- Discover more great music in our Proper Music store, and read about the very best of Proper Music's latest and forthcoming releases in Properganda Issue 19 (online flash version).
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Review
Humphrey Lyttleton's favourite vocalist is renowned for her devotion to the Great American Songbook and for her wonderful way with a ballad. For her new album 'The Boy Next Door', the tempo is still relaxed and the delivery languid, but there are some new kids on the block. Stacey's still clutching the Songbook in one hand, but in the other she's brandishing music associated with the likes of Chet Baker, Paul Simon and James Taylor.
Stacey draws consonants out like bubblegum in 'The Best is Yet to Come', her voice smooth but with that serrated edge that keeps you entranced, and David Newton contributes a tiny but perfectly-conceived piano solo on this and on the title track. Both are simple but beautiful vehicles for Stacey's Christmas-bauble vocals and impeccable timing.
'Makin' Whoopee' sees Stacey and the band getting low down and bluesy. Imagine Carrie from 'Sex and the City' as a jazz singer, and that's Stacey on 'Makin' Whoopee'. She's completely in control, with a demure, half-hidden sexiness that shines through in her diction and delivery. Stacey's musicians happily succumb to her lead - the rhythm section hangs back behind the beat and Stacey's husband Jim Tomlinson provides gentle support on the sax (but only when the lady permits it). 'Ooh-Shoo-Be-Doo-Bee' is infused with the same pert sexiness, but here it becomes mock theatrical as David, Jim and recording engineer Curtis Schwartz add tongue-in-cheek backing vocals and tons of swing behind Stacey's luscious phrasing.
Keeping the band focused on accompaniment and not on solos works to give the tightly-structured performances that we've come to expect. Nothing can ruffle her cool, in-control exterior. You can almost hear her relaxed smile in 'Tis Autumn' and in 'I Get Along Without You Very Well' she's jettisoned Chet Baker's air of mild despair and adopted stoical acceptance instead.
It's questionable whether Stacey adds anything to 'You've Got a Friend' - where even her vibrato is reminiscent of Carole King's - or to "Bookends" by Paul Simon. Both are covers, not reworks. Burt Bacharach's 'What the World Needs Now', though, demands playing and replaying. David Newton's piano sits well behind the lyric, allowing it freedom and movement, and Stacey's breathy, perfectly-timed vocals give David the space to stretch his fingers out just a little.
At 16 tracks you certainly get your money's worth from this album, and there are no interruptions from long or inaccessible instrumental solos. If that's how you like your jazz, you'll love The Boy Next Door. Ms Kent's stepping out beyond the Great American songbook and there's no stopping her now. Go, Stacey! --Kathryn Shackleton
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Jonathan Schwartz, National Public Radio
"... a stunning ascension of intuitive, intimate singing in a voice as singular as there currently is."
"...she has charm to burn, a smile that could give you hope in February and sings like nobody's business."
"Everything about it ... the glorious voice, leaves one searching for a more superlative word than 'greatest' !"
"...she has charm to burn, a smile that could give you hope in February and sings like nobody's business."
"Everything about it ... the glorious voice, leaves one searching for a more superlative word than 'greatest' !"
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Feel Good - Classic FM
The voice of Stacey Kent has such a soothing, calming effect that one cannot help but relax. Her phrasing is very creative and you`ll want to listen over and over!
The voice of Stacey Kent has such a soothing, calming effect that one cannot help but relax. Her phrasing is very creative and you`ll want to listen over and over!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I bought this album after falling on the bandwagon of liking Norah Jones and then Diana Krall. I bought it without knowing anything about Stacey and have been pleasantly suprised. It has the kinds tunes you would imagine in romantic films or classy jazz bars. The nice thing is that it has songs you will know, and they are sung in Stacey's own way. It works, it's relaxing, charming and very much worth sticking on a rainy sunday with your lover near by!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 Download|Amazon Verified Purchase
I discovered Stacey Kent on a flight from Aukland to Singapore and was instantly bowled over. Stacey brings the qualities and values of the likes of Peggy Lee to the twenty first century. Stunning performances in English and French. She may not be Ella or Billie yet, but she has time on her side. I wait for more. Try Breakfast on the Morning Tram too.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Kent Bills and Coos Like a Honeymooner
"The Boy Next Door," by American-born British songster Stacey Kent, is a collection of songs associated with singers she admires, from Tony Bennett to Frank Sinatra. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Stephanie DePue
mellow and relaxing
I heard Stacey kent singing on the radio one evening and loved her voice. It prompted me to buy 2 of her CDs from amazon and i havent been disappointed with them. Read more
Published 4 months ago by cathy
smooth and sophisticated, classy and relaxing too
Having seen Stacey perform during her recent tour, I wanted to find another CD of her work as a gift for my wife, who is also a big fan. Read more
Published 5 months ago by hfph
"Wish I was the Boy Next Door"
Plenty of tracks on here to indulge yourself. Stacey and her husband Jim can do no wrong. This is superb stuff, good production, good recording and her voice is just so, so sexy! Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. Douglas P. Taylor
Brilliant !
I played the clips before purchasing and was impressed enough to buy the cd and I have definitely not been disappointed. From first to last this album is wonderful. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Amazon Addict
A real find
This album is a delight from start to finish. A glorious voice and classy interpretations ... definitely not just jazzy background music.
Published on 2 May 2006 by Persephone
Stacey Kent: From Girl Next Door to Contemporary Jazz Diva
Stacey Kent never intended to be a jazz singer. She was on course for a career in academia, but through an unexpected twist of fate, she found herself enrolled at the Guildhall... Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2004 by Michael Oh
Stacey Kent: From Girl Next Door to Contemporary Jazz Diva
Stacey Kent never intended to be a jazz singer. She was on course for a career in academia, but through an unexpected twist of fate, she found herself enrolled at the Guildhall... Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2004 by Michael Oh
Low-key late-night cure for insomnia
Stacey Kent is another of Michael Parkinson's favourites; hardly a Sunday goes by without him playing something of hers. Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2004 by Mr. R. B. Ager
The boy next door
went to see stacey at grayes asembly hall on this tour.
Another fantastic gig bit spoiled by the no beer no smoking policy,What is jazz without alchohol and nicotine. Read more
Another fantastic gig bit spoiled by the no beer no smoking policy,What is jazz without alchohol and nicotine. Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2003 by "mick4701"
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
