VERONICA SWIFT - This Bitter Earth
Mack Avenue: MAC177
Veronica Swift: vocals; Emmet Cohen: piano; Yashushi Nakamura: acoustic bass; Bryan Carter: drums; Armand Hirsch: electric guitar
Recorded by Todd Whitelock at Sear Sound, New York
Veronica Swift has to be the most assured and convincing interpreter of the Great American songbook of her generation (and, for money, she is right up there with any of the great singers you’d care to name). In addition to her peerless vocal qualities (including excellent scatting – check out ‘You’re the dangerous type’, track 6) she has a sly and sassy humour that uses these songs not just as musical vehicles but also as a way of making clear statements. Who else would combine ‘How lovely to be a woman’, track 2, with ‘He hit me (and it felt like a kiss)’, track 8, with ‘You’re the dangerous type’, track 6, with ‘The Man I love’, track 5, with ‘As long as he needs me’, track 9? – a sequence which, in the wake of #metoo raises a host of questions about relationships. But each of which is sung in way that she completely owns and sings almost as provocations rather than torch-songs or singalongs. Similarly, there’s a set with ‘You’ve got to be carefully taught’, track 3, with ‘Trust in me’, track 7, with ‘Everybody has a right to be wrong’, track 10 – which in our ‘post-truth’ era highlights what it means to hold and express extreme opinions. Nakamura’s jaunty bass line introduces ‘The Sports Page’, track 12, a song which has the refrain ‘by the time I read the news today, I forget what I read yesterday, that’s why I turn to the sports page’ (because you can’t change the score by telling lies). Of course, finding meaning in the selection tracks is an easy sport, especially when the album has such a wide and idiosyncratic selection. But there must have a been a reason to pick these?
Musically, each of the tunes that she inhabits on this album, with marvellous support from Cohen’s piano and the sterling rhythm section, has that difficult to pin quality of sounding both authentically from the period in which it was written and also very contemporary.
The album opens with Clyde Otis’ ‘This bitter earth’ sung with a delicate ‘cello accompanying it. I thought the arrangement felt familiar and this is the tune which ends the film ‘Shutter Island’ (which merges the original tune with Max Richter’s ‘On the nature of daylight’ - and the ‘cello carries a tune which has a debt to this). It is worth noting that the version on ‘Shutter Island’ is sung by Dinah Washington and you won’t be surprised to read that I think Swift’s version is superior. The set closes with choirs from Stone Robinson Elementary School and Walton Middle School on a heartfelt rendition of the Dresden Doll’s ‘Sing’. Closing with a contemporary indie rock ballad not only illustrates the breadth of musical choices made on this set but also highlights the chic that Swift brings to all of her songs. There is an overarching message across the choice of songs, and this is the change is possible and that it will be driven by women with confidence and swagger born of boundless talent that Swift so ably demonstrates.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Mack Avenue: MAC177
Veronica Swift: vocals; Emmet Cohen: piano; Yashushi Nakamura: acoustic bass; Bryan Carter: drums; Armand Hirsch: electric guitar
Recorded by Todd Whitelock at Sear Sound, New York
Veronica Swift has to be the most assured and convincing interpreter of the Great American songbook of her generation (and, for money, she is right up there with any of the great singers you’d care to name). In addition to her peerless vocal qualities (including excellent scatting – check out ‘You’re the dangerous type’, track 6) she has a sly and sassy humour that uses these songs not just as musical vehicles but also as a way of making clear statements. Who else would combine ‘How lovely to be a woman’, track 2, with ‘He hit me (and it felt like a kiss)’, track 8, with ‘You’re the dangerous type’, track 6, with ‘The Man I love’, track 5, with ‘As long as he needs me’, track 9? – a sequence which, in the wake of #metoo raises a host of questions about relationships. But each of which is sung in way that she completely owns and sings almost as provocations rather than torch-songs or singalongs. Similarly, there’s a set with ‘You’ve got to be carefully taught’, track 3, with ‘Trust in me’, track 7, with ‘Everybody has a right to be wrong’, track 10 – which in our ‘post-truth’ era highlights what it means to hold and express extreme opinions. Nakamura’s jaunty bass line introduces ‘The Sports Page’, track 12, a song which has the refrain ‘by the time I read the news today, I forget what I read yesterday, that’s why I turn to the sports page’ (because you can’t change the score by telling lies). Of course, finding meaning in the selection tracks is an easy sport, especially when the album has such a wide and idiosyncratic selection. But there must have a been a reason to pick these?
Musically, each of the tunes that she inhabits on this album, with marvellous support from Cohen’s piano and the sterling rhythm section, has that difficult to pin quality of sounding both authentically from the period in which it was written and also very contemporary.
The album opens with Clyde Otis’ ‘This bitter earth’ sung with a delicate ‘cello accompanying it. I thought the arrangement felt familiar and this is the tune which ends the film ‘Shutter Island’ (which merges the original tune with Max Richter’s ‘On the nature of daylight’ - and the ‘cello carries a tune which has a debt to this). It is worth noting that the version on ‘Shutter Island’ is sung by Dinah Washington and you won’t be surprised to read that I think Swift’s version is superior. The set closes with choirs from Stone Robinson Elementary School and Walton Middle School on a heartfelt rendition of the Dresden Doll’s ‘Sing’. Closing with a contemporary indie rock ballad not only illustrates the breadth of musical choices made on this set but also highlights the chic that Swift brings to all of her songs. There is an overarching message across the choice of songs, and this is the change is possible and that it will be driven by women with confidence and swagger born of boundless talent that Swift so ably demonstrates.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
