MUSIC REVIEW BY Slim, Cadence
Katie King serves it up buffet style, offering a menu with tunes from just about every genre: Pop, Show, Jazz, Original, and even a Spiritual. And here they're all marinated in the same flavor?Jazz. Delicious.
As an appetizer the band opens with the title track, ?Harry's Fight.? It has a dash of Mose Allison (minus the clever lyrics. But this is a eulogy so cleverness has no place here.) and morphs into Carol King territory during the bridge. It is the best of the three originals. A quick synopsis of the others: ?Last Night? is a wistful little ditty with a Patsy Cline vibe. ?And Now? is a rite-of-passage ballad that seems clich�d, yet somehow simultaneously personal. You?ll know what I mean with this sampling of some key lyrics: ?run away? didn?t want to be me? you? courage? throw away pride? now alive again? know who I am? filled with gratitude? because of you? thankful? Blah blah blah.? I'm being harsh. The originals, while not adding much, don?t really detract. There is plenty to savor here. I think her originals illustrate that King is not just a vocalist and that her singing is one part of a bigger package: Musician.
The spice here is all in the Pop tunes. These are the only ones where arrangements are credited as either shared or traded off between King and pianist Anschell. The arrangements are what make this recording something worth devouring. The band pretty much applies the same treatment to these tunes (three from the Beatles bag and one from Paul Simon). ?Across The Universe? unfolds like a blossoming flower?the band is tentative, a little moody, and hopeful all at once. Flory's bass clarinet work adds some brooding in with the beauty. ?50 Ways?? is taken at a slower tempo than Simon's original. It's laid-back and yet manages to swing. Again, Flory's soloing, this time on sax, is right on engaging and arty. ?Come Together? inches along in similar fashion.
As an appetizer the band opens with the title track, ?Harry's Fight.? It has a dash of Mose Allison (minus the clever lyrics. But this is a eulogy so cleverness has no place here.) and morphs into Carol King territory during the bridge. It is the best of the three originals. A quick synopsis of the others: ?Last Night? is a wistful little ditty with a Patsy Cline vibe. ?And Now? is a rite-of-passage ballad that seems clich�d, yet somehow simultaneously personal. You?ll know what I mean with this sampling of some key lyrics: ?run away? didn?t want to be me? you? courage? throw away pride? now alive again? know who I am? filled with gratitude? because of you? thankful? Blah blah blah.? I'm being harsh. The originals, while not adding much, don?t really detract. There is plenty to savor here. I think her originals illustrate that King is not just a vocalist and that her singing is one part of a bigger package: Musician.
The spice here is all in the Pop tunes. These are the only ones where arrangements are credited as either shared or traded off between King and pianist Anschell. The arrangements are what make this recording something worth devouring. The band pretty much applies the same treatment to these tunes (three from the Beatles bag and one from Paul Simon). ?Across The Universe? unfolds like a blossoming flower?the band is tentative, a little moody, and hopeful all at once. Flory's bass clarinet work adds some brooding in with the beauty. ?50 Ways?? is taken at a slower tempo than Simon's original. It's laid-back and yet manages to swing. Again, Flory's soloing, this time on sax, is right on engaging and arty. ?Come Together? inches along in similar fashion.
Soundclips
Other Reviews of
"Harry's Fight":
The Davis Enterprise by Ric Bang
All Music Guide by Adam Greenberg