Search - Ian Shaw :: Lifejacket

A shaw fire winner

Harold Walton | Toronto, Canada | 12/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"His best album to date. Recently saw him solo at The Old Mill Inn , Toronto where he blew the audience away with his charm, wit, wonderful piano pieces and,Lifejacket of course, his remarkable voice. If your not a big jazz fan but love the sound of Gaucho/Aja era Steely Dan you will love this recording of original material. One of my favourite albums of 2008!!"

Expertly produced

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 09/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've had this SACD for about a month now, and have gone back and forth on whether to go 4 or 5 stars. Today, it's 5.



This is a c.d. of original jazz-pop songs, with music by Mr. Shaw and lyrics by David Preston. Both double as co-producers.



What to say? My basic objection to this c.d. is that an awful lot of these songs cover the topics of drinking and male midlife malaise. These just are not my favorite song topics.



But the more I listen, the more I'm convinced that those are minor quibbles. In fact, these songs are memorable, with memorable hooks. And the album sounds great. Mr. Shaw and Mr. Preston have expertly produced this disc.



Ian Shaw enjoys a great worldwide reputation as a jazz singer, and this c.d. should serve only to enhance that. In particular, he shows off his chops on tracks #3, and #5 ("She's Loaded" and "Glue"), where he navigates very difficult vocal passages with great aplomb.



The track that most impresses me, however, is #6, or "Forty-Two." Here, he sings a duet with an uncredited Liane Carroll, and sounds like two voices. Imagine Phil Collins doing a duet with Mariah Carey, or Rick Astley with Whitney Houston, and you kind of have the idea. This is the most soulful track on the disc, and the one most indicative of Mr. Shaw's vocal talents.



Also impressive is the ballad, "Hiraeth" (Welsh for "homesick.") Lyrically it's my favorite (and also the one that least is about drinking at midlife; it's more about a "boy becoming a man," even if that "boy" is already an adult).



All in all, this c.d. will cost you a little bit more, as it is an import. But it's worth the cost. Christopher Loudon of "Jazz Times" thinks it's one of the best vocal jazz c.d.'s of 2008. While it doesn't strike me at quite that level, personally, it really does sound great. RC"