Melody Gardot: My One and Only Thrill

(Universal)

It's a miracle the young American singer Melody Gardot's still alive, let alone on her way to being the next Norah Jones or Madeleine Peyroux, as, when she was 19, she had a serious bike accident. While she was in hospital recovering, Gardot discovered a singer-songwriting talent through music therapy - and she sounds as if she has learned her art in privacy and some distress, only releasing a note once it's burnished to a perfect pale sheen. Her evocative vibrato suggests an introverted Edith Piaf, and she specialises in rather self-denying love songs. This followup to her successful Worrisome Heart is mostly wistful, sometimes strings-accompanied originals - though Somewhere Over the Rainbow gets some twists to the tune and a Latin groove. There are several short horn solos (most effectively from cool school alto-saxist Gary Foster), while the earthier tracks have an arresting, Cassandra Wilson-like bluesy snap or a raucous, New Orleans clamour (Your Heart Is Black As Night), and the title track is a compelling vehicle for Gardot's tendency to sing as if she is anxious not to disturb the air. Some might find the I'll-do-anything-for-you agenda and rolling of her Rs in her occasional modest scats a little annoying, but at her best she's poignant and honest, and has a voice and a story of her own.

Contributor

John Fordham

The GuardianTramp

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