Lisa Karp – Fucsia Blues (Adore Records).

From the opening bars of the sultry jazz club style Why Do I Wait to the lounge version of Good News Rumors Lisa Karp’s unique style will have you captivated. She has enlisted the help of none other than the legendary Dr. John for this sophisticated album. Karp is hot and laid back all in one package. Everything’s Broken, a duet with Dr. John, is probably the highlight of the album and it is the good Doctor that steals the show – I can’t get enough of this. Call Home is another in the jazz club style with prominent double bass and Dose Of You exemplifies her laid back style with the double vocal giving an excellent echo effect.

Good News Rumors has echoes of old time barroom blues, just voice and piano. There’s some electric guitar introduced on Curve Of The Truth and it’s obvious that Karp goes in for the minimalist approach. This has very sparse backing for her unique voice. It’s back to the acoustic sound for Try which has the now obligatory sultry vocals but has little substance. The strange time signatures of My Life Hotel only adds to the quirkiness of this album and the whole feel is of 60s blues/jazz.

South Pacific certainly proves Lisa’s originality but she may take a few listens to get into and this jazz/blues rarely gets out of first gear. She finishes on a lounge version of Good News Rumors and changes her vocal but little else. What does stand out here is the quality of piano playing from Dr. John.

The last word belongs to Dr. John who says “What I like about her is that she doesn’t think the way most singer/songwriters think. She often approaches stuff from left field”. That is quite possibly the understatement of the year.

http://www.lisakarp.com/
http://www.luckmedia.com/


Copyright David Blue 2006.