Album Reviews

Beverley Knight – Soul UK (Hurricane B004VQFQ3K), £11.99: Over the past 15 years, Beverley Knight’s occasional hits and sheer hard work have earned her a place among home-grown soul giants. Yet with seventh album Soul UK, she is covering the British artists that inspired her. Her slick reworking of Soul II Soul’s Fairplay sets the tone well and flows easily into tracks by Jamiroquai, Young Disciples and Loose Ends. At times, Knight’s voice threatens to descend into over-the-top power ballads – such as on Always And Forever by Heatwave – but overall her choices work well. NB
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Jul 2011, 12:19 BST

Dionne Bromfield – Good For The Soul (Island B004P1YX3K), £13.99: Dionne is still only 15 but she’s already on her second album. While her debut album consisted of covers, this is all original material co-written by Dionne, and the lyrical point of view is very much a teenage girl finding her way in the world. There’s no mistaking that her incredible voice is completely suited to the Motown style and there’s ample amounts of soul here as well as some reggae on Time Will Tell. Highlights include first single Yeah Right, and the gorgeous ballad Too Soon To Call It Love. Highly recommended to anyone who loves old school soul. LA

Memory Tapes – Player Piano (Something In Construction B004ZF7H3Y), £11.99: Prior to the release of debut album Seek Magic in 2009, Dayve Hawk – the New Jersey-based producer behind Memory Tapes – revealed he was “just not desperate for attention”. But on the strength of Player Piano, he may struggle to keep out of the limelight. Timed to perfection for the height of summer, this second release is brimming with blissful, chilled out tunes. Hawk claims most of Player Piano is about a personal relationship falling apart, so it would be interesting to hear him in the throes of a new romance. AC

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Gypsy & The Cat – Gilgamesh (Pid B004708KFG), £21.99: Formed by Australian DJs Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers last year, the duo have been making waves both over there and here – and no wonder. Their debut album is packed with potential hit singles and their sunny pop and vocal harmonies make for a heady brew. A perfect soundtrack for those summer barbecues, The Piper’s Song is already garnering plenty of radio airplay with Time To Wander, Watching Me, Watching You and Human Desire equally memorable. Great stuff. KM

Ravel: Daphnis at Chloe/Debussy: Prelude (Monte Carlo OPMC 002) £13.99: The most rhythmically supple and texturally detailed account of the complete Daphnis and Chloe ballet on disc comes from the Monte Carlo Philharmonic in the final series of recordings with their much lamented conductor, Yakov Kreizberg. The dynamic range is enormous; the quiet sonorites so subtle, while the Berlin Radio Choir bring tremendous weight to the riotous final pages. So to the most sensual reading of L’Apres-midi d’un faune to complete an immaculately recorded release that you simply must not miss. DD

Godard: Piano Concerto No.1/Introduction et Allegro/Symphonie Oriental (Dutton Epoch CDLX 7274) £11.99: Saint-Saens was fashionable when the young Frenchman, Benjamin Godard, was writing easily accessible salon pieces. They survived his young death but his serious output disappeared. Now a sparkling performance from Victor Sangiorgio, his Piano Concerto, that mixes vigour and joy in equal measure, receives its world premiere recording. With the Royal Scottish National in fine form for conductor Martin Yates, we have a five-movement travelogue in a colourful Symphonie Oriental. Recommended. DD

Natalie Bowen, Lisa Allen, Andrew Carless and Kim Mayo (rock/pop), and David Denton (classical/opera)