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Juliet Ewing opens the album with "'S Wonderful," a song from Funny Face, delivering a snappy rendition to get things in motion. Wouldn't it be wonderful for this music to guide the world for a while? This version even includes drum solos, punctuated by delightful bits of scat. And when Juliet tells us, "My dear, it's four-leaf clover time" near the end, it feels like she is ushering us all into a wonderful dream. Is wonderful, indeed! That's followed by a medley of "Love Is Here To Stay" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me." "Love Is Here To Stay" feels perfect for these insane days, with its opening lines, "The more I read the papers/The less I comprehend/The world and all its capers/And how it all will end." It is the song's next couple of lines that especially speak to me: "Nothing seems to be lasting/But that isn't our affair." Everything is so brief, so fleeting, and so I've decided to focus on my own sweet love. A brief drum interlude leads into "They Can't Take That Away From Me." These two songs, from different movies, work quite well together. This track contains some really nice work on piano. And there is actually some defiance in the latter song, heard in these days when our poor country has embraced fascism, and freedoms and rights are being taken away. I'd love to see people dance right over the prone bodies of ICE agents.
It's funny how "I've Got A Crush On You" opens with a brazen bit of bragging: "How glad the many millions/Of Timothys and Williams would be/To capture me." It then focuses on the man, but even then there is a sense she might think she is better than him, with a line like "It's not that you're attractive." There is a reference to Romeo And Juliet in that first section. I love then when it gets into the main body of the song, how it takes on a beautiful late-night vibe, featuring some gorgeous and gentle work on piano. The mood gets lighter then on "Lady, Be Good," her version beginning with the chorus, cutting out that whole bit about the "tale of woe." No tale of woe here; instead, there is some delightful scat and a short drum solo. Yup, it's a cheerful rendition. Then "Slap That Bass" begins with bass, with Juliet soon coming in on vocals. These early lines make this song feel particularly timely: "The world is in a mess/With politics and taxes/And people grinding axes/There's no happiness." And, yes, music, can help, particularly a good bass line, as we get here. This rendition is just vocals and bass,and we are treated to a wonderful bass solo. "Misery, you've got to go," Juliet sings. And it seems that perhaps her voice might help usher that misery out of our lives. "Slap That Bass" was included in Crazy For You.
"But Not For Me" is a song from Girl Crazy, and was also included in Crazy For You. "They're writing songs of love," she sings at the beginning, and there is then a slight change in her voice as she finishes the line, "But not for me." This track features cheerful scat. I like how she creates her own joyful world with scat. There are some other playful touches, such as how she delivers the phrase "than any boring Russian play" toward the end. That's followed by "The Man I Love," which begins with some lovely work on piano. This is one of the tracks to feature Tedd Firth on piano. Tedd Firth also did the arrangement. "Someday he'll come along/The man I love." We can hear the yearning in her voice, the hope, and the certainty. What a wonderful and captivating vocal performance. We are carried along by her voice, joining her in her world, in her longing. The power in her voice as the song approaches its conclusion is remarkable. This track features just piano and vocals. "A Foggy Day" then begins with just piano and vocals. "The outlook was decidedly blue/But as I walked through the foggy streets alone/It turned out to be the luckiest day I've known." And then the song kicks in. "But the age of miracles hadn't passed/For suddenly I saw you there." Ah yes, meeting that one special person can change an entire city, an entire world. This track contains a cool instrumental section, and I'm especially digging that bass line.
"The Lorelei" is a playful one, and I love the way she adjusts her voice for it. There is certainly the actor in her voice, which is perfect, taking on the character of each song, heard especially in a song like this one. "And I can guarantee I'm full of passion/Like the Lorelei." Yes, no question. And she is adorable when she tells us, "I'm treacherous, yeah yeah/Oh, I just can't hold myself in check/I'm lecherous, yeah yeah/I want to bite my initials on a sailor's neck." This is the other track to feature Tedd Firth on piano. Then Juliet Ewing gives us "Embraceable You," another song from Girl Crazy that was also in Crazy For You. it's a beautiful song, and she does an excellent job with it. "Don't be a naughty baby/Come to mama, come to mama, do/My sweet embraceable you." I love that gentle work on piano, and when Juliet comes in with some soft "ooh" vocals. What a gorgeous section! And then they allow it to build, and it just gets better and better. This is one of my personal favorite tracks. It is followed by "Naughty Baby," a song that Juliet Ewing sang in that production of Crazy For You. She is absolutely delightful here, as she sings "Naughty baby, naughty baby, who will tease you/I can show the way, I know the way to please you" and "I can make a saint a sinner when I want to." I also like that she chose to follow a song with the line "Don't be a naughty baby" with the song "Naughty Baby." The two songs originally were in different musicals, though both ended up in Crazy For You.
This rendition of "I Got Rhythm" has a fun intro that begins on drums. This is another song that was in both Girl Crazy and Crazy For You. "I got my man/Who could ask for anything more?" I try to keep that in mind when I look around at all the things that I lack, try to keep that sort of attitude. This track features some good stuff on drums, as well as more scat. And there is a wonderful section toward the end where she sings, "I got drums," leading to a drum solo; and then "I got bass," leading to a cool lead on bass, backed by light touches on drums; and then "I got the keys," leading to some fantastic stuff on piano, backed by bass and drums. Oh man, I love this! What a great touch! She then wraps up the album with "Summertime," which begins with a rather somber tone, creating a dark atmosphere. Juliet comes in on vocals before beginning to deliver the lyrics, that vocal work adding to the atmosphere. And when she does begin to sing the lyrics, it is interesting, because the first word seems to come naturally from that atmosphere, a perfect segue. For the briefest of moments, we don't realize there is now an actual word. It is remarkable how she is able to do that. This is a beautiful, haunting rendition. She repeats "Don't you cry," and the power begins to build. And when she repeats, "You'll rise up singing," the music itself rises, and we feel ourselves likewise lifted by it, by her voice. This is an incredible rendition, another of the album's highlights.
CD Track List
- 'S Wonderful
- Love Is Here To Stay/They Can't Take That Away From Me
- I've Got A Crush On You
- Oh, Lady Be Good
- Slap That Bass
- But Not For Me
- The Man I Love
- A Foggy Day
- The Lorelei
- Embraceable You
- Naughty Baby
- I Got Rhythm
- Summertime
Simple 'S Wonderful: The Magic Of Gershwin is scheduled to be released September 12, 2025 through Honey Diva Music and Lexicon Classics.
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