This album carried a whole sack of question marks with it. While\nbuilding a huge following with her rather irresistible brand of\nhybridised bop-swing balladry, Diana gradually yielded to\ncommercial temptation the way Nat Cole, Wes Montgomery, George\nBenson and other jazz greats had. Her last couple of albums have\nbeen easy listening records. Tremendously accomplished mood music,\ngranted, and, of course, wildly popular, but for this listener at\nleast missing the x factor that sparked her efforts up to and\nincluding When I Look In Your Eyes. Add to the uncertainty her\nsongwriting partnership with the new hubbie Elvis Costello and I\nhad no idea what to expect. The result is simply wonderful, opening\na whole new direction for Krall. Shes ditched the string orchestra\nand most of the jazz standards, opting for contemporary songwriters\n(Tom Waits, Chris Smither, Joni Mitchell) to augment the\nKrall/Costello pieces. Gone is the perky, zesty Di, in her place a\nwhispering, haunted figure with more in common with Mitchell, or\nDianas rivals Patricia Barber and Cassandra Wilson. I could pick\nhighlights forever, but the one I really must mention is Narrow\nDaylight, one of the six new Krall/Costello pieces. The authors of\nthe cover versions are in danger of becoming Dianas interpretive\nproperty, the way people lost their songs to Sinatra. This is a\ngreat, great record, be it jazz, pop or just bloody brilliant mood\nmusic.
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\n_Richard Mohr is from Readings Port Melbourne_

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