Do we need still another recording of Jacques Brel’s songs? If the CD is the unique and exciting Chanson, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” There is Amanda McBroom’s warm and finely nuanced contralto voice, which slides effortlessly into soprano when needed, and her sensitive and passionate interpretations. There are the splendid back-up musicians, who always support but never overwhelm her and whose brief solos are captivating. And, finally, there are the amazing and often surprising arrangements by Michele Brourman and Stephen Oberhoff, such as the jazz introduction and background to “If We Only Have Love.”

One of the recording’s strengths is its contrasts. There are combinations of the familiar and unfamiliar for those who know Brel and McBroom well. Sometimes, familiar and unfamiliar combine in the same song, such as “Girl in an Armchair” (new to this reviewer), whose images of a portrait and a captain lost at sea evoke McBroom’s own “The Portrait” and “Ship in a Bottle.” McBroom, who performed in Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, was influenced by the Belgian composer. In addition, there are the juxtapositions of songs, the angry and satiric “Ca va,” for example, sung just before the mournful “Ne me quitte pas.” In “Carousel,” McBroom portrays both the innocent child who is enchanted by the ride, and also the desperate adult for whom the madly turning merry-go-round signifies a life spinning out of control. And, again, because of the arrangements, well-known songs will seem excitingly new.

If Chanson is a contender for a MAC Award, and it should be, it will be hard to beat.

Barbara Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
September 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org