 Claire Austin One of the blackest sounding white chicks I've heard, Claire Austin's voice conjures anything from Ethel Waters to Ethel Merman, placing her squarely in that group of chanteuses that can belt but can't convey intimacy. On When Your Lover Has Gone, that's precisely what she's going for, backed by a West Coast quintet (Bob Scobey on trumpet, Barney Kessell on guitar, Stan Wrightsman on piano, Morty Cobb on bass, and Shelley Manne on drums) that provides an intimate setting. The results are not bad, but not the best possible context for Austin's big, round voice. The CD comprises the ten tracks from the original album and adds eight more from a ten-inch called Claire Austin Sings the Blues, done with Kid Ory's quartet. Those tracks are the best part of this disc, finding Austin doing a dead-on Bessie Smith with the band providing some kickin' New Orleans accompaniment. It's an interesting contrast to the ballad material that begins the disc, and listening to the CD straight through, there is an undeniable perk-up that occurs when the blues shouts begin. Unfortunately, the contrast between the two approaches makes the late-night tunes seem pretty pallid, rendering the CD quite secondary. When Your Lover Has Gone features songs very much in the Billy Holiday torch vein: the title song, "Can't We Talk it Over," "My Melancholy Baby," "The House Is Haunted," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "What is This Thing Called Love?" Part of the problem is that these songs have been done better numerous times, especially by Billie herself. It's unsursprising that Claire Austin is considered a footnote (the liner notes even point out that fact), as she didn't really possess a voice of great individuality or deep expressiveness. The performances are fine, and the band is good, but there's no flame for all the smoke. Things kick into motion with track 11, "The World's Jazz Crazy" and the rest of the disc (from the Sings The Blues album) is pretty great. It's Bessie Smith redux, for sure, but it's good time music. Kid Ory's trombone, augmented by the straightforward piano-bass-drums line-up, provides a simple but totally effective backing for the Claire's masterful Bessie imitation. Despite the derivitaveness, it's easy to see this more as an homage than a rip-off, similar to Madeleine Peyroux's interpolation of Billie Holiday's style into her contemporary 90s music. The best cuts: "The World is Jazz Crazy," "Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out," "Careless Love." This is not essential music for anyone, really, but jazz old schoolers might find it to be something of a lost pearl. In reality, though, this won't be anyone's first choice when selecting music to put on, unless the fact of obscurity itself provides you with a great thrill.
Review by Paula Princess |