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Lauren Hooker - Right
Where I Belong (Musical Legends)
Release: Mary 1, 2007
The title song - a twist on the vocals to "Sometimes I Feel Like A
Motherless Child," sort of sets
the tone for the whole disc. It's familiar, yet different. Ms. Hooker
has rearranged the lyrics to
this one, and added lyrics to some of the others, like Theolonius Monk's
"You Needn't Call Me."
Three old pros join Ms. Hooker - Allen Farnham on piano and
arrangements, Tim Horner on Drums, and
Rufus Reid on Bass.
Two of the songs jump out for me, in addition to the title song. Ms.
Hooker's original, "Time and
Space," along with a driving version of Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice
To Come Home To," which also
serves as a marvelous showcase for Mr. Farnham's piano.
Another original, "No Goodbyes," is the best of the tracks to frame both
Ms. Hooker's fine voice, and
her writing skills. It's memorable, and quietly beautiful.
The only glitch on the disc, to my ear, is the last track - Duke
Ellington's "Creole Love Call,"
which just doesn't hang well with the others. It's discordant, and
distracting. Speaking of
distracting, here's a note to recording engineer Paul Wicklyffe (or
whoever instructed him on knob twiddling): Mr. Reid plays bass very well. I get it.
Down, please.
I'll think of this one as experimental - Ms. Hooker has a background as
an educator; and she and the
guys have taken some chances here. Not every one worked for me - but
when they did - as on that
title track I keep mentioning - they knock it out of the park.
The stuffer that came with this review copy says it'll be available by
the track at iTunes; it's
already at digstation.com. Go listen - download the tracks that I've
mentioned.
I think we'll both be looking for the next one from Ms. Hooker and the
guys.
 
Two and one-half microphones (out of four)
- Doug Boynton
(03/24/07) |
