Spotlight CD Review
Patty Morabito- The Delicate Hour
An
album in which the very first word is ‘maybe’ suggests that reflection
and contemplation are likely to figure high in the content of the songs
included and so it proves in this first album from Chicago based singer
Patty Morabito in collaboration with Dan Stetzel.
‘Maybe
if I sang Cole Porter’ is the rest of the opening phrase and such
speculation provides a pleasing diversion throughout the album, for as Ms
Morabito deftly works her way through an array of contemporary
compositions, the listener can indeed wonder how she would deliver the
classics of the Great American Songbook too. This intrigue is fed by a six
note coda promising ‘In the Still of the Night’ which is
fulfilled and resolved when that song (apparently) closes the collection.
Fortunately there is no disappointment, for Morabito’s rendition of the
Cole Porter classic is as pleasing and stimulating as the rest of the work
on this fine debut album.
The
singer is not afraid to try comedy either and she provides an impassioned
and energetic take on ‘All the Good Men’. It is clear that in the
venues she plays Ms Morabito must regularly bring the house down with this
particular gem in her repertoire. Comedy on record is tricky though and
particularly easy prey to the fact that most communication is non-verbal.
What would get a guaranteed belly-laugh from a small audience ‘in the
know’ can easily fall flat on CD. This song is typical of that genre,
indeed for just a short while mid-verse the singer’s attitude sounds
almost hostile. Whilst this impression is clearly overturned by the end,
perhaps a different comedic choice might have required less pointing out
of the joke and ultimately proved more amusing on record. To the extent
that the bitter-sweet ‘Movie
of My Life’ can be interpreted as a comic song, Morabito’s take works
better in this particular medium than ‘All the Good Men’.
Morabito
has a steely vocal quality that nevertheless has real warmth in the middle
register; indeed she seems at her best amongst the quiet reflections of
such songs as Tom Waits’ ‘Rainbow Sleeves’ and Jennifer Warnes’
hauntingly poetic ‘Prairie Melancholy’. Though Patty Morabito can, and
does, belt with the best of them, the gentler moments prove the most
satisfying. Morabito brings a touching simplicity to a charming new song
by Elizabeth Doyle, ‘Little Blue Boat’ and such beautiful colouring to
Gretchen Peters’ ‘On a
Bus to St Cloud’ that one can almost hear the “snow falling like a
silent prayer’ of which she sings.
Morabito
is clearly possessed of the artistic sensibility to invoke the ‘delicate
hour’ of the album’s title and one eagerly anticipates a second album
in which perhaps some more Porter (and Rodgers and Gershwin and Loesser
etc) are woven in amongst newer creation, for this is a singer who has
something new and interesting to offer and who deserves a wider audience
than she has been exposed to thus far.
A final word for the production values underpinning this album, not just because of the superb orchestral accompaniment that features throughout but also the actual packaging of the album and its feel of quality and attention to detail. A nice touch not just to have the lyrics for every song but also be able to read them. Congratulations must go to LML Music for this excellent showcasing of a fine talent.