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Elly Roberts reviews
Don’t Talk
Sony Jazz (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment)
- Released: October 2004
- Rating: 10/10
- Cat. No: 5186702
Track listing:
- 1. Messin With Fire
2. When In Rome (I Do As The Romans Do)
3. Stoned Soul Picnic
4. Everything Is You
5. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
6. You Bring The Best Out In Me
7. The Music Goes Round And Round
8. Dont Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
9. Mood Indigo
10. Falling For You
11. In A Mellow Tone
12. So In Love
13. I Just Want To Make Love To You
Clare Teal is the real deal.
As many young pretenders mess about purporting to be Jazz singers, Clare Tealshows them the door. She can never be called pretentious as she plays rightinto the hands of the purists. Much has been said about the genre, withseveral cross over artists using the tag for their benefit. That criticismcan never be levelled at thirty year old Teal.
Finally she strikes gold with her fourth offering Dont Talk, becomingthe darling of the airwaves with BBC Radio 2s adult orientated audience. Forcommercial reasons, shes been labelled alongside Amy Winehouse, Norah Jonesand Diana Krall but shes streets ahead of them in every department.
From the opening drum beats of a rip roaring Messin With Fire, a outand out swinger, you immediately get a feeling shes rubber stamped herintentions. Mixing standards like Willie Dixons classic Just Want To MakeLove To You, Duke Ellingtons Mood Indigo with self-penned songslike Falling For You, she proves shes got the pedigree to stay thecourse, so much so, Sony have recently beaten off the competition and offereda multi-million pound recording deal and shes worth every penny.
The voice is highly disciplined, stylish, silky smooth and sensual whenrequired listen to Cole Porters So In Love and feel the emotionsooze out. Giving a backward nod to traditional Jazz and looking forward isthe winning combination.
Favourite tracks the delightfully jaunty When In Rome, and EverythingIs You, both of which have a retro-60s feel. You Bring The Best Out In Meis the highlight of this exquisite 49-minute experience.
What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life, a superb love ballad, wouldbe a great single. Best Jazz album in years.
And check outClare Teal.co.uk
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.