Diana Krall • The Look of Love
Original Recordings Group/Verve Records ORG 004
Two 33-RPM 180 g LPs
The Look of Love is Diana Krall’s sixth album, and was originally released in 2001. I’d never heard of Krall (who is, incidentally, a fellow British Columbian, being born in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island) until I heard the title track (the only single released from the album) one day. I’m a fan of Dusty Springfield’s version of this track (from the original soundtrack of the 1967 movie, Casino Royale), so I thought I’d check out the album from which Krall’s version came.
The album—Krall’s best-selling album to date—contains ten tracks, three of which I was familiar with (albeit by different artists): Love Letters, Cry Me a River, and of course The Look of Love (when I saw its name in the track listing, I thought that Dancing in the Dark was a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s song of that name: it isn’t!).
The songs have a silky, sultry feel about them, reminiscent of a Vegas lounge singer. If that’s your thing, that’s fine, but it’s a style I’m still not quite partial to.
The sound quality is very good—in fact, the album won a Grammy Award in 2001 for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical category. By spreading the album over four sides, ORG have made the most of the material’s quality. The vinyl is flat with silent surfaces, and the packaging—a heavy cardboard gatefold sleeve—is first rate. Cautiously recommended if you’re a fan of the genre.