(CD only, Metro Blue, 2000)
I depart from my usual writing about and advocating for vinyl to pontificate about a most worthy album which is not – regrettably – available in that preferred format, but only available as CD.
Many audiophiles are aware of Holly Cole, and I may be “preaching to the choir” to some readers, but a great number are not. She has been a fixture of the Canadian jazz scene since the late 1980’s, when she moved from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Toronto. There she formed the Holly Cole Trio, the name used on her first four albums, and began releasing albums that have generally met with very good critical acclaim but only varying degrees of popular acceptance. While she is somewhat well-known in the US, she is a virtual icon in Canada.
Very much the artist and her own woman, Cole performs and records music as the spirit moves her. She’s ofttimes been classified as a “torch singer” and her material regarded as jazz. But she will also occasionally veer into pop interpretations that leave jazz purists shaking their heads. Her smoky contralto voice lends itself well to her chosen material, which often reflecting her wry, sassy, independent attitude.
All of her albums have gems on them, though they are diverse enough that few listeners will like every cut on any of them. That said, they are all very well recorded, and a few of them have even been reissued in vinyl format. Her 4th album, Don’t Smoke in Bed, has been released as two LPs at 45 RPM by Analogue Productions. And her 5th, Temptation, is available from the same source both as a 200-gram pressing and also as a four LP, 45 RPM boxed set.
I have dabbled with her albums in LP format and will occasionally reach for one of those that I own, but usually – unusually, considering the format – I’m satisfied to put this CD in my player. Frankly, the folks who engineered this CD knew what they were doing – the fidelity is excellent, better than I am used to from ‘redbook’ discs.
Though there are jazz-type numbers in this Best of collection, it draws more from her pop-oriented work – which is just fine with me. It includes songs by Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett, Lennon-McCartney, Elvis Costello and others, many of which were hits for her at least in Canada. And they are indeed memorable, well-done songs; “God Will,” “Cry (If You Want To),” “Make It Go Away” are among the more outstanding ones. A cut called “Train Song” may test your system’s bass capability.
If you are not really familiar with the music of Holly Cole and might be hesitant to spend $40-$135 to try it out in vinyl, I highly recommend this CD, available used for $5 or so from Discogs or elsewhere on the internet. (There also seems to be a Japanese CD of the same title, but it has very different material and I have not heard it.) And of course, for those folks who choose to receive their music via streaming, much of her work is doubtless available in that way.