Executive Producer: Lee Lessack LML Music CD-107

Joan Ryan possesses a clear, bright and sharp-edged voice that sets off at a dazzling pace in ‘Trust the Wind’, slowing only slightly on the second track ‘I’m Flying’. It could be imagination, but the restless, urgent accompaniment to this song has strong overtones of ‘Something’s Coming’. Whether deliberate or unconscious, this provides an additional dimension to the performance.

Slowing the pace a little further, Joan Ryan treats us to an optimistic rendition of ‘I Won’t Last a Day Without You’ before we hit one of the album’s high spots, a gloriously well-paced ‘Shall We Dance’: slow and moody at first, with yet another excellent example of complementary backing behind the vocals, then building to a searing climax as the final note is sustained with perfect control.

This contrasts with the less comfortable ending to the final song on the album, a medley of ‘Follow Me’ and ‘On a Clear Day’, a live recording taken from the recording ‘Lerner, Loewe, Lane and Friends’. A very clever mixing of the two songs is spoilt slightly by a slightly harsh climax, but that would be the only criticism of this otherwise faultless album.

Ryan is given the opportunity to display her considerable comedic talents on ‘Good Thing He Can’t Read My Mind’, to sing with romantic simplicity and conviction on ‘The Moon and Stars’ and ‘Feels Like Home’ and to display considerably vocal virtuosity at the top of her range in the seamless segue between ‘Once There Was a Love’ and ‘Bachianas Brasileiras’. Other high spots include a poignant rendition of ‘My Brother Lived in San Francisco’ that culminates in a momentary pause just before a reflective, tender conclusion.

Joan Ryan sings with a joy in her art that permeates her work and takes the listener on an often breathtaking ride through songs both new and familiar, yet always finding new avenues and pointing towards a bright horizon.