Track Listing

1. Every Day I Have the Blues
2. Today I Sing the Blues
3. Respect Yourself
4. Angel
5. Me, Myself and I
6. Just One Smile
7. Don't Put All You Dreams in One Basket
8. This Bitter Earth
9. Starting All Over Again
10. No Regrets
11. Lead Me On

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4612 in Music
• Released on: 2009-03-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .18 pounds

Album Description
2009 U.S. release, a collaboration between Georgia-born R&B/Jazz vocalist Randy Crawford and keyboardist Joe Sample. There's great, unobtrusive backing by Steve Gadd (drums) and Christian McBride (bass), the occasional tasty touch of guitar and brass, and intuitive piano accompaniment by Sample. Crawford's voice has deepened and mellowed over the years and she doesn't go in for the vocal gymnastics she once did, but her tremulous phrasing is as distinctive and appealing as ever.

Customer Reviews

A stripped-down Sunday afternoon set which makes you feel good.
Former Crusaders pianist Joe Sample is reunited here with Randy Crawford, who helped hoist his old band atop the US jazz chart for 20 weeks when she sang on "Street Life" back in 1979.
Extraordinary how little Randy Crawford's voice has changed in the three decades since the glossy rhythms of Street Life dominated the charts.
In 2006, Crawford and Sample made their first joint album, "Feeling Good", which he claims was the first time her voice had ever got the stripped-down setting it really deserved.
"No regrets continues that approach with the same small ensemble on a selection of carefully chosen, lovingly crafted standards, plus a few less familiar numbers".- BBC
She has been digging deeper into the jazz tradition.
This vocal Jazz set, consisting of twelve fine interpretations of standards and covers is beautifully crafted, arranged and produced, that showcase these cherished performers in their greatest light, performing classic songs in a smoky atmosphere of silky, soulful, jazz arrangements.
Randy has rarely sounded better and her powerful voice glides gracefully across all the tracks.
Standout is her take of the massive hit for the Staple Singers in the 1970s and cannily relevant today, "Respect Yourself" which adds a funky groove, while "Lead Me On" is a heavy slow blues.
Given Crawford's sunny persona, she gets a surprising amount of mileage out of "Every Day I Have the Blues", a classic tune made famous by Joe Williams with the Count Basie Orchestra "Me Myself And I" which was a huge hit for Billie Holiday in 1937, "Everyday I Have The Blues", a classic tune made famous by Joe Williams with the Count Basie Orchestra, and "Angel of the Morning", a huge hit for the great PP Arnold more than 40 years ago and more.
Throughout Joe Sample's expressive piano takes most of the instrumental solos on piano and shows just what a master of the instrument he still is, while the accompaniment is always direct and unfussy.
Randy and Joe are joined by bassist Christian McBride and drummer Steve Gadd.
Their old friend Tommy LiPuma directs proceedings from the studio console.
The only slight mistep, in my opinion, is a too laidback "No Regrets" that's the diametric opposite of Edith Piaf's admittedly overwrought original, "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien".
Feeling Good
Street Life
Eternelle: The Best Of

MUSIC!
Rather than go wordy, I'll do like this album and keep it simple. This is just plain good music! No frills, nothing more than needed except for excellent musicianship and vocals. "Respect Yourself", to me is worth the price of the whole album but it is all so solid and listenable. I have tickets to see/hear them April 24th and can't wait!

BEAUTY
BEAUTY= the voice of Randy Crawford ...it's pure beauty..love this album

Tony(nyc)