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Holly Cole: The Best of Holly Cole
by AAJ Staff
From the spare supports of the soaring Calling You" to the lush strings of an instantly recognizable Blame it On My Youth," Canadian chanteuse Holly Cole’s arrangements and internalized delivery make nearly every selection sing on their own and linger sweetly in the musical mind. Re-grooving Lennon and McCartney’s I’ve Just Seen a Face" and adding a Burt Bacharach bass line to Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now," Cole takes a great song and makes it great again in ...
read moreHolly Cole: Romantically Helpless
by Mathew Bahl
The irony of this CD title is hard to miss. Holly Cole’s confident, smoky alto might convey dark humor or cautious optimism, painful regret or self-aware neurosis, but definitely not helplessness. Ms. Cole combines the modern, post-feminist attitude of the Lilith Fair crowd with the sophistication of a pre-rock interpretative singer.
Holly Cole has always been difficult to categorize. Jazz purists have never been taken with Ms. Cole’s eagerness to embrace contemporary music forms or her tendency to subvert material ...
read moreHolly Cole: The Best Of Holly Cole
by AAJ Staff
Holly Cole has remained an acquired taste for many listeners who like to slot artists into pre-determined categories. And that’s not quite fair. Rising in awareness and not quite acceptance among jazz enthusiasts throughout the nineties, Cole has continued to perform the tunes that intrigue her--that is, tunes with meaningful lyrics and tunes which offer opportunities for creative interpretation. The Best Of Holly Cole isn’t going to change anyone’s opinions about her. In fact, the CD retrospective of ...
read moreHolly Cole: The Best Of Holly Cole
by Jim Santella
A sensitive, ballad project, The Best Of Holly Cole compiles selected smoky pearls from her ‘90s albums Yesterday & Today, Blame It On My Youth, Dark Dear Heart, Don’t Smoke In Bed, Temptation and It Happened One Night. Nearly half are slow, romantic numbers, while the others drive steadily with a cool detachment. Pop music sentiment and a touch of country-western charm bring Cole’s heartfelt performances closer to a rather large audience. She’s doing for today’s audience what Billie Holiday, ...
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