Angel Air Nostalgia 2014
Silky Smooth Moments
Soft and sensual, songwriter for the stars pays homage to the source of his inspiration.
It might seem like he’s joined the latest craze for rockers to revisit the Great American Songbook, but whether letting his hair down with BUTTERSCOTCH or working as one third of AMMO, a partnership with Geoff Morrow and Chris Arnold that penned hits for the likes of Elvis and Barry Manilow in the ’70s, David Martin has always had a penchant for the classic tune – later, he even sang with the JAMES LAST ORCHESTRA and delved into the West End musicals production – and now this love comes a full circle. Prompting Angel Air to launch a fittingly titled imprint Nostalgia, on his latest record the Ivor Novello laureate, accompanied by the TERRY COFFEY TRIO – a jazzy format: piano, bass and drums – returns to the perennials he used to croon aeons ago and sounds as young as ever. And it’s Martin’s supple delivery that’s in the heart of it all, for David doesn’t bring much new to “In The Wee Small Hours,” yet he gives a wonderful English glow to the evergreens, two from each, by Cole Porter and Irving Berlin.
The latter’s brisk “Let’s Face The Music And Dance” closes the song cycle which starts with Martin’s only original on offer, the title track, that’s perfectly suits the album’s emotional and stylistic context and puts David’s tenor in the most romantic of settings as the ivories’ flow underpins the melody and lyrics’ poignancy. In their turn, “You’d Better Love Me” and “Just One Of Those Things” thrive on the ensemble’s telepathic interplay fondling the vocals twists and turns with gusto and grace. For “Embraceable You” and “Teach Me Tonight,” though, the veteran’s voice adapts velvet, rather than silky, tones to make the approach as sexy and seductive as the pieces demand. The result might seem too smooth but the listener’s been warned from the off, so there’s a lot of enjoyable moments here.
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