Nancy Wilson - R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)

Still in Love with Nancy!

I'll keep my review brief and simple. I've been a fan of Nancy Wilson since the Fall of 1963. It's as if every song she's ever recorded, every live performance she's ever given and every one of her practice sessions for the past forty plus years have been just warm ups to R.S.V.P. Some reviewers are commenting on technicalities of midrange vibratos, etc. That's not the point of listening to a CD (unless you're a professional reviewer which none of us here should be). Every song on this CD is perfection. Her accompanists (both vocal and especially instrumental) are also incredible. I've lost track of how many times I've listened to it (often with headphones to pick up every nuance of her voice). Buy it. Share it. Love it. December 11, 2005

Always a class Act!

Nancy Wilson has always delivered a consistant and dependable great performance. I love the material chosen for this collection as well as most of the collaberations. Bravo to Ms. Wilson again! October 5, 2005

Finally- back to what she sings best

This is a great jazz album. The selections, arrangements and vocals are all top notch. I am glad she has gotten back to what she does best instead of all of those "contemporary" albums with mediocre material she seemed to be doing for a while. June 29, 2005

A Gorgeous Effort

The New Yorker lists this as one of the ten best albums of the year. I respect their opinion, though I don't agree with it. But it is a 5-star album, and one worth owning.

This album is gorgeous. It consists of Nancy Wilson, now a senior citizen, dueting with numerous musicians, principally jazz musicians. But the concept of the album is quite different than Sinatra's, Bennett's, or Brother Ray's career-end albums of duets with various singers. Here, except for two singers (Kenny Lattimore and Ivan Lins) the musicians are instrumentalists; and the guest artists really are accompanying Ms. Wilson. The whole album has the feel of a glass of dubonnet by candlelight, at the end of a very good day. In particular, "Minds of their Own", "Little Green Apples", "Why Did I Choose You", and "You'll See" are just drop-dead gorgeous.

So, why do I not quite agree with The New Yorker? Sadly, as in the case of Tony Bennett and Jimmy Scott, Ms. Wilson in her golden years has lost the tightness in her voice which governs vibrato. She still has fabulous breath control, and can power a loud note; but when she's singing at midrange in a mezzo voice, her vibrato goes wide all over the place and misses the center of the note. It's noticeable throughout.

So when I say that this is a Gorgeous Effort, I mean that literally: this album is gorgeous; and it--unlike her seminal albums from 40 years ago with Cannonball Adderly and George Shearing--is an effort.

5 stars nevertheless. RC January 28, 2005

Boss Lady

After listening to this latest Nancy Wilson offering a few more times, I'm revising my rating from 4 to 5 stars. Initially I was probably disappointed that on none of the tunes does she body slam me to the floor (I'm still shaking from her incredible performance of "Hello, Like Before" from the late 90s). But with the exceptions of the two vocals she shares with Kenny Lattimore (an androgynous duet that goes nowhere) and Ivan Lins (who sounds like a rank amateur compared to Ms. Wilson), this is no less than a perfect collection by inarguably the world's greatest living jazz singer.

"Day In, Day Out" is the only up-tempo tune on the album and Nancy naturally kicks butt on it. But the control she exhibits on the ballads is no less impressive. No one but she could do justice these days to Gordon Jenkins' "Goodbye." With that uncanny sense of pitch that is hers alone (she must think exclusively in terms of micro-tonality), she requires no more than a phrase to take us from a plaintive lament to a sense of comforting reassurance.

As for "Blame It On My Youth," she's probably the first singer since Sinatra to get the song's tempo (it's usually taken way too slow) along with its sense of self-mocking irony right. And she risks the high note at the end, hanging on despite a trace of waver that would not have been there 5-10 years ago.

While the guests include a number of venerable all-stars--ranging from the comparatively "youthful" Gary Burton to those ageless wonders, George Shearing and Toots Thielemans, Nancy doesn't give them an inch. This is her session, and her supportive musicians, no less than we the listeners, are privileged to be along for the ride.

January 4, 2005

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