Smash

Patricia Barber is one of my two favorite musicians, the other being Leonard Cohen. She's that good. Smash is an outstanding piece of work. Like most of her albums, I didn't fall in love with it on first listen, but it has grown on me considerably with each subsequent spin. Although Patricia Barber is usually categorized as a jazz musician and Concord is certainly thought of as a jazz label, the music on Smash defies any simplistic classification. The majority of the album is not what I think of as jazz in any traditional sense of the word. Smash has many moments that blend jazz with rock, hard rock, pop, and even dance. And rest assured there are many exceptionally nice piano, guitar, bass, and drum passages sprinkled throughout. Smash is also an amalgam of tempos with about 50% being slow, 25% fast, and the remainder somewhere in between. The quality of the sound is about as good as it gets on redbook CDs. Of the 12 tracks, there is really only one that didn't float my boat, which is Romanesque, the shortest track and to my ears a snore from start to finish. But the rest of the album I really like, and at least two tracks are flat out superb: Devil's Food and Bashful (the latter being the only 100% instrumental track on the album). If I have any disappointment with Smash, it's that the CD is packaged in one of those stupid cardboard cases rather than a jewel box. Boo to Concord for that!

I can not say enough about how much I love Patricia Babber's singing and approach to her world of Jazz...It is unique and moving and brings me into the song/story with a edge and feeling of emoting these words and story telling..Very powerful and beautiful at the same time..

Really enjoy the sultry & smokey voice of Patricia Barber. Reminds me of the female singers in the old speak-easy days.

I'm a fan of Patricia Barber. She is an amazing jazz talent. This new CD does not disappoint. Barber continues to evolve and perfect her musical talent. He vocals are thrilling and her playing is top notch. This is an album for all jazz enthusiasts. I heard cuts from this CD at one of her live performances. She wows me!

The ever evolving music of PB is still evident on her most recent album. She moves forward without following any particular rules, except that of remaining faithful to her musical emotions of the moment. I applaude her and will continue to buy her future recordings, as I own all of them up to now.

This is a very muscular and challenging release. It is not an easy first listen. My wife hates it. I was fortunate enough to see Barber at the local community college doing a set after some workshops: electric, witty and engaged. What a treat, don't let it pass by.

I'm a big fan of Patricia, and this is an outstanding album. The vinyl pressing is dead quiet, with no groove noise an almost none of the typical pops, ticks or other artifacts that come with vinyl. It's a very revealing, well-composed and wonderfully-performed album.

If you don't know this artist, start anywhere - from Modern Cool to the Cole Porter Mix. You're in for hours and hours of one of the most stylish, polished, intelligent composer/pianist/vocalist of our times.