CD Review: Rita Coolidge — And So Is Love

I first heard Rita Coolidge as part of Joe Cocker’s 1970 Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, although I cannot recall whether I saw the film before I bought the album or the other way around. Hired to sing backup, she came out front on “Superstar” and launched a career that continues to this day. In addition to work with Delaney and Bonnie, Eric Clapton, Kris Kristofferson and others, she has had hits on the pop and rock charts including “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher,” “The Way You Do The Things You Do” and “All Time High.”

And So Is Love is her first recording for the Concord label. She applies her considerable vocal talents to a dozen jazz standards and other songs. The clarity of her voice has only improved over the last 35 years and is now complemented by a rich tone perfectly suited to material written by Billy Rose, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, and Les Brown, among others. Boz Scaggs is also represented with “We’re All Alone,” a tune that was a hit for Ms. Coolidge in 1977. It is a pleasure to hear this completely new treatment.

These numbers are variations on the theme conveyed by the CD’s title and are performed as only one who has lived more than a few years could. She is helped in this effort with arrangements by Alan Pasqua and Russell Ferrante, each of them handling six of the tunes. They demonstrate a clear understanding that these songs are as much about the lyrics as anything else. Every word can be heard when Ms. Coolidge sings, but so can the emotion that these songs require. In the longing of “Sentimental Journey,” the resignation and wistfulness of “The Masquerade Is Over” and the bitterness of “Cry Me A River,” she tells convincing stories of the joys and disappointments of life.

Article Author: Gregg Guetschow

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