Babbie Green is a modern-day troubadour who delivers musical messages about life's sights and scenes.
Babbie Green is the daughter of Johnny Green, whose achievements include participating in the composing of one of the most recorded popular songs in history, "Body and Soul." But unlike the minstrels of yore and her father's songs, Green writes and sings, sometimes with help, about the trials and tribulations of a more complex turn-of-the-century society and those who experience them. These conditions are dealt with by a variety of songs done in a number of rhythms and tempos performed on a two-CD set by
Babbie Green on piano and vocals, often helped by Laurie McIntosh and/or Kirsten Benton. The desperate loneliness often created by impersonal relationships is captured by a poignant "Anybody Out There." On a brighter note, "You're My Kind" reflects the aggressiveness of modern women who, when finding a potential mate, make him aware she wants him and it's not likely she's going to let him get away. Funny, in a wry sort of way, it is on the agenda with such ditties as "Not That I Care," which deals with shifting, puzzling relationships among and between the sexes. While most of the songs are suitable for cabaret, there are several which come across as modern folk songs, such as "Love on Her Mind." The many ways the songs are sung are as imaginative as the lyrics themselves. For instance, a kind of gossipy session in "Million Seller" is done as a round by the three singers. The compelling creativity of this album notwithstanding, most will need at least two, and maybe more, listens to get through the 29 songs on the play list. But the happy result will be well worth the necessary investment of time. ~ Dave Nathan