DIANA KRALL - Glad Rag Doll (2012) Deluxe Edition / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For only the second time in her career, jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall deviates from her tried, true m.o. of covering easily identifiable jazz standards. On Glad Rag Doll she teams with producer T-Bone Burnett and his stable of studio aces. Here the two-time Grammy winner covers mostly vaudeville and jazz tunes written in the 1920s and '30s, some relatively obscure. Most of the music here is from her father's collection of 78-rpm records. Krall picked 35 tunes from that music library and gave sheet music to Burnett. He didn't reveal his final selections until they got into the studio. Given their origins, these songs remove the sheen of detached cool that is one of Krall's vocal trademarks. Check the speakeasy feel on opener "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye," with Marc Ribot's airy chords, Jay Bellerose's loose shuffle, and Dennis Crouch's strolling upright bass. Krall's vocal actually seems to express delight in this loose and informal proceeding -- though her piano playing is, as usual, tight, top-notch. The shimmering sentimental nocturnal balladry there gives way to swing in "Just Like a Butterfly That's Caught in the Rain," which stands out because of the interplay between Ribot's ukulele, a pair of basses, and Bellerose's brushes. Krall's vocal hovers; she lets the melody guide her right through the middle. On the title cut, her only accompanist is Ribot on an acoustic guitar. Being the best-known tune in the bunch, it's easy to compare this reading with many others, but Krall's breathy vocal fully inhabits the lyric and melody and makes them her own. A few tracks stand apart from the album's theme. There's the modern take on Betty James' rockabilly single "I'm a Little Mixed Up," which allows Burnett to indulge himself a little and showcases a rarity: Krall playing rock & roll piano. The atmospheric reading of Doc Pomus' "Lonely Avenue" is somewhat radical, but is among the finest moments here. Burnett gets his obligatory reverb on here, but the weave of his and Ribot's guitars (and the latter's banjo) and the mandola by Howard Coward (Elvis Costello in one of several guest appearances) is arresting. The arrangement also contains an odd yet compelling reference to Miles Davis' "Right Off (Theme from Jack Johnson)"; Krall's piano solo is rife with elliptical, meandering lines and chord voicings. But vocally she gets inside the tune's blues and pulls them out with real authority. Glad Rag Doll is not the sound of Krall reinventing herself so much as it's the comfortable scratching of an old, persistent itch. The warmth, sophistication, humor, and immediacy present on this set make it a welcome addition to her catalog. by Thom Jurek  
Tracklist :
1    We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye 3:07
Acoustic Guitar – Dennis Crouch
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Written-By – Harry M Woods
2    There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth The Salt Of My Tears 4:30
Dobro – Colin Linden
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Electric Guitar – Marc Ribot
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Written-By – Fred Fisher
3    Just Like A Butterfly That's Caught In The Rain 3:43
Acoustic Guitar – Bryan Sutton
Bass – Dennis Crouch
Bass [6 String Bass] – Marc Ribot
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Electric Guitar – Bryan Sutton
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Ukulele – Marc Ribot
Written-By – Harry M Woods, Mort Dixon
4    You Know - I Know Ev'rything's Made For Love 3:48
Acoustic Guitar – Bryan Sutton
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Ukulele – Howard Coward
Written-By – Al Sherman, Charles Tobias, Howard E. Johnson
5    Glad Rag Doll 4:35
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Written-By – Dan Dougherty, Jack Yellen, Milton Ager
6    I'm A Little Mixed Up 4:37
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Bass – Dennis Crouch
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Electric Guitar – Colin Linden
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Written-By – Betty James, Edward Johnson
7    Prairie Lullaby 4:22
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Bass – Dennis Crouch
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Written-By – Billy Hill
8    Here Lies Love 5:09
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Banjo – Marc Ribot
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Electric Guitar – Marc Ribot
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Written-By – Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger
9    I Used To Love You But It's All Over Now 2:51
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Bass – Dennis Crouch
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Written-By – Albert Von Tilzer, Lew Brown
10    Let It Rain 5:44
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Bass – Dennis Crouch
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Written-By – Hal Dyson, James Kendis
11    Lonely Avenue 6:38
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Banjo – Marc Ribot
Bass – Dennis Crouch
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Electric Guitar – Marc Ribot, T-Bone Burnett
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Mandola – Howard Coward
Written-By – Doc Pomus
12    Wide River To Cross 3:51
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Backing Vocals – Howard Coward
Baritone Guitar – Bryan Sutton
Bass – Dennis Crouch
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Electric Guitar – Marc Ribot
Guitar [Tenor] – Howard Coward
Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia
Written-By – Julie Miller/Stephen P Miller
13    When The Curtain Comes Down 4:55
Acoustic Guitar – Marc Ribot
Backing Vocals – Howard Coward
Banjo – Marc Ribot
Bass – Dennis Crouch
Drums – Jay Bellerose
Horns [Eb Horn] – Marc Ribot
Mellotron – Keefus Ciancia
Ukulele – Howard Coward
Written-By – Al Lewis, Al Sherman, Carl Hoefle
- Bonus Tracks -    
14    As Long As I Love    2:30
15    Glad Rag Doll (Alternate Version)    2:55
16    Garden In The Rain    2:55
17    There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth The Salt Of My Tears (Alternate Version)    2:07