Beth McDonald – Home + At Last – Love Songs & Lullabies (CD)

 

Sound: B     Music: C+

 

 

Beth McDonald is a good singer in the Jazz tradition and we have recently listened to two of her latest albums on CD.  At Last – Love Songs & Lullabies is aimed at parents who want to have standards in the most child-safe most form possible and the result is not bad.  Though some of the songs were not my favorites, It Had To Be You, the much-over-remade At Last and What A Wonderful World are among the better tracks.  The obvious bonus track, You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, is not bad.

 

Home is the more serious and longer of the albums, including songs like Why Don’t You Do Right, Fever (both Peggy Lee classics), I’ve Got A Crush On You, Cry Me A River and an odd version of Goody Goody that should have been on the other disc are among the 17 tracks here.  The covers work sometime, but maybe this is too smooth for its own good.  Now, you can hear for yourself.

 

The PCM 2.0 16/44.1 Stereo on both CDs can be a little limited in depth, but is well-recorded and clean.  It is better than average versus the various Jazz vocal releases we have heard on CD and DVD.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo