07/07/2008
Music: Blues/Jazz:: 0 comments: by George Thompson
The music has the Brazilian influence of samba, calypso and bassa nova.
Carly Simon departs from her usual folk-style and mixes it up with a little Brazilian samba in her latest, This Kind of Love.
When I first saw that Carly Simon’s folksy vocals would be part of an album with samba beats, I thought maybe this Grammy winner had finally lost it. Seriously, who would think she could pull that off? It seems unrealistic – and totally unnatural. Even the singer herself was not certain she could pull it off. Was I shocked to discover just how well Simon’s voice blends with the Brazilian beats.
Each song on the CD tells a story and they merge into an overall theme for the album, which takes place over 24 hours. I could imagine being in the sunlight when she recorded “Morning, Hola, Soleil.” The same was true with “Island” about being by herself with no one to fend for her.
The music has the Brazilian influence of samba, calypso and bassa nova. The beats are strong and the lyrics are well thought out for the title of each track. Simon has a strong voice and it plays out through all of the 13 tracks. Backed by a vocal group, Simon sings with warmth in a new genre of music for her. Simon wrote many of the songs on the album and accompanied the orchestra on piano.
I enjoyed the entire range of songs she performs. Her voice never cracked and she was able to hit high notes—as well as the low ones—with ease. I wish there were more tracks on the CD because I like Carly Simon and always have. Her vocals are easygoing and tempered with the music. Not once was she drowned out by the orchestra or the children that accompanied her on the “Morning” track. This CD lulled me into relaxation that was tough to shake.
In fact, this entire album lends itself to lolling on the sofa while listening or works just as well as background music if you are reading, knitting and even working crossword puzzles, or reading the newspaper.