You may have heard Ingrid Saxon's
voice on Polygram or Playskool children's records, some produced by Bugs
Bower -- he of Bing Crosby/Burt Bacharach/Bobby Rydell fame -- but on
her solo debut she puts her perfect vocals in the artistic setting where
they feel most at home, gliding alongside the superb piano work of Paul
Trueblood, accompanist of talent ranging from Diane Keaton to Marianne
Faithful. The interplay between the two on Victor Herbert and Harry B.
Smith's "Art Is Calling Me" is a textbook on timing, passion, and
balance. Working with two instruments may sound simple, but producer
Peter Calo, longtime guitarist with Carly Simon and the Broadway show
Hairspray, elegantly places the performances where they obtain optimal
effect. The mixture of pop hits like Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed
to Live Without You," Melissa Manchester/Carole Bayer Sager's classic
"Come in from the Rain," and Tony Hatch compositions Petula Clarke made
famous -- the "Downtown/"I Know a Place" medley -- blend in with the
Broadway show tunes very naturally. Kurt Weil's "One Touch of Venus"
feels like Marilyn Monroe's tempting come-ons while the Jack
Lawrence/Walter Gross classic "Tenderly" emerges as a gem waiting for a
new audience to discover its timelessness. As John Lennon's Plastic Ono
Band album made the empty spaces of sparse accompaniment exclamation
points to his compositions, Calo and Trueblood do the same for the
interpretation here -- giving Ingrid a platform where her many talents
take control. It's all so picture perfect that if a Clive Davis put
orchestration or the instrumentation that found itself on Simon &
Garfunkel's once naked "Sounds of Silence," A Lot of Livin' to Do could
educate a world in serious need of a fresh look at classic melodies. The
multi-dimensional actress who appeared on TV soaps like Ryan's Hope and
As the World Turns hits it out of the park here with ease and grace.
Joe Viglione - allmusic.com
