An artist does not have to be
jazz
-oriented to benefit from
artistically. That has certainly been the case with
Joni Mitchell
; it has also been true of
Rickie Lee Jones
,
Sade
Norah Jones
the Doors
Sting
and many others who made their mark in
rock
pop
or
R&B
but enriched their work by having a
influence. And on
Blue Light
is an attractive ingredient for singer/songwriter
Jude Johnstone
even though it is not the CD's main ingredient. Evaluating this 2007 release by straight-ahead
standards would be unfair because that isn't where
Johnstone
is coming from;
is essentially a
pop/rock
-
adult alternative
album, but it is a
album that is definitely mindful of
and
torch
singing. Even though
(who wrote or co-wrote all of the songs) has more in common with
stylistically than she does with
Sheila Jordan
Abbey Lincoln
, there is no overlooking the amount of jazzy torchiness that she brings to originals like
"Paper Doll"
(not to be confused with the song that
the Mills Brothers
recorded in 1942),
"New York Morning"
"Losin' Hand."
is dominated by new material, but the exception to that rule is the melancholy bonus track
"Over and Done"
(which was recorded back in 1983). Hearing
alongside the other songs, one can hear that
's voice hasn't changed much in 24 years; the
of 2007 has a nasal vocal style much like the
of 1983. It's a voice that takes some getting used to, but it's also a voice that can easily grow on the listener, especially considering the consistently high quality of her writing on
. ~ Alex Henderson