Reviewed by Rob Lester, Sound Advice

 

I spent Halloween night this year at Stacy Sullivan's show at Manhattan's popular Metropolitan Room, hearing most of the songs from this new album. For a Halloween, it was all treat and no trick, as her repertoire, arrangements and interpretations were superb and the album is gorgeous. Arrangements are by the singer and her pianist, Ed Martel (six musicians are on the CD). Open-hearted emotionalism and sorrow and hope are all places the singers is willing to go to, examine, and then she moves on.

The CD is romantic at its heart as is the singer, with dewy-eyed but still grown-up looks at love where every cloud has a silver lining ... maybe a solid gold one. Often, the "Blue Skies" she sings of in the opener by Irving Berlin seem to dominate her perspective and agenda. Her "Two for the Road" is a honeymoon in the moonlight, an idyllic but thoughtful journey. Two Rodgers and Hart classics, though recorded by so many, shine here, too: "My Romance" and "My Funny Valentine"—she brings such a sense of wonder and commitment that you can forget any possibility of them sounding tired or shopworn (a particularly intriguing arrangement for the latter makes it a great new one to snag for Valentine's Day just three weeks away). And you can't beat Cole Porter's "So in Love" for direct love declarations; that's here, too. But it may be the less familiar and newer songs that really take the cake or are at least the icing on it: the evocative and multi-hued title song by the late Lew Spence; Tom Andersen and Tim DiPasqua's dramatic and effective song about a woman getting a letter from the (now grown) child she gave up for adoption as a baby ("Another Tuesday"); and "My Little World," a tender tale by Stacy's mother, Elizabeth Sullivan.

Pensive and present, direct and dramatic, Stacy shows numerous sides to voice and excels in storytelling and mood-setting. Up-close miking and a breathy quality work for her and there's great integrity—and musicality—throughout.