 Diana Krall This album is hardly surprising, and I can't really say it's disappointing, but given Diana Krall's prior two CDs (the equally sublime All For You and Love Scenes), it's kind of a shame to see her artistry subjugated to Verve's marketing. Of course, the performances are all tasteful, and some are even a little exquisite. But from the moment the disc starts, you just get a sinking feeling that another great talent has gotten too popular. It happened to Jimmy Smith, it happened to Louis Armstrong, it happened to George Benson, and yes, it happened to Arthur Fonzarelli. When I Look in Your Eyes is the equivalent of that later-season Fonzie growing a beard and teaching high school. I mean, of course you still like Fonzie, and it's not like he's not cool, I mean he's still Fonzie, but there's something a little too calculated about it, righto? After two stellar albums of simple trio format, this one puts Diana in front of a full orchestra, really focussing a lot more on her voice than her piano playing. And she's a great singer, no doubt about it. I would bet that thousands of white babies have been conceived while listening to her great, sexy, smoky voice wind its way through a standard, to say nothing of the countless gay and lesbian orgasms to have been accompanied by her music. That's a great credit to any musician. The more orgasms you inspire, the better. Anyone getting it on to John Tesh? No, no fucking way. Even so, the unabashed sexiness of this album does not so much seem like a natural extension of the comparatively shyer, cuter previous records, but rather an imposition by some VP or marketing at Universal, thinking it's time to take Diana Krall to the "big leagues." To be honest, I'd almost rather have had it be a straight pop album, like a Sting album or something. The songs are all well-chosen, but a bit too obviously (there's the token semi-novelty song, "Popsicle Toes," there's the extremely languid, sultry take on "I've Got You Under My Skin"). The arrangements are top-shelf, and Russell Malone (guitar) gets in some nice licks here and there. But where Love Scenes was some kind of heartfelt masterpiece, When I Look in Your Eyes just seems like it was recorded specifically as in-store play music for Borders (I don't mean that in a good way). Of the twelve cuts on the album, only the title track is spine-tingling, while the others are mainly more of the same, just what you'd expect. Is this a lame album? In no way. Is it a lame Diana Krall album? Kinda.
Review by Peter Pumpkin-Piehead |