Search - Jill Barber :: Chances

Neo Western Swing

Carsten Knoch | Toronto, ON Canada | 01/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jill Barber is a Halifax-based... traditional jazz singer? Swing singer? Country singer? Torch singer? Maybe "western swing," antiquated as it sounds, is a good genre for her. I had previously heard, and loved, her album For All Time, which was a little more country and r&b, and a little less jazz.



This record is "fully orchestrated," meaning that she's accompanied by a band and an orchestra. This open up musical opportunities: her voice lends itself well to this slighty twangy big band canvas. And what a lovely voice it is: Jill Barber's tone is straight-up like Norah Jones, full like Fiona Apple (but not as angry), playful like Marilyn Monroe (why not use her as a comparison...?), and she has the sort of sure-footed pitch and phrasing that indicates a professional singer's long apprenticeship. She also has something magical that can't be articulated easily: her voice is engaging, interesting and - ultimately - unforgettable.



Three songs are co-written by Barber with Ron Sexsmith, who elevates Barber's already quite fabulous game to an entirely new level. These are gems - songs that would have been chart hits 50 or 60 years ago and that will inevitably deserve a much wider audience than they'll get.



I love the `widescreen' production on this - the production values, recording quality, the mix and the mastering are fabulous. This CD has one of the widest soundstages I've heard in a while. Kudos to producer/arranger Les Cooper. The musicianship is flawless, too, and there are some nice touches in the instrumentation (flute, fiddle, vibes).



Standout tracks for me are "Chances," "Oh My My" (which I think is completely fantastic in a sort of secular gospel way and imagine to be great live) and "Never Quit Loving You."



Where Susie Arioli (swing chanteuse from Montreal whose neo-traditional swing is not entirely dissimilar to this) can sound sleepy at times, the quality of the songcraft here, Jill's unique voice and the slow but muscular arrangements kept me interested and excited throughout."

Excellent album

Bama Girl | 11/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I ordered 3 copies of this CD last month from the Canadian distributor because I had listened several times to the entire CD via Jill Barber's website. I kept one for myself and gave one to my cousin. I can't say enough good things about this CD. Both my cousin and I love it, but it's hard to categorize. The songs are all originals; most (I think all) were either written or co-written by Jill Barber. She's managed to knock the nasal tone out of her voice while still retaining her unusual, but appealing vocal quality. Barber doesn't have a twang to her voice, but I still think her voice falls broadly into the country/folk or alt-country/folk category. I'd be interested to see how others categorize her. I would classify this as old-style country, when instrumentals were not so definitively in the style of country (there are no fiddles here). On many songs, there's a sweeping instrumental sound, which reminded me a bit of Nelson Riddle's style on his recordings with Linda Ronstadt, but the orchestration is not that predictable.



As for the songs, they are a mix of somewhat jazzy ballads and some faster tempo, upbeat songs; the latter include at least one swing tune. The musicians are very talented; on one song, I think I hear a marimba, which is rather unusual. Most of the songs have a romantic theme, but they're not sugary sweet. One of my favorite songs is "Wishing Well", but there are several others that I like almost as much. "Leaving You", a swing tune, is another one of my favorites. There's not a bad song on the CD; I imagine that "Chances", "Old Flame", "Never Quit Loving You" and "One More Time" will be favorites for many. One tune, "Oh My My", does go on a little long for my taste, but that's very minor; I just turn the volume down or skip to the next song if I'm tired of hearing the chorus repeat. That said, it's still a good song.



This CD has been in my car's CD player off and on for weeks now; I must have played it at least 20 times since I got it. I recently ordered 3 additional copies to give as birthday or Christmas gifts. The 3 or 4 people who have listened to this CD online based on my recommendation have absolutely loved it.



If you like Jill Barber's previous CDs, you'll love this one.



Jill Barber definitely deserves to be more well known. I happened upon her music by accident a couple of months ago and I'm glad I did.

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