Elisabeth Welch sits astride two important schools of singers. The first is the 1930s cabaret style which, in addition to her, included among its practitioners
Hildegarde,
Edith Piaf, and
Greta Keller. During that same period,
Welch was among those Afro-American singers like
Eva Taylor,
Ethel Waters, and Florence Mills, who transformed the raucous, relatively "countrified," primitive singing style represented by
Bessie Smith and
Ma Rainey to a more urban and sophisticated style, who were instrumental in opening the way for and influenced the next generation of female jazz singers like
Billie Holiday,
Ella Fitzgerald, and
Peggy Lee.
This Thing Called Love was made in 1989 when
Welch was 81. Although her voice is not as powerful as it once was, it hasn't lost those mannerisms associated with great cabaret singing. If anything, it is more dramatic. There's the slight quiver in the voice which enhances the unabashed romantic sentimentality of her delivery and tugs at the heartstrings on "When Your Lover Has Gone" and "Long Before I Knew You." But, with pathos, there's also a bittersweet humor in cabaret, as illustrated by "Boy, What Love Has Done to Me." And what she does with
Noël Coward's "I'll Follow My Secret Heart" should be considered the standard interpretation of this song. After 15 cuts, it doesn't seem possible that
Welch could have any feeling left to give. But the last cut, "Give Me Something to Remember You By," oozes out the last drop of feeling from a very emotional but sophisticated and entertaining session. The sole playlist entry which seems misplaced is
Henry Mancini's "Moon River," which may be the perfect example of the difference between the poignant and the maudlin. Throughout,
Welch's respect for and understanding of the lyrics are eminently apparent. Jonathan Cohen's piano dominates the accompaniment. The drums and bass are barely audible. Martin Firth's saxophone gets a play on "One Life to Live." This album is a reminder of what may be becoming a lost art form. ~ Dave Nathan