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Title: Diana Moves Farther Yet from Her Strengths
Review: 'Steppin Out' is by far my favorite Diana Krall album -- the vocals are not quite as polished as in later releases, but the piano work is superb and the song selections are mostly up-tempo. With each successive release she seems to be moving further from the strengths that make 'Steppin Out' such a success.On 'The Look of Love' Diana's vocals are out front -- not a bad thing, of course, but the piano work takes a backseat and appears mostly as single-note-at-a-time filigree. The orchestral arrangements are evocative of bad pop music from the 1960s and 70s. All of the songs would sound better in classic jazz trio format -- with a more prominent piano part, of course.In all, I found this work to be a big disappointment.I am going to one of Diana's concerts in December and hope to hear more of the early stuff. I'll take a 'Frim Fram Sauce' over any of her more recent recordings....
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