Jill Barber: Fool's Gold (Outside Music).
Listening to Fool's Gold we could be almost anywhere in the first half of the 20th century.
The songs West Coast chanteuse Jill Barber has written, mainly with her longtime collaborators Les Cooper and Drew Jurecko, evoke a classic, timeless era. Some tracks, such as the dreamy "Lucky in Love," sound like they came straight off of a 78.
Steve Dawson also worked on a couple of tunes ("The Careless One" and "If Only in My Mind") adding a Ray Charles Modern-Soundsin-Country-and-Western-Music feel to the sessions.
Barber's soulful vocals glide effortlessly through the music which eschews any form of electronic simulation in favour of good old instrumentation. Strings are strings, horns are horns, etc. Who needs a computer when Jurecko can seemingly play every kind of instrument anyway? His string sections, in tandem with Rebekah Wolkstein, are the perfect complement for Barber's voice.
The analog approach gives the entire album a real warmth. You can't fake this kind of music - Barber and her band go deep and get it right on Fool's Gold.
Barber performs at the Vogue Theatre on Tuesday, June 24 as part of this year's TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival. For more information visit coastaljazz. ca or jillbarber.com.
