Though she has a fair number of CDs available, jazz fans may never have heard of Danish-born vocalist Hanne Boel.
Though she studied at Berklee, Boel has had an eclectic career exploring many different forms of music, as she does on this studio CD with jazz pianist Carsten Dahl.
She doesn't come across as an improviser much in these performances, some of which are augmented by a string trio.
Part of the reason is many of the songs are repetitious pop songs that grow stale quickly, such as Rickie Lee Jones' "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" and Steely Dan's "Showbizz People," neither of which hold one's interest for long.
Not all of the pop songs prove disappointing.
Boel savors the gospel flavor of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain," with Dahl's flawless backing adding a nice touch.
Boel is at her best interpreting bittersweet standards like "Blame It on My Youth" and "I Fall in Love Too Easily," where she is able to get more from the far stronger lyrics of these time-tested ballads.
This is a good, if somewhat uneven release.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Think It's Going to RainRandy Newman | Hanne Boel | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 13 MB |
| 2 | Mad WorldRoland Orzabal | Hanne Boel | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 16 MB |
| 3 | On Saturday Afternoons in 1963Rickie Lee Jones | Hanne Boel | Play | 02:03 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 4 | Blame It on My YouthEdward Heyman, Oscar Levant | Hanne Boel | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 16 MB |
| 5 | Moon on My ShoulderLyle Lovett | Hanne Boel | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 16 MB |
| 6 | SmileCharlie Chaplin, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner | Hanne Boel | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 13 MB |
| 7 | Sometimes I'm HappyIrving Caesar, Vincent Youmans | Hanne Boel | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 18 MB |
| 8 | Into My ArmsNick Cave | Hanne Boel | Play | 05:51 | 13 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | I Fall in Love Too EasilySammy Cahn, Jule Styne | Hanne Boel | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Showbizz PeopleSteely Dan | Hanne Boel | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 11 | Last GoodbyeHanne Boel | Hanne Boel | Play | 04:22 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 44 mins | 101 MB | |||||
| 44 mins | 180 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanne Boel | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 2 | Irving Caesar | Composer |
| 3 | Sammy Cahn | Composer |
| 4 | Nick Cave | Composer |
| 5 | Charlie Chaplin | Composer |
| 6 | Carsten Dahl | Featured Artist |
| 7 | Edward Heyman | Composer |
| 8 | Rickie Lee Jones | Composer |
| 9 | Oscar Levant | Composer |
| 10 | Lyle Lovett | Composer |
| 11 | Randy Newman | Composer |
| 12 | Roland Orzabal | Composer |
| 13 | Geoffrey Parsons | Composer |
| 14 | Steely Dan | Composer |
| 15 | Jule Styne | Composer |
| 16 | John Turner | Composer |
| 17 | Vincent Youmans | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |