Wrapping her sweet voice around songs by male singers she admires,
Stacey Kent
delivers another pleasant and low-key album with
The Boy Next Door
.
Kent
's tribute choices range from
traditional pop
(
Frank Sinatra
,
Tony Bennett
) to
mainstream jazz
instrumentalists (
Dave Brubeck
Dizzy Gillespie
) to the softer side of
rock
James Taylor
Simon
and -- unmentioned in the liner notes --
Garfunkel
). With a gentle conviction akin to early
Blossom Dearie
without the cheeky flair, the album makes for breezy listening. The 16 tracks don't differ enough in tone, making the album a bit too long, but individual moments of warm openhearted excellence make it worthwhile. The sentimentality of
"Bookends"
or
"'Tis Autumn"
suit her precious delivery well, while the sly moments of
"Makin' Whoopee"
feel out of the singer's reach. The bandmembers stay out of the way for the most part, waiting for their solos rather than interacting much with
. Drummer
Matt Home
's light but lively style is especially accommodating and guitarist
Colin Oxley
's percussive take on
"Too Darn Hot"
ends up being the album's greatest moment. ~ David Jeffries