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Lisa Lauren - Lisa Lauren
Loves The Beatles (Planet Jazz)
Released: November, 2006
Oh, my - Lisa Lauren does love the Beatles. Looking back through
her past three efforts, there must be a score or more of covered
Lennon-McCartney-Harrison tunes.
The breezy pop-art cover art belies the fact that this is mostly a
blues-jazz tinged take - a first-rate outing, backed by people like
Grammy-winning saxophonist David Sanborn and singer/songwriter Willy
Porter.
I first heard Ms. Lauren's work in 30-second bytes while noodling around
on iTunes. She's been working hard around Chicago for some time. Properly
promoted, this disc should provide the juice to get her work heard in a
much bigger league.
Listening to her work on this
(or on the earlier) discs is like opening up a very powerful sports car on
a very straight stretch of highway. More confident, now, I think.
You want to hear her flat-out.
That's what you get, along with Sanborn on the first-rate take of "Can't
Buy Me Love," which (to my ears) is the Smooth Jazz hit from this CD. It's
the money shot - a new number one on my current 'pod mix. If you own
nothing else, track down this cut.
Others I've been going back to include "Love Me Do," with the
aforementioned Mr. Porter on guitar, and "All My Loving," a sweet ballad
that - when you think about it, is a more appropriate rendition of the
song.
And Jim Gailloreto's soprano
sax is a nifty counterpoint to Ms. Lauren's fine voice on "Dear Prudence."
Oh, hell. There really isn't a clunker in this bunch.
Just buy it.
Highest recommendation.
Four microphones (out of four)
- Doug Boynton
(11/19/06) |
