Davis' Rejuvenates Standards Making Them "Young" Again
T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 01/18/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Prime Cuts: You Belong to Me, My Babe, But Not for Me
Former protégé and vocal partner of Reba McEntire, Linda Davis has learnt well from the Queen of Country Music. Not only does Davis sound like a sonic cousin of McEntire, she has also followed her boss' musical direction with "Young at Heart." McEntire who had recently made a splash at Broadway with her resurrection of the old musical "South Pacific," Davis has also decided to dig into the jewels from the golden era of popular songs. Without being too simplistic, there are two ways artists have often tackled an album of standards. Some have opted for the languid late-night jazzy route (a la Diana Krall and Norah Jones) while others prefer the more upbeat Cabaret style buoyed by a full-blown ensemble. Davis has chosen the latter which has worked to her advantage as her full-bodied vocals needed that sumptuous backing to match the energy Davis puts into her performances. And her passion for the Great American songbook shows considering the fact that she and hubby Lang Scott not only chosen all these 10 tacks but together they also produced this effort.
With the wealth of material from the vaults, Davis has an immeasurable canon of material to choose from. Yet for these 10 tracks, Davis has gone for some of the more obvious choices. Nevertheless, Davis sings them with such freshness that they sound as of these paeans were written specifically for her. On Cole Porter's graphic "Miss Otis Regret," Davis sings as if she was acting out the narrative plot of this dark classic about murder and jealousy. All complete with some suspense building sounding piano chops to add to the excitement of the song. Davis claims our attention on "But Not for Me with her unhurried, tear-filled, and sincere performance. Also, quite jaw dropping is Davis' acapella introduction to "My Babe" and the lonesome drum punctuations.
Not since Anne Murray's version of "You Belong on Me" has anyone captured the tropical and dreamy sonic travelogue associated with the romance of this piece. Davis comes close. While a lesser artist may struggle with the twisting of words on the challenging "If I Were a Bell," but Davis sings it as if she had been singing it for years. In fact, she sounds so much like Reba McEntire that they could trade identities on this track. Davis' take of the title track "Young at Heart" really showcases what a great singer she is----her vocals are not only crystalline, but her unforced and swinging phrasings are just mesmerizing.
If there are any flaws on his superb set, they are that this album clocks in on the shorter end with only 10 tracks. Further, Davis could have easily stretched herself a little with some lesser known material or maybe even a couple of originals. Nevertheless, despite these slight blemishes, Linda Davis certainly knows how to rejuvenate these chestnuts and making them sound "young at heart" again.
"
Totally captivated
Chili-dip Ward | over-the-hill | 02/01/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Linda Davis is so underappreciated. Too bad. A talent like that is so very rare. I put her in the same league with Linda Eder, Shania Twain, and Connie Francis. Each has an excellent voice, great technique, perfect or near perfect pitch. And each is able to select songs that fits her talents. When listening to Ms. Davis, one feels as though she is singing just to him/her. I seldem pay much attention to each word of a song. But in this case, I hear every word. Partly, because her technique is so good and, also, because she sells the song totally. I guess you could put it - that one feels the song rather than just hears it. All of her albums are equally good. Highly recommmend!"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1