondheim’s “I Remember,” from a mostly-forgotten mid-sixties TV special.
Yeah, I would have cut it down to a single disc. But it would have been tough. Juno-nominated, Ms. Plato is another reason my iPod is full of great Canadian vocalists.
This is a set of recordings that wears its smart on its sleeve.
And it’s very highly recommended.
I spent some of my Father’s Day iTunes loot on the soundtrack from “Promises, Promises” – the revival that stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes.
And was struck by a couple of things – how well the music of Hal David and Burt Bacharach stacks up against anything else from Broadway; and how Ms. Chenoweth is just about the best all-around performer working in musical theatre. The “authorized” clips I found from the musical are really too short – so here’s a bootleg from “Regis and Kelly” with “I Say A Little Prayer.”
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