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Ren: Haunted Heart
Haunted Heart features the requisite photos, but more importantly the presence of two ringers in guitarist Bill Frisell and pianist Fred Hersch. Frisell in particular shines with his work on a perfectly realized, old-fashioned rendition of "When Did You Leave Heaven. Equally accomplished, but existing on an opposite emotional spectrum is his atmospheric, devastating work on "Answer Me.
Fleming's work on the album's pop-oriented material is unsurprisingly technically flawless, but also somehow off. She sings in a deep, husky voice far removed from her more familiar soprano and even she seems sometimes surprised by the novelty. Her performance is somehow both showy and stiff, straining to add some "authentic grit and managing to evoke exactly the opposite.
It is not surprising that her reading of Mahler's "Liebst du um Schonheit is the most comfortable performance on the album. She sounds at home, hitting every line with precision. Also stirring is her take on Stephen Foster's classic "Hard Times Come Again No More, which benefits from a less histrionic approachuntil nearly the end, when there is a more concerted effort to belt it out.
Haunted Heart is a fine document of identity crisis. The shift from classic pop standards to classical art songs, folk laments, and '60s/'70s singer-songwriter fare seems less evidence of eclecticism than uncertainty. The changes in Fleming's voice depending on the material further underscore her lack of comfort with most of what she is attempting. No doubt she is a great talent, but trying to be what she is not does her no favors.
Track Listing
Haunted Heart; River; When Did You Leave Heaven; You've Changed; Answer Me; My Cherie Amour; In My Life; The Moon's A Harsh Mistress; Wozzeck/Improvisation/The Midnight Sun; Liebst du um Schonheit; My One And Only Love/This Is Always; Cancao do Amor; Psyche; Hard Times Come Again No More.
Personnel
Ren
Album information
Title: Haunted Heart | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Decca Music Group
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