Book Review: Diana Krall: Glad Rag Doll: Piano / Vocal / Guitar [Music Book]

Diana Krall is primarily known as a jazz singer. But for her 11th studio album, Glad Rag Doll, she also ventured into a bit of Americana. This companion book of the music for Glad Rag Doll will delight keyboard players with an interest in jazz and blues, and provides a few songs that venture into rockabilly and folk as well.

Most of these songs are from the 1920s and ’30s. The arrangements capture a great vintage sound on songs like “Glad Rag Doll,” “We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye,” “You Know – I Know Everything’s Made For Love” and “Just Like a Butterfly Caught in the Rain.” But there are more contemporary sounding songs that still seem to fit with the theme: the lyrical “Prairie Lullaby,” “I’m a Little Mixed Up,” “Wide River to Cross,” and “Lonely Avenue.” For blues fans, there’s “There Ain’t No Sweet Man Worth the Salt of My Tears.”

Then there’s the dramatic, sweeping closing song, “When the Curtain Comes Down,” which will certainly allow a pianist to show his or her chops.

Altogether there are 13 songs in the collection. Other numbers are “Here Lies Love,” “I Used to Love You but It’s All Over Now,” and “Let It Rain.”

The arrangements are challenging. Also, since you have both accompaniment and melody to choose from, when playing for your own entertainment it may be a bit hard to decide what to play. However, this music book will allow a practiced player to provide absolutely professional accompaniment for any singer or group of singers or to play with other musicians on these great songs.

The Glad Rag Doll music book certainly provides something different, and allows a keyboardist to learn pieces that are both vintage and contemporary, catching the sound of the past and the present at the same time.

The skill level of this book is not for amateurs, and most of these songs will take practice to perfect. But the book is definitely worth adding to the collection of any keyboardist who enjoys jazz, blues, and Americana.