Diana Panton: “Soft Winds And Roses” (2024) CD Review

Vocalist Diana Panton’s new album, Soft Winds And Roses, is something a bit different from her previous release, 2022’s Blue, which completed a trilogy of albums dealing with different aspects of love. Not that love is not a topic here, but the songs on this album are from more recent years, many of them from the 1970s, songs in the pop and folk realms. Diana Panton delivers covers some of my favorite songwriters, including Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot. Joining her on this release are Don Thompson on bass, piano and vibraphone; and Reg Schwager on guitar.

Diana Panton opens the album with a cover of Elton John’s “Your Song,” one of his most popular numbers, and the one he chose to open the Troubadour show in 1970 that got his U.S. career going. There is a sweet aspect to Diana Panton’s rendition, an innocence heard in her delivery, which works quite well. “Or a girl who makes potions in a traveling show/I know it’s not much, but it’s the best I can do/My gift is my song, and this one’s for you.” She is supported by some nice work on piano. That’s followed by “They Long To Be Close To You,” a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and recorded by The Carpenters. Their version was released in 1970, the same year that Elton John played his first show in the United States. Diana Panton’s rendition is beautiful, in large part because of her vocal approach. There is a delightful joy to her delivery, and a light and carefree feel to the track. This track features some wonderful stuff on vibraphone. I am also fond of the guitar work.

Diana Panton then chooses a song from the 1990s, “Secret Heart,” written by Ron Sexsmith and included on his 1995 self-titled album. Apparently this song was used in an episode of The X-Files in 2016.  I had no idea that show was still on in 2016. I thought it had ended in the late 1990s. But no matter. Diana Panton does a great job with the song, living fully within its world, as if it were her original composition. She then reaches back to an earlier number, “Sweet Happy Life,” a song that was recorded by Peggy Lee and Wanda de Sah, among others. Diana Panton gives us a rendition that is wonderfully and unabashedly cheerful, with a nice bossa nova sound to the guitar work. “My wish for you, sweet happy life/May all the days of the years that you live be laughing days.” Ah, with music like this, I think that wish will come true. Why not? “May all your sorrows be gone and your heart begin to sing/And if a wish can make it be/I wish you’d spend every day of your happy life with me.” Her delivery of that last line is particularly adorable, and a piano lead follows, while presumably the two people in question are dancing and enjoying their life together. This track also features a good lead on guitar.

There follows another song that addresses wishing, “A Wish (Valentine),” this one written by Fred Hersch and Norma Winstone. This rendition begins with some warm, thoughtful work on piano. It isn’t until a minute and a half into the track that Diana Panton comes in on vocals. “No hearts, no flowers at my door/No cards from someone I adore/And yet it seems you are the focus of my dreams/I only wish that I could be your Valentine.” On this one, her voice is supported by just piano. There is melancholy to this song. I think it might be in part because as she sings, “The year slips silently away,” my brain hears “years slip,” with so much time passing. This song was included on Fred Hersch and Norma Winstone’s 2003 album Songs & Lullabies. Diana Panton then takes us back to the 1970s with her rendition of “How Deep Is Your Love.” She offers a pretty rendition. These days the line “Because we’re living in a world of fools” stands out. Seriously, how can this election be so close? What is wrong with people? This track features a light and wonderful lead on piano.

The tone turns more somber with the guitar work of the beginning of her rendition of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Pussywillows, Cat-Tails,” a song that was included on Lightfoot’s 1968 album Did She Mention My Name? There is a timeless, almost magical quality to this rendition by Diana Panton, as she delivers a captivating, touching performance. That’s followed by a pretty, almost delicate rendition of “Here, There And Everywhere,” a song that comes from Revolver, one of the three best Beatles albums (along with the White Album and Abbey Road). This is such a great version of the song, and it features a really good lead on guitar. Then she gives us “You And I,” written by Normal Gimbel, Vinicius de Moraes and Carlos Lyra. There is a delicious bossa nova vibe to the guitar work, and a joy to Diana’s delivery. “Well, let them say just what they will/Of empty life, I’ve had my fill.” This track also features a delightful lead on piano.

Diana Panton then takes us back to 1970 again with her rendition of Don McLean’s “And I Love You So,” a song from his first album, Tapestry. At the beginning, she is supported by just guitar. “I guess they understand/How lonely life has been/But life began again/The day you took my hand.” It is after those lines that the piano and bass come in. This track features a gorgeous vocal performance. It is followed by “Until It’s Time For You To Go,” a song written by Buffy Sainte-Marie, and included on her 1965 record Many A Mile. Diana Panton delivers yet another pretty vocal performance, with warmth and affection. “And though I’ll never in my life see you again/Won’t you stay until it’s time for you to go.” This track also includes a moving lead on piano. Diana Panton then offers a wonderful rendition of “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye,” written by the best songwriter of all time, Leonard Cohen. She delivers the first verse a cappella, and it is stunningly beautiful. It isn’t until she sings the title line that the piano comes in. And then the guitar comes in for a strong lead in an instrumental section in the middle. There is a slow fade-out at the end.

Diana Panton follows that with a song by another great songwriter, Randy Newman. “Snow” is a song that he wrote, but which was recorded by The Johnny Mann Singers, who included it on their 1966 album I’ll Remember You. The next year Harpers Bizarre included it on Anything Goes, and then Claudine Longet recorded it for her Love Is Blue album. Harry Nilsson also recorded it, and it was included as a bonus track on the expanded release of Nilsson Sings Newman. But I’m not sure Randy Newman himself ever recorded it. If anyone knows of a recording of him doing it, please let me know. Anyway, Diana Panton delivers a pretty rendition. It almost has the feel of a lullaby. “Gone, it’s all over and you’re gone/But the memory lives on/Although our dreams lie buried in the snow.” She then wraps up the album with one of my favorite songs, Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” a song that often has me in tears. Usually it’s the lines “But now it’s just another show/You leave ‘em laughing when you go/And if you care, don’t let them know/Don’t give yourself away” that do it. Diana Panton delivers a beautiful, thoughtful rendition. The vibraphone lead in the middles comes as a surprise, but works. “To say I love you right out loud/Dreams and schemes and circus crowds/I’ve looked at life that way.” I’m going to continue to look at it that way, even if it’s all illusions.

CD Track List

1. Your Song
2. They Long To Be Close To You
3. Secret Heart
4. Sweet Happy Life
5. A Wish (Valentine)
6. How Deep Is Your Love
7. Pussywillows, Cat-Tails
8. Here, There And Everywhere
9. You And I
10. And I Love You So
11. Until It’s Time For You To Go
12. Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye
13. Snow
14. Both Sides Now

Soft Winds And Roses was released today, October 25, 2024.