Terrie Richards Alden/Howard Alden: Love

Terrie Alden's super follow up to Voice With Heart .

Warren Vaché and Bill Charlap produced a beautifully intimate duet recording in 2Gether (Nagel Heyer). At the time, I thought this collaboration would be hard to top, but topped it was and on the same record label to boot. Terrie Richards Alden and her guitarist husband Howard Alden have released Love, a song cycle to romance, surveying the American Canon of love songs in a closely personal way.

The Aldens mix their respective talents into a cleverly assembled collection of love songs, providing a pleasing, stripped-down look at the art of the Tin Pan Alley Ballad. "The Lady is In Love with You" opens the disc with Ms. Alden bouncing over the lyrics while Mr. Alden provides a slick walking-bass accompaniment. "Gone With the Wind" is sung with a certain wistful gusto that laments lost love looking forward. "Skylark" and "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" are simply beautiful, highlighting Ms. Alden's well-behaved alto and Mr. Alden's carefully and intelligently chosen comping. Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets" is tastefully done, sung almost sardonically by Ms. Alden, an antithetical "Strange Fruit." This disc will be fully appreciated by all ballad fans and serves as an excellent comparison to the more highly orchestrated ballad collections recently released. Recommended.