Review by: Victoria Nugent
  – Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor
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If you have a penchant for cheery swing, 40s style jazz and sultry vocals, chances are you are going to love Caro Emerald. It’s easy to compare Emerald to Amy Winehouse, Adele, Eliza Doolittle, Duffy and other artists of that ilk, but in this album Emerald shows a versatility and range that suggest that merely pigeon holing her would be unjust.
The Dutch jazz vocalist’s debut album is bursting at the seams with catchy tunes, rich vocals and clever production to make a collection of music that is reminiscent of the jazz era without being stale. |
Born Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw, the jazz singer trained at the Amsterdam conservatory of music and first gained recognition in Holland with her 2009 single Back It Up, which spent 12 weeks in the Dutch Top 40.
It’s almost a tragedy that Caro Emerald isn’t better known outside Holland, because her pop style with hints of swinging jazz is just so purely irresistible and ultimately likeable.
The album kicks off energetically with “This Man”, a swinging tune with plenty of bounce, a slight Andrews Sisters vibe and some cheery scatting.
“Just One Dance” sees Emerald show off seductive vocals in a song that sounds like it should have been recorded in the 1920s with rich instrumentals and fingers clicking on occasion to emphasise the beat.
“Riviera Life” signals a change to a more pop style with sweet vocals about taking a sea change to the French Riviera. This is a light song on all counts…. light instrumentals, light theme, light vocals and as a result is a bit like a fresh sea breeze sweeping the listener’s cares away.
“Back It Up” has an irresistible beat and is almost ridiculously catchy, with lyrics that will have you singing, without ever being 100% sure what they mean.
“The Other Woman” is all honeyed vocals, understated instrumentals and strong bass with Emerald’s voice playing the role of femme fatale as she croons lyrics dripping with suspicion. “At the start of his goodbye/Do you ever realize/That you never get the chance/ All you get is alibis.”
“Absolutely Me” sees the turntables working to add a modern touch to a retro sounding dance track heavy on the Latin rhythm and cheery brass.
“You Don’t Love” starts with tinkling piano and a jazz brass section, before Emerald kicks in with throaty vocals in a track straight out of a stereotypical jazz bar where the gin is cold and the piano is hot.
“Dr Wanna Do” is a light hearted romp of a song with overly lovestruck lyrics about making an appointment with an attractive doctor for reasons more to do with eye candy than health. This song is frivolous but fun, somewhat in the vein of Eliza Doolittle, and the girlie chorus plays up to the track’s tongue in cheek nature.
“Stuck” has a beat that is reminiscent of some of Lily Allen’s earlier tunes and seems to be designed for toe tapping. “A Night Like This” is another track with an irresistibly catchy and light chorus that had me wanting to be spun across a dance floor.
Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor makes me long to see Emerald live as the real test is so often in the physical performances, away from the studio gimmicks, which are there in multitude on this album. Rumba beats, a short rap sample on the turntables, Latino style instrumentals and other effects sometimes threaten to overwhelm Emerald’s voice, which could captivate a crowd without any assistance. This is hardly much of a complaint though as it is a wonderfully diverse album with a song for every mood, and a voice that can adapt to all of them.
Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor invites listeners to immerse themselves in a world where vocals are mellifluous and seductive, backing music is upbeat and listening to an album is as good as taking a holiday. That’s the power of this album…. it transports the listener away from mundane everyday life in a sequence of talented and sizzling tracks that just beg for some serious hip swinging.
Review by: Victoria Nugent
– Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor – Caro Emerald
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