JILL BARBER — Mischievous Moon (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The first notes of the first song on this album fill you with foreboding: brushed drums, a simple string bassline, and even simpler piano chords played in pulsing eighth notes, Fats Domino style. Sweet Mother of Claudine Longet, you wonder, what have I gotten myself into? Then Jill Barber's voice comes in, with that unmistakable mid-century blend of little-girl timbre and orotund vowels, and you have your answer: you've gotten yourself into a mess of nostalgia, and the only thing that will deliver you to the other side of these 41 minutes with your sanity intact will be the quality of the songs. Luckily for you, these are great songs. Also luckily for you, Jill Barber and her co-conspirators recognize no functional difference between torch ballads, Patsy Cline-era country music, and cocktail jazz. Best of all, if their love of these various musical anachronisms is ironic, it's impossible to tell -- the wordless background vocals, the plinking pianos, the string sections, and Barber's little-girl-about-town singing style all combine to create what sounds like a purely and sincerely loving pastiche of musical elements that, for anyone under the age of 60, will sound both eerily familiar (from movies your parents like) and utterly foreign. From the decorous cha-cha of "Took Me by Surprise" (with its unbelievably cheesy horn chart) to the torchy orchestral pop of "Tenderness," the music is certainly gimmicky, but the pleasure is real. And this is pop music, people: pleasure is pretty much all that counts. Rick Anderson
Tracklist :
1    Mischievous Moon 4:12
Arranged By [Strings] – Drew Jurecka
Vibraphone – Michael Davidson
Written-By – Drew Jurecka, Jill Barber, Les Cooper
2    Took Me By Surprise 4:08
Arranged By – Les Cooper
Flugelhorn – Bryden Baird
Flute – Joseph Shabason
Harmony Vocals – Emma-Lee
Percussion [Additional] – Rosendo (Chendy) León
Vibraphone – Michael Davidson
Vocals [Additional] – The Good Lovelies
Written-By – Jill Barber, Les Cooper
3    Tell Me 4:09
Arranged By – Les Cooper
Flugelhorn – Bryden Baird
Harmony Vocals – Peter Elkas
Percussion [Additional] – Rosendo (Chendy) León
Trombone – William Carn
Trumpet – Chris Whiteley
Vocals [Additional] – Allison Outhit, Emma-Lee, Les Cooper, Matthew Barber, Robbie Grunwald
Written-By – Jill Barber, Les Cooper
4    Daydreamin' 3:03
Arranged By [Horns] – Drew Jurecka, Les Cooper
Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Alto Saxophone – Drew Jurecka
Recorded By [Strings] – Drew Jurecka
Strings – Drew Jurecka
Written-By – Jill Barber, Les Cooper
5    A Wish Under My Pillow 2:07
Clarinet – Drew Jurecka
Harmony Vocals – Drew Jurecka
Percussion [Additional] – Rosendo (Chendy) León
Vibraphone – Michael Davidson
Vocals [Additional] – The Good Lovelies
Written-By – Drew Jurecka, Jill Barber
6    Steal Away 4:09
Arranged By – Les Cooper
Written-By – Jill Barber, Les Cooper
7    Any Fool Can Fall In Love 3:15
Arranged By – Les Cooper
Flugelhorn – Bryden Baird
Flute – Joseph Shabason
Percussion – Rosendo (Chendy) León
Vocals [Additional] – The Good Lovelies
Written-By – Jill Barber, Les Cooper, Ron Sexsmith
8    Tenderness 3:51
Arranged By [Strings] – Drew Jurecka
Written-By – Drew Jurecka, Jill Barber
9    If It Weren't For Loving You 3:28
Accordion – Robbie Grunwald
Arranged By [Strings, Horns] – Les Cooper
Percussion [Additional] – Adam Warner, Rosendo (Chendy) León
Written-By – Jill Barber, Les Cooper
10    Lullaby 1:48
Arranged By – Les Cooper
Lap Steel Guitar – Les Cooper
Vocals [Additional] – Adam Warner, Les Cooper, Robbie Grunwald
Written-By – Drew Jurecka, Jill Barber
11    Dis-moi 4:09
Translated By – Jean-Sebastien Boies, Simon Wilcox
Written-By – Jill Barber, Les Cooper
Credits :
Bass – Steve Zsirai
Cello – John Marshman, Lydia Munchinsky
Cello, Soloist – Rachel Pomedli
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Drew Jurecka
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar – Les Cooper
Piano, Electric Piano [Rhodes, Wurlitzer], Accordion – Robbie Grunwald
Viola – Johann Lotter, Karen Moffatt, Yosef Tamir
Violin – Bethany Bergman, Erika Raum, Kathleen Kajioka
Violin, Soloist – Drew Jurecka