Matti P
The first release of the Canadian vocalist HOLLY COLE (b. 1963) was a 4-song EP Christmas Blues (1989), and also a live recording Girl Talk (1990) preceded this proper debut album. The trio bearing her name consists of herself on vocals, pianist Aaron Davis and bassist David Pilch. Often one hardly notices there's no drummer, although I believe a nuanced, elegant percussion would have improved the album. As for Cole's singing, it has both expressive, nearly ballsy power and late-night sensuality. In low notes she slightly reminds me of Lotte Lenya.
The 10-track set consists of already existing songs only, actually more of the rather old ones than contemporary music. Despite that, the whole feels fairly fresh and timeless. 'Trust in Me' originates from the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book; I'm not familiar with the original performance but I would have never guessed from this sensual low-key version that it was a Disney movie song. There are some old musical numbers too, such as 'If I Were a Bell' from Guys and Dolls, or 'On the Street Where You Live' from My Fair Lady. A guest appearance of a bass clarinet adds personality to the latter, while johnny Frigo's violin spices up 'If I Were a Bell' and the Fats Waller standard 'Honeysuckle Rose'. These additions are nice but I'm really pleased of the spacey, thoughtful sound of just vocals, piano and bass.
My least fave song here is 'Smile', partly because the Chaplin song is so endlessly recorded, partly because Holly Cole stretches her vocals a bit too much on it, as she tends to do occasionally. Among the highlights, in addition to the opener 'Trust in Me', is 'Purple Avenue' written by Tom Waits. Four years later Holly Cole recorded a whole album (Temptation) of Waits' songs. A happy choice is also 'Calling You' from the film Bagdad Cafe. It suits very well for Cole's voice. The final song 'I'll Be Seeing You' originates from around 20's/30's but feels fresh.
Three stars is enough for this album. The sense of timelessness could have been easily increased by leaving the most worn-out evergreens out and choosing more of the contemporary pieces suitable for this trio.