Customer Reviews

Learn to Smile Again (Dig)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I rotated this CD back home after a normal 2 week period at my office and promptly went into severe withfrawal. I found I couldn't enjoy my morning email without Susie's take on "By the Time I Get to Phoenix". The Roger Miller tunes that follow are so seldom recorded anymore that Jordan Officer's playing on all 6 just puts a smile on my face. It's so nice to see a band that's at least a generation younger than Roger bring them back to life.

This outing the group does mostly covers of (achingly sad) Roger Miller tunes.
Compared to "Pennies from Heaven" and "That's For Me" this cd is sedate. Lot's of brushed percussion and slow rhythms, only occasional and lightly done solo's by Jordan.
I kept waiting for them to tear it up but it never happens.
I love this group. I believe Jordan Officer is one of the best players today. I guess I was expecting more fiery interpretations of smoking hot jazz.
This offering is full of slow jams that calmly move you in subtle ways.

Compared with the 3 previous albums this is a little too sedate.

First problem is song selection. If it is at all meant as a salute to Roger Miller, he was very well known for fun songs. Susie & her great band could have given us a swing version of England Swings, no?

By the Time I Get to Phoenix is ok, but Ruler of My Heart is gold.

Second, the brushing is getting a little too much. Susie's voice and Jordan's guitar are great, the brushes by Susie should be used occasionally, more sparingly. More instrumental variety, for accents, would help. For example, clarinet or trombone parts would be nice.

BTW I love Night Flight the instrumental. Whereas Leo's Blues was irritating. Too much'natural' fingering noise.

I have all the cd's and look forward to more, and was lucky to see the group perform once. But this cd is not having the effect on me that I wanted.