One of the U.K.'s most popular and best-selling vocalists of the past two decades,
Alison Moyet's husk-and-honey voice has made her equally successful as a blues wailer and a dancefloor diva. Equal focus has always been paid to her sharp songwriting, but her new path keeps listeners firmly focused on the intimacy of those vocals, which sound better than ever on this mature and soul-stirring, lushly produced and arranged (by British film composer
Anne Dudley) collection of standards -- some old (
Legrand,
Gershwin), some new (
Elvis Costello), a few in French, and all surprising. Edging sweetly into pop-classical territory,
Moyet reels us into the "Windmills of Your Mind" before ruminating on "The Man I Love" and exploring the concept of feeling "Almost Blue" (the
Costello chestnut). Another highlight is her soaring, ethereal turn on the
Costello/
Burt Bacharach tune "God Give Me Strength," rendered here like a passionate prayer. She also tackles classical pieces by
Bizet and
Purcell. Although the tempo and tone of the arrangements are fairly similar, as per the album title,
Dudley's restraint allows
Moyet's voice to take center stage, where it always belongs. The key to creating a successful standards album is finding unique ways to render familiar material, and peppering the set with obscure pieces that will inspire a deeper study of musical history.
Moyet achieves all this and more on this winsome future classic. ~ Jonathan Widran