Love Is...The Tender Trap

Stacey Kent | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Candid Records
• ASIN: B000027W89
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,900 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Stacy Kent has a voice like the great Dinah Washington's, immediate in its grab of the ear and incisive in its tonal shape. Kent's middle range has a washing quality that pushes the edges forward, even as the edges lilt upward or warble excitedly. Kent and her British band--virtual unknowns prior to this debut--are sure to splash big, with their spare ballad approach (as on Duke Ellington and Bob Russell's "I Didn't Know About You") or their rumbling swing on George Gershwin's "They All Laughed." Pianist David Newton glides across melodies with a light touch but then launches sparkling solos full of funky harmonics--hear "The Tender Trap" for Kent and Newton's mix of charming voice and odd pianism. The band is creative enough to feel at ease reaching into great instrumental passages, giving Kent a first-class platform from which to cue up phrasing that nods to Ella Fitzgerald and a unique, fetching overall style all her own. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description

It's Only her Second Album, but What an Impact She Has Had on the Jazz World. Ms. Kent's Natural Vocal Abilities Are in Full Force Once More on this Wonderful Collection. While the Songs Are Quite Familiar to Most, She Breathes New Life Into Each One with a Distinctive Voice, Superb Diction and Sublime Performance. If You're a Fan of How They Used to Make 'em, Guess What? They're Still Making Em Like They Used To...and Just as Good!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reminds Me Of Billie Holliday, January 23, 2001

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carol irvin "carol irvin" (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Love Is...The Tender Trap (Audio CD)

Stacey Kent reminds me of several singers who have done these songs but none as much as Billie Holliday. On the very first tune, I thought I was listening to Billie except the technical aspects of the recording sounded too good to be Billie's. (Recording conditions were primitive for many of Billie's recordings and so you have to enjoy her in spite of the conditions.) I thoroughly enjoyed the album and found myself getting into it more and more with each listening. Someone else was comparing her to Diana Krall. I recently gave Krall's album a 5 star rating also. The difference to me is that Stacey Kent actually could fool me into thinking she was Billie Holliday. I would not be fooled by Diana Krall. However, I think Krall is still probably more accessible to an audience who is perhaps not used to the singing of Billie Holliday or Ella Fitzgerald. I can certainly fit both singers into my CD collection! Kent also has more orchestration behind her whereas Krall's was really stripped down to a Minimalist style with the backup musicians. I liked it both ways. Let me put it this way: if you like Sinatra or Baker, buy the Krall. If you like Fitzgerald or Holliday, buy the Kent.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tender Trap and Let Yourself Go, June 29, 2002

By 

K. Luey (Culver City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Love Is...The Tender Trap (Audio CD)

... I think these are the two best Stacey Kent works. Stacey Kent has a light voice with that quick vibrato. I put her somewhere between Ella and Blossom Dearie. She has such great musical feel. Her pitch and diction are right on. You can hear every word of the lyric. "Let Yourself Go" is not an easy song, yet she sings it in a relaxed and swinging fashion, just like Nat Cole singing "Route 66," which the intro suggests. On "Tender Trap", I particularly like "Fools Rush In," especially where the melody goes down to the bottom of her range. She nails it right down and that fluttery voice suddenly blooms out like a singer who has done all of her breathing exercises. "Tender Trap" also has the best energy, with a larger number of uptempo tunes ("Comes Love", "Don't Be That Way", "They All Laughed") and more superb, tasteful saxophone playing from Jim Tomlinson. Jim plays such great melodies that complement the tune, and his sound is so beautifully warm, very much like Stan Getz. Colin Oxley is also good on guitar as both a soloist and vocal accompanist. Not easy to do. This is a very fine singer, with a fine band, and they have put some fine music together.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Second album from American-born British-based jazz star, May 9, 2004

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Love Is...The Tender Trap (Audio CD)

Stacey is now getting long-overdue recognition in the land of her birth thanks to her 2004 album, The boy next door, but she has been a major name in British jazz circles for a few years now. This is one of the albums that show why. I am amazed to read reviews criticizing Stacey's voice but we are all entitled to our opinions. I think she has a wonderful voice. Any minor technical limitations are more than compensated for in other ways. She likes to put her own distinctive interpretations on each song, so she can adapt the song to suit her voice. Classic songs from the Great American Songbook are Stacey's speciality. This is a very competitive market but Stacey has proved well capable of taking on the competition.

On this album, you can hear Stacey's versions of such classics as the title track (Frank Sinatra), I didn't know about you (Duke Ellington), Comes love (Artie Shaw with Helen Forrest singing), In the still of the night (Tommy Dorsey), Fools rush in (Glenn Miller), East of the sun (Tom Coakley), Zing went the strings of my heart (Judy Garland), They say it's wonderful (Frank Sinatra), Don't be that way (Benny Goodman), They all laughed (Fred Astaire), In the wee small hours of the morning (Frank Sinatra) and It's a wonderful world (Charlie Barnet). If one or two of the original hit-makers seem unfamiliar, a look at the composer credits will reassure you. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn, George and Ira Gershwin - they're all there.

Stacey is, as ever, backed by some of the finest jazz musicians in Britain (and she's married to one of them). Her music may have less crossover appeal than Diana Krall and Norah Jones but it's possible to enjoy the music of all three in their different ways.