Postcards from Downtown (2003)
8
Fred Astaire / Love Gets in the Way / Somebody Leave a Light On
/ Postcards from Downtown / Miss Liberty / Last Good Taste / Monroe
/ Paterson / Just Like Jack / Satisfied
Here's
an artist who seems like a musical ferry, constantly going back and forth
between "instantly likeable" and "an acquired taste." It's no surprise that
the regard to which she's held is higher in Europe than in the US and that
she was signed to Munich Records, the Dutch haven for out-of-step roots artists
(Johnny Dowd, Will Johnson, Mary Gauthier, The Baptist Generals, etc), as
there are several aspects about her and her albums that set her apart from
the Americana-flock. First of all, there's that masculine voice, not
raw but tough, situated between the croon of Annie Lennox, the holler
of Nina Simone, the moan of Tracy Chapman and the, uh, the cigarette brand-sponsored
croak of Marianne Faithfull. It's certainly not the most average voice
out there, but do you really need another cute angel with a high-pitched tremble?
Didn't think so. Then there's also the style, obviously rooted in folk,
country and blues, but almost equally sizeable doses of piano bar jazz (the
Tom Waits-kind), French chanson and even some Eastern-European touches (a
slight gypsy touch that perhaps can be explained because of her Slavic roots).
While she's toured with a monument like Richard Thompson, a cult icon like
Buddy Miller and recorded with everybody's favourite Norah Jones, her style
is much harder to pinpoint. Throughout Postcards from Downtown, you're
constantly swept from one side to the other, from fairly conventional alt
folk to surprisingly experimental ventures into the bombastic. Displaying
an admirable skill on acoustic and electric guitar (regularly with a slide)
and usually backed by upright bass, drums and less commonly used instruments
like accordion, mandolin or violin, she manages to evoke a refreshing version
of coffee shop bohemia that's as eclectic as it is rewarding. Album opener
"Fred Astaire," for instance, starts off on a sombre note, but just when you
think you'll be offered a depressing diary to trudge through, the song shifts
into a cabaret-styled waltz that conjures up images of elegantly dancing men
and their beautifully clad women in a Parisian bistro in the forties. Some
of the songs are more traditional, like "Love Gets in the Way," one of her
very best songs, which is an elegant ballad with passionate vocals (especially
in the chorus) and a laidback, seductive beat, or "Satisfied" and the title
track, imposing lessons in sober craftsmanship. As argued above, however,
it's the surprising touches that you'll remember when the album has reached
its conclusion: the bloated but impressive "Somebody Leave a Light On," with
its plodding percussion, "weird ass ambient guitar stuff" (finally liner notes
that are spot on) and smoky backing vocals by her mentor Richie Havens; the
sexual, jazzy swagger of "Miss Liberty" (my favourite Kurtz-song), which features
absolutely stunning vocals and an arrangement that's equally entrancing;
the jazzy late-night folk-pop (does that description make sense?) of "Paterson"
and the dark and droning "Monroe." The album does have its patchier moments,
as I've never been that impressed by the noir folk of "Just Like Jack" (often
a fan favourite though) or the moody "Last Good Taste" (with Waits' Closing
Time-vibe), but overall Postcards from Downtown is all about classy
material and excellent vocals wrapped up in tasty arrangements.
Beautiful Yesterday (2004)
6
Music Box / I Belong to the Wind / Love Where Did You Go? / Left Alone
/ Joy in Repetition / Those Were the Days / Everybody Knows / Amsterdam
Crown / I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good) / Lost and Looking /
Parlez-Moi d'Amour / Beautiful Yesterday
I
like this album about half as much as I should like it. I mean, I know I'm
allowed to have an opinion of my own, but it's just that I didn't get that
click in my head, not even after a lot of listens. It received unanimous praise
and I do understand its charm, as it sounds like a logical evolution, contains
wonderful vocals overall and very competent playing and professional arrangements,
but I'm somehow lacking the spirit of Postcards from Downtown. That
said, there isn't anything bad on here. It's just that some songs rub
me the wrong way, and initially I thought that was because there are actually
only three Kurtz-songs on the album, yet that can't be it, as my favorite
songs on the album are covers. I like the wistful, low-key baroque of "I Belong
to the Wind" with its swelling strings, I like her interpretation of Eszter
Balint's "Amsterdam Crown" and the Mark Lanegan-styled sparseness of "Lost
and Looking," but the only song I really love here, is her cover version
of Prince's "Joy in Repetition," an almost hypnotic merger of soul and jazz
featuring shimmering guitar parts, cool bass work and some of her best vocals
yet (and that says a lot). When she gets to that "Two words fall in between
the drops and moans of his condition, holding someone is truly believing,"
I'm sold. Unfortunately, moments like that are way too rare. Leonard Cohen's
"Everybody Knows," Ellington's "I Got It Bad" (a duet with Norah Jones), Billie
Holiday's "Left Alone," they're all okay, but okay ain't good enough. I want
sparkles, I want to discover things I didn't already know or realize and I
want song si want to hear over and over again, and that just never happened.
On top of that, she added "Those Were the Days" and "Parlez-Moi d'Amour" and
those two sound a tad contrived, as if she tried too hard to display an eclecticism
that ends up with too much unnecessary grandeur. Postcards from Downtown
also let you know she had an eclectic taste and background, but there you
took it for granted, as it often strengthened the already worthwhile songs,
but on Beautiful Yesterday, the emotions and moods (especially the
jazz bar stuff) are a bit overdone, making it a frustrating listen.
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