Hearts and Minds by Susannah McCorkle

14 Feb

Written by Richard Bourcier
font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

Gosh! Has it been that long? Susannah McCorkle has been recording since the mid ‘70s and this is her 18th album. Happily, fifteen of her CDs are still available on Concord Jazz.

Susannah’s voice is silky - smooth and filled with emotion on this album, that is a nice mix of familiar love songs and contemporary tunes dealing with emotions in the 21st century. The standards include I Can Dream Can’t I?, Love Is here To Stay, I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire, Love look Away and For All We Know. Two other standards deserve special mention. "Haunted Heart" and "It Could Happen To You" are simply outstanding examples of flawless arranging and performance. The singer and instrumentalists combine to weave a tapestry of awesome beauty. Allen Farnham and Susannah have worked as a team for many years and it pays off on this recording.

In the contemporary material, I really liked Dave Frishberg’s tunes in the form of "Do You Miss New York?" and "What Did I Forget?". McCorkle throws in a couple of other songs dealing with today’s problems. The witty "Down" takes a whole new view of depression. Those of us having to cope with technology on a daily basis will appreciate "The Computer Age" penned by Susannah and Thelmo Porto.

"Hearts and Minds" is everything that Susannah’s fans expect a flawless performance.

Additional Info

Artist / Group Name: Susannah McCorkle
CD Title: Hearts and Minds
Genre: Jazz Vocals
Year Released: 2000
Record Label: Concord Jazz
Tracks: I Can Dream Can’t I?, Love Is here To Stay, I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire, Love look Away and For All We Know, Haunted Heart,It Could Happen To You,Do You Miss New York?,What Did I Forget,Down,The Computer Age
Musicians: Susannah McCorkle (vocals); Allen Farnham (piano/arranger); Paul Meyers (guitars); Steve Gilmore (bass); Dennis Irvin (bass); Tim Horner (drums); Vanderlei Pereira (drums); Thiago DeMello (percussion); Dick Oatts (saxophone).
Label Website: http://www.concordjazz.com
Rating: Five Stars