Released early on in the COVID-19 pandemic,
Nicole Atkins' soulful fifth album,
Italian Ice, was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio with backing players that included, among others, members of
the Dap-Kings,
Avett Brothers, and the classic Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section itself. Plans to tour the spirited new songs were thwarted as venues were forced to close performance spaces, and
Atkins ended up running a subscription-based online variety show out of her attic. Eventually, her broadcasts moved to the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park in her native New Jersey. Adjusting to working with fewer musicians and recalling the vintage live performances of legendary vocalists like
Judy Garland and
Dean Martin,
Atkins decided to cut an album where she made her already retro-minded
Italian Ice songs sound like old standards. Recorded live in a single day at Memphis Magnetic Recording Co.,
Memphis Ice sees
Atkins rework nine of the 11 songs from
Italian Ice alongside one original, with the acoustic trio of pianist
Dan Chen, violinist
Laura Epling, and cellist
Maggie Chaffee. In true "an evening with" form, these stripped-back versions put all the focus on
Atkins' vocal interpretations, losing very little if anything in the way of intrigue in the process. A song like opener "Captain," a lap steel-accompanied ballad featuring
Spoon's
Britt Daniel that was relatively low-key to begin with, is still transformed on
Memphis Ice, removing vocal effects and reducing accompaniment to simple rhythm piano and languid string countermelodies. It elicits the image of
Atkins on a smoky dinner club stage with a mike in one hand and the other leaning on the piano lid. This impression is sustained throughout the album, even on songs like the theatrical "St. Dymphna," whose soaring melody is only amplified here, and the rocker "A Road to Nowhere," a showcase for vocal dynamics. In addition to
Atkins' raw vocal ability,
Memphis Ice also lays bare songcraft that, like any tunes worth their salt, holds up to minimalist treatments. The acoustic rendition of "Promised Land," a song recorded for
Italian Ice that didn't make the final album, fits in seamlessly here, with its dismayed narrator pushing through crowds in New York City on her way to try to cut her losses. ~ Marcy Donelson