Once over the disappointing absence of Krall's improvisatory jazz piano scintillation of, say, I Love Being Here With You (2002) or cheeky, exuberant vocals heard in Love Me Like a Man (2004), the tightly-produced detail of these new recordings is enjoyable, if somewhat safe. Indeed, the commercial accessibility of the twelve radio-edit-sized songs is sure to find great appeal among smooth jazz and soft rock/pop audiences – especially as it includes vocal duets with both Michael Bublé and Bryan Adams – and no doubt it will engender a measure of 'selling out' criticism, too. But Krall's closely miked, softly husky delivery can still work its magic.
The singer feels a special affinity with each of the numbers, some of which have been covered numerous times before, whilst others are less obvious gems. The Eagles' lonesome Desperado is presented as sparse piano/vocal with the soft ebb and flow of deep strings – pleasing enough, though seeming to lack the passion of Don Henley's original vocal (or even Karen Carpenter's heart-tugging interpretation). The less-revisited early '70s chart hit of Gilbert O'Sullivan, Alone Again (Naturally), is interesting – Krall sharing its resigned yet heartfelt vocals with Michael Bublé – though the inherent pop feel is difficult to understand as 'jazz' (if, indeed, this is intended as a jazz album – perhaps not). Leon Russell's Superstar is more convincing, David Foster's sumptuous orchestration throughout matching Krall's restrained vocals whilst providing an impressively brooding undercurrent suggestive of blockbuster movie closing titles.
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