Lovely Standards
| Lovely Standards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 22, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006-2007 Quad Recording Studios (New York City, New York) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Blisslife | |||
| Producer | Amel Larrieux, Laru Larrieux (also executive) | |||
| Amel Larrieux chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Lovely Standards | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Entertainment Weekly | (C)[1] |
| PopMatters | (6/10)[2] |
Lovely Standards is the fourth studio album by American R&B-soul singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux, released in the United States on May 22, 2007, by Blisslife Records. It consists of a collection of covers of Great American Songbook jazz standards.
Background[edit]
In an interview with Nu-Soul Magazine in late April 2009, Larrieux said of the album: "[W]e knew that it was gonna be a real niche album. It was gonna be about people that were truly loyal to me as an artist and willing to go wherever I was going." She went on to say that the album is geared toward people who "really do like jazz for jazz, not because the artist that they know is doing it, but they listen to jazz and they're understanding of being experimental within that form." Larrieux continues, referring to husband and producer Laru Larrieux: "We purposely only pressed up a small amount of albums, and you know, didn't go huge with it. We kind of wanted to feel our way around it, and view it as a kinda small intimate thing."[3]
Track listing[edit]
- "If I Were a Bell" (Frank Loesser) – 3:20
- "Try Your Wings" (Michael Barr, Dion McGregor) – 3:17
- "Lucky to Be Me" (Leonard Bernstein, Adolph Green, Betty Comden) – 5:01
- "Wild Is the Wind" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 2:57
- "Shadow of Your Smile" (Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:53
- "You're My Thrill" (Jay Gorney, Sidney Clare) – 3:34
- "Younger Than Springtime" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 4:50
- "Something Wonderful" (Rodgers, Hammerstein) – 3:31
- "If I Loved You" (Rodgers, Hammerstein) – 3:03
- "I Like the Sunrise" (Duke Ellington) – 4:54
Original versions[edit]
| Song | Original performer | Year |
|---|---|---|
| "If I Were a Bell" | Isabel Bigley | 1950 |
| "Try Your Wings" | Blossom Dearie | 1958 |
| "Lucky to Be Me" | John Battles | 1944 |
| "Wild Is the Wind" | Johnny Mathis | 1957 |
| "The Shadow of Your Smile" (retitled "Shadow of Your Smile") |
Johnny Mandel | 1965 |
| "You're My Thrill" | Ward Silloway | 1933 |
| "Younger Than Springtime" | William Tabbert | 1949 |
| "Something Wonderful" | Terry Saunders | 1956 |
| "If I Loved You" | John Raitt and Jan Clayton | 1945 |
| "I Like the Sunrise" | Duke Ellington and His Orchestra | 1949 |
Personnel[edit]
Musicians[edit]
|
Production[edit]
|
Charts[edit]
| Chart (2007)[4] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 195 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 32 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Jazz Albums | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums | 22 |
Release history[edit]
| Country | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| United States | May 22, 2007 | Blisslife |
| Canada | ||
| United Kingdom | June 4, 2007 | |
| Germany | October 9, 2007 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Lovely Standards". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-09-28.
- ^ PopMatters review
- ^ DJ Rahdu (April 21, 2009). "Amel Larrieux Interview (2009)". Nu-Soul Magazine. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ "Lovely Standards > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
