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Queen Latifah -
Trav'lin' Light (Verve)
Released: September 25, 2007
It was a little-noticed Holly Hunter-Danny DeVito movie titled, "Living
Out Loud" that first made me
notice Ms. Latifah.
"Oh my," I said.
And then there was "Chicago," and the first "Dana Owens Album."
Now this.
Oh my. It just keeps getting better.
"Poetry Man" is clearly the track that's being pushed. It's what Ms.
Latifah (Ms. Owens?) sang all over the morning news programs on the
Tuesday of the disc's release. But there's plenty more to like about
this disc.
"I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" was a Sinatra track from the mid-50s that
didn't get much traction until the HBO Movie, "The Rat Pack." Frankly, I
always liked Sammy Davis Junior's version best, until now. Ms. Latifah
has the right Broadway kind of backing on this one, and it's going to be
hard to think of it without thinking of her singing it.
I wouldn't have thought that she could pull off something as gentle as
"Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars," but she and the backing group do nicely.
Verve pulled out the stops - no combos here, big bands, big strings, all
to go with Ms. Latifah's big voice - her imposing presence is balanced
nicely.
This is a quality recording, and must be part of your collection of
today's standards.
Very highly recommended..
  Three
and one-half microphones (out of four)
- Doug Boynton
(09/27/07) |
