Beth Gibbons

I was not at all prepared for this music - I bought the album on a whim, having enjoyed some (but not all) of Portishead's work.

But this is not an album to be taken on a whim - it is absolutely extraordinary, and I find it completely absorbing. So, in I popped the CD, unsuspectingly turned up the volume, and...time stopped. This music really takes rapt, full attention. It is slow, subtle, gentle, complex, surprising, and very, very beautiful. There is an emotional presence in the lilt of the vocals, drifting over a string of creative melodies that I find completely captivating, and the presentation is near perfection.

This is NOT good background music for a party! If you let it, this melancholy work could lift you out of this world and carry you to another place, just for a while.

Ms. Gibbons was great in Portishead as anyone reading this probably knows very well,but with this solo album she takes advantage of the freedoms being a single artist gives.She changes her vocals in a few tunes,goes for a folk feel on some tracks,and has some pleasent lyrics along with a few dark themes;all these elements sound great;she must've spend some time on this one since it doesn't sound rushed.I reccomend this to any Portis fan,or anyone who enjoys chilled-out music in the folk/art-rock/ambient rock vein.Perfect for almost any weather or mood,a feat not many albums can boast of!

Listening to the haunting "Show", the third song on "Out of seasons" I'm reminded in more than one way of the Australian singer Nick Cave. Beth Gibbons has the same chain-smoked voice, an unsatisfying eager for dark, sometimes even depressing moods and there is indeed something filmish, something cinematic about her lyrics.

When I hear her sing this song, or for instance "Tom the model", I vision myself sitting in some dark, damp nightclub, watching an untouchable, badly dressed singer, like in the old film noir movies.
There is indeed something routine-like in her entire presence on this disc. It's more intimate than the Portishead-thing Beth has done, but also a bit more worn-down.

Beth is indeed a nightclub singer who sings her songs for the zillionth time, meanwhile dreaming of getting out, getting anywhere but in the place and present she's in now.
All this has some sort of awkward romantic overtone, so things aren't that sorrowful. It's indeed a nice atmospherical album, with notes that fall like drizzeling raindrops and lines like autumn leaves being blown away by a chilly wind.

"It's a funny time of year" Beth sings in the most stand-out song. "I can see / there'll be no blossoms on the trees." With a `voice of love' that's definitely so out of season...

With it's subtle nature sound effects, creepy little choral samples and achingly beautful melodies, "Out of Season" casts its shadow over your unsuspecting heart. These tender poems are saturated with bleakness by Gibbons' voice and the ghostly sparseness of the acoustic instruments.

The pain begins with "Mysteries" with the line "Nobody made this war of mine." "Romance" claims, "It's plain to see all the things we suffer/ at the hands of humanity."

When she sings "Summer skies are leaving me behind/like a circle, life is ever moving by" it's less an autumnal afterthought than a realisation of soul damned in "Resolve." The lyric is full of pathos; it's almost a suicide note set to the most romantic tune imaginable.

"Spyder" continues this treatise on suffering as Gibbons whispers, "Time is but a memory/a bitter note unsung/running, trying to find salvation/from the sorrow that is done."

And so it goes until it spends itself in tears and silence. By then, however, you have been transported to the island of the dispossessed.

Easily one of the 3 best CDs to come out in the last 5 years, along with fellow Bristolites Kosheen with their haunting "Resist" and Norway's Slowpho, whose debut "Hotel Sleep" prickles with icy woe.

Este es el primer CD que compro de manera on-line, en amazon, o en cualquier otro medio. Y no es arbitrario que asi sea. Beth, tiene el poder de seducir mis actos hasta este punto.
La primer que esuche 'Out of season', definitivamente lo alejé de mi lado y lo saque de mis manifestaciones musicales por un tiempo, tuvo que pasar otro encuentro con el CD, para darle el atributo y la posición que se merecia, una segunda mirada me revelo un sonido mucho mas humilde, despojado de toda la parafernalia electronica (muy atractiva, por cierto) que hacian de estos sonidos una mezcla interesante entre la calma antes de cualquier situación.
Con una voz bastante histrionica y dramatica, la gibbons, nos trasnporta hacia los estados en los cuales ella quiere que caigamos, el musico co-participe de este disco, Rustin Man, se merece toda mi admiración y respeto, por lograr conjugar ese sonido glam electronico (al que nos tenia acostumbrado Beth junto a Portishead) con baladas simples minimas y bellas, una musica del preambulo y la calma de la ausencia y la presencia de situaciones vocales y ritmicas bastante atrayentes y atractivas.

Nada mas que decir, uno de los mejores albumes de mi discoteca, ojla esta unión de más frutos, y ojala que Portishead tambien los de alguna vez.

PD: Adrian Utley el bajista de portishead, tambien participo en este proyecto... asi que no lo vean tan NO PORTISHEAD, pues en escencia vendria siendo como lo mismo, pero renovado.

I can't think of any vocalist that I would prefer to listen to than Beth Gibbons. I have listened to this CD 40+ times since I received it and the music is still fresh and interesting each time.

In my humble opinion, most of the reviewers below, by focussing on the stylistic aspects of Beth Gibbons' new album, have completely missed the point. Let me add also that I'm one of Portishead's most rabid fans, and that I consider their almost impossible to find "Trip Hop Reconstruction" (differently titled depending on the country of origin--mine's Australian) to be one of the greatest albums ever--along with Dummy, Portishead and Roseland of course. But maybe albums like "Out of Season" should be reviewed both by normal people who can critique them effectively on their purely stylistic attributes, and those who are "damaged" in some way, and who can therefore critique something like this on a more general aesthetic level. Because this album bears comparison with the greatest musical art in western civilization that seeks to encompass the emotions of loneliness, alienation desolation and despair. I'm serious. I recently compared it to Brigit Fassbaender's Schubert "Winterreise," Shostakovich's 14th Symphony, the "Abscheid" from Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" and Moussorgsky's great "Sunless" and "Songs and Dances of Death" cycles. That's about as good as it gets, and this magnificent album easily belongs in that "elite" company. The songs range from excellent to unbelievable as do Paul Webb's haunting arrangements and accompaniments. But it's Gibbons vocal performance that elevates this into the realm of high, serious art. I've never heard a singer (I'm speaking here solely about the perforance rather than the material) who is able to convey the meaning and essence of what if feels like to be completely, hopelessly isolated from the world. This isn't solitude, it's bleak, stark loneliness.

Lucky for them, most people don't get it. For example, one of the reviewers below describes the dreamy atmosphere of "Sand River" and quotes the lines "Beauty has a hold on me; Autumn leaves, pretty as can be." But the emotional center of the song is in the next two lines, when Gibbons virtually sobs out "Everyone can see, everyone except me." Try to imagine what it feels like when even beauty leaves you behind. Listening to Beth Gibbons will help, if you want to give it a try. I've never heard a vocal performance like this. Gibbon's can float a beautiful note better than just about anyone when she wants to, and when she does so on this album--taken in context--it will tear your heart out. When beauty takes a back seat to truth, as it often must on a work like this, I find myself wondering how someone can get so close to the edge without losing it and falling off. Subtle changes in inflexion, the emphasis she places on certain words, the way she adopts a slightly different tone to suit the mood of each song remind me of what separates something like Maxim Vengerov's shattering performance of Shostakovich's 1st Violin concerto, which literally makes all prior and subsequent recordings of the work superfluous, from other, merely competent performances. You can't describe it without doing it a disservice; this is the truly the kind of music-making that begins where mere words lose their ability to adequately convey the intent of the communicator.

So this album is for everyone who's ever stuck a needle in their arm on a slate gray Sunday afternoon in a filthy flat in some rotten city, who's ever made a serious attempt at drinking themselves to death, who's ever known that "died of a broken heart" can be more than just a metaphor, who has gone a month without even a call from a telephone solicitor, who has ever forgotten how to talk because they've gone so long without speaking to another person, who has loved so hard what they can never love again that they wished they had never loved at all. Each song, in its own way, is like a suicide note from the edge of the abyss, except perhaps for "Rustin Man" which sounds as much like a love song from beyond the grave as you're ever likely to hear. This is not music to make your martini slide down easier, or to use as a soundtrack to your next sexual conquest. It's not easy to listen to, and it might just ruin your day. But make no mistake about it, this is one of the greatest vocal recordings ever made.

her music career had began with portishead.i have all of portishead albums,but this album is beth gibbons' best.this is her first solo album with rustin man and most successful album i have ever heard from her.this album is even greater than any portishead album.

You know her best as the ethereal voice of Portishead, but in "Out of Season" Beth Gibbons strays away from indie trip-hop into melancholy acoustic pop, jazz and folk, collaborated with Paul "Rustin Man" Webb of Talk Talk. This autumn-toned collection is melancholy and pensive, a bittersweet little gem.

"Out of Season" starts off strong with the gentle, plaintive "Mysteries," followed by the shimmery "Tom the Model," the piano ballads "Show" and "Resolve," jazzy "Sand River," and the brilliantly murky "Spider Monkey." It finally wraps up with the bizarrely enticing "Rustin Man," a wavering outflow of shimmery sonic currents and Gibbons' submerged vocals.

The opening lines of "Sand River" ("Autumn leaves/Beauty's got a hold on me/Autumn leaves/Pretty as can be") pretty much describe "Out of Season." The cool prettiness of Portishead carries over to the folkier, simpler tunes.

Beth Gibbons' vocals are outstanding, clear and sensual in just about every song. "Rustin Man" and "Romance" are the exceptions. In the former, her voice sounds seductively mechanical; in the latter, she almost sounds like she's parodying a torch singer sometimes. It's a little disconcerting, but her voice is almost uniformly beautiful.

The instrumentation is stripped-down to bare bones: piano and acoustic guitar, most of the time. Adding a bit of extra flavor are gentle string accompaniments, and a bit of subtle organ work. And the songwriting goes more towards being moodily evocative, with quiet lines like "And those water-coloured memories/Soft as a summer's breeze/You're as pretty as can be."

Though a little uneven at times, "Out of Season" is like a fall morning -- cool, pretty and faded. Beth Gibbons' foray into non-Portishead turf is a solid one, and this collection of autumnal ballads is definitely a keeper.

As a part of Portishead, Beth Gibbons churned out smoky cabaret blues which made for invigorating showpieces of her incredible smokey voice. But this somewhat self-indulgent solo debut collaboration with Rustin Man (what's with that name?) is ultimately a little less than what I expected.

Gibbons cannot be doubted for having taken some clever risks -- this album makes a cross into jazz, soul, autumnal and even folk arpeggios. But Portishead had oodles of subwoofer-bass and spunky, modern sounds. "Out of Season" on the other hand is a bit too ballady. The somber piano and mournful cello do NOT in my book live up to what I had expected from Gibbons.

We're plunged into this moodiness from song 1. "Mysteries" opens the album crisply, folkish arpeggios plucking their way around Beth's gasps, while a cadre of gospel singers in the background oooooh the record into being. "Tom the Model" carries on that flavour, answering delicate folk verses with a nicely retro big-band soul chorus. "Show", for all its miserable pleading, is as forgettable a song as Gibbons has ever crooned. "Romance" is another slowish ballad, with french horns thrown in for good measure.

"Sand River" brings on Gibbons' sexy voice into full swing, this is the most Portishead-esque number on the album! This, for me, is where the album really begins. "Resolve" and "Drake" lend the album its Billy-Holiday-in-Karaoke jazz flavour.

Overall, if it weren't for the amazing vocal talent of Gibbons and the splendid arrangements I'd probably have suggested you to skip this one. But her voice is what carries the album and keeps me from resenting this purchase.

4/5 material.

"Tom the model" taken from the album "Out of season", plus 3 live recordings (all from the same album). Nothing new, but yet supreme. Beth sings and enchants like no one. Plus the video for the title track (only playable in computers).

I can't think of any vocalist that I would prefer to listen to than Beth Gibbons. I have listened to this CD 40+ times since I received it and the music is still fresh and interesting each time.

In my humble opinion, most of the reviewers below, by focussing on the stylistic aspects of Beth Gibbons' new album, have completely missed the point. Let me add also that I'm one of Portishead's most rabid fans, and that I consider their almost impossible to find "Trip Hop Reconstruction" (differently titled depending on the country of origin--mine's Australian) to be one of the greatest albums ever--along with Dummy, Portishead and Roseland of course. But maybe albums like "Out of Season" should be reviewed both by normal people who can critique them effectively on their purely stylistic attributes, and those who are "damaged" in some way, and who can therefore critique something like this on a more general aesthetic level. Because this album bears comparison with the greatest musical art in western civilization that seeks to encompass the emotions of loneliness, alienation desolation and despair. I'm serious. I recently compared it to Brigit Fassbaender's Schubert "Winterreise," Shostakovich's 14th Symphony, the "Abscheid" from Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" and Moussorgsky's great "Sunless" and "Songs and Dances of Death" cycles. That's about as good as it gets, and this magnificent album easily belongs in that "elite" company. The songs range from excellent to unbelievable as do Paul Webb's haunting arrangements and accompaniments. But it's Gibbons vocal performance that elevates this into the realm of high, serious art. I've never heard a singer (I'm speaking here solely about the perforance rather than the material) who is able to convey the meaning and essence of what if feels like to be completely, hopelessly isolated from the world. This isn't solitude, it's bleak, stark loneliness.

Lucky for them, most people don't get it. For example, one of the reviewers below describes the dreamy atmosphere of "Sand River" and quotes the lines "Beauty has a hold on me; Autumn leaves, pretty as can be." But the emotional center of the song is in the next two lines, when Gibbons virtually sobs out "Everyone can see, everyone except me." Try to imagine what it feels like when even beauty leaves you behind. Listening to Beth Gibbons will help, if you want to give it a try. I've never heard a vocal performance like this. Gibbon's can float a beautiful note better than just about anyone when she wants to, and when she does so on this album--taken in context--it will tear your heart out. When beauty takes a back seat to truth, as it often must on a work like this, I find myself wondering how someone can get so close to the edge without losing it and falling off. Subtle changes in inflexion, the emphasis she places on certain words, the way she adopts a slightly different tone to suit the mood of each song remind me of what separates something like Maxim Vengerov's shattering performance of Shostakovich's 1st Violin concerto, which literally makes all prior and subsequent recordings of the work superfluous, from other, merely competent performances. You can't describe it without doing it a disservice; this is the truly the kind of music-making that begins where mere words lose their ability to adequately convey the intent of the communicator.

So this album is for everyone who's ever stuck a needle in their arm on a slate gray Sunday afternoon in a filthy flat in some rotten city, who's ever made a serious attempt at drinking themselves to death, who's ever known that "died of a broken heart" can be more than just a metaphor, who has gone a month without even a call from a telephone solicitor, who has ever forgotten how to talk because they've gone so long without speaking to another person, who has loved so hard what they can never love again that they wished they had never loved at all. Each song, in its own way, is like a suicide note from the edge of the abyss, except perhaps for "Rustin Man" which sounds as much like a love song from beyond the grave as you're ever likely to hear. This is not music to make your martini slide down easier, or to use as a soundtrack to your next sexual conquest. It's not easy to listen to, and it might just ruin your day. But make no mistake about it, this is one of the greatest vocal recordings ever made.

her music career had began with portishead.i have all of portishead albums,but this album is beth gibbons' best.this is her first solo album with rustin man and most successful album i have ever heard from her.this album is even greater than any portishead album.

You know her best as the ethereal voice of Portishead, but in "Out of Season" Beth Gibbons strays away from indie trip-hop into melancholy acoustic pop, jazz and folk, collaborated with Paul "Rustin Man" Webb of Talk Talk. This autumn-toned collection is melancholy and pensive, a bittersweet little gem.

"Out of Season" starts off strong with the gentle, plaintive "Mysteries," followed by the shimmery "Tom the Model," the piano ballads "Show" and "Resolve," jazzy "Sand River," and the brilliantly murky "Spider Monkey." It finally wraps up with the bizarrely enticing "Rustin Man," a wavering outflow of shimmery sonic currents and Gibbons' submerged vocals.

The opening lines of "Sand River" ("Autumn leaves/Beauty's got a hold on me/Autumn leaves/Pretty as can be") pretty much describe "Out of Season." The cool prettiness of Portishead carries over to the folkier, simpler tunes.

Beth Gibbons' vocals are outstanding, clear and sensual in just about every song. "Rustin Man" and "Romance" are the exceptions. In the former, her voice sounds seductively mechanical; in the latter, she almost sounds like she's parodying a torch singer sometimes. It's a little disconcerting, but her voice is almost uniformly beautiful.

The instrumentation is stripped-down to bare bones: piano and acoustic guitar, most of the time. Adding a bit of extra flavor are gentle string accompaniments, and a bit of subtle organ work. And the songwriting goes more towards being moodily evocative, with quiet lines like "And those water-coloured memories/Soft as a summer's breeze/You're as pretty as can be."

Though a little uneven at times, "Out of Season" is like a fall morning -- cool, pretty and faded. Beth Gibbons' foray into non-Portishead turf is a solid one, and this collection of autumnal ballads is definitely a keeper.

As a part of Portishead, Beth Gibbons churned out smoky cabaret blues which made for invigorating showpieces of her incredible smokey voice. But this somewhat self-indulgent solo debut collaboration with Rustin Man (what's with that name?) is ultimately a little less than what I expected.

Gibbons cannot be doubted for having taken some clever risks -- this album makes a cross into jazz, soul, autumnal and even folk arpeggios. But Portishead had oodles of subwoofer-bass and spunky, modern sounds. "Out of Season" on the other hand is a bit too ballady. The somber piano and mournful cello do NOT in my book live up to what I had expected from Gibbons.

We're plunged into this moodiness from song 1. "Mysteries" opens the album crisply, folkish arpeggios plucking their way around Beth's gasps, while a cadre of gospel singers in the background oooooh the record into being. "Tom the Model" carries on that flavour, answering delicate folk verses with a nicely retro big-band soul chorus. "Show", for all its miserable pleading, is as forgettable a song as Gibbons has ever crooned. "Romance" is another slowish ballad, with french horns thrown in for good measure.

"Sand River" brings on Gibbons' sexy voice into full swing, this is the most Portishead-esque number on the album! This, for me, is where the album really begins. "Resolve" and "Drake" lend the album its Billy-Holiday-in-Karaoke jazz flavour.

Overall, if it weren't for the amazing vocal talent of Gibbons and the splendid arrangements I'd probably have suggested you to skip this one. But her voice is what carries the album and keeps me from resenting this purchase.

4/5 material.

I can't think of any vocalist that I would prefer to listen to than Beth Gibbons. I have listened to this CD 40+ times since I received it and the music is still fresh and interesting each time.

In my humble opinion, most of the reviewers below, by focussing on the stylistic aspects of Beth Gibbons' new album, have completely missed the point. Let me add also that I'm one of Portishead's most rabid fans, and that I consider their almost impossible to find "Trip Hop Reconstruction" (differently titled depending on the country of origin--mine's Australian) to be one of the greatest albums ever--along with Dummy, Portishead and Roseland of course. But maybe albums like "Out of Season" should be reviewed both by normal people who can critique them effectively on their purely stylistic attributes, and those who are "damaged" in some way, and who can therefore critique something like this on a more general aesthetic level. Because this album bears comparison with the greatest musical art in western civilization that seeks to encompass the emotions of loneliness, alienation desolation and despair. I'm serious. I recently compared it to Brigit Fassbaender's Schubert "Winterreise," Shostakovich's 14th Symphony, the "Abscheid" from Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" and Moussorgsky's great "Sunless" and "Songs and Dances of Death" cycles. That's about as good as it gets, and this magnificent album easily belongs in that "elite" company. The songs range from excellent to unbelievable as do Paul Webb's haunting arrangements and accompaniments. But it's Gibbons vocal performance that elevates this into the realm of high, serious art. I've never heard a singer (I'm speaking here solely about the perforance rather than the material) who is able to convey the meaning and essence of what if feels like to be completely, hopelessly isolated from the world. This isn't solitude, it's bleak, stark loneliness.

Lucky for them, most people don't get it. For example, one of the reviewers below describes the dreamy atmosphere of "Sand River" and quotes the lines "Beauty has a hold on me; Autumn leaves, pretty as can be." But the emotional center of the song is in the next two lines, when Gibbons virtually sobs out "Everyone can see, everyone except me." Try to imagine what it feels like when even beauty leaves you behind. Listening to Beth Gibbons will help, if you want to give it a try. I've never heard a vocal performance like this. Gibbon's can float a beautiful note better than just about anyone when she wants to, and when she does so on this album--taken in context--it will tear your heart out. When beauty takes a back seat to truth, as it often must on a work like this, I find myself wondering how someone can get so close to the edge without losing it and falling off. Subtle changes in inflexion, the emphasis she places on certain words, the way she adopts a slightly different tone to suit the mood of each song remind me of what separates something like Maxim Vengerov's shattering performance of Shostakovich's 1st Violin concerto, which literally makes all prior and subsequent recordings of the work superfluous, from other, merely competent performances. You can't describe it without doing it a disservice; this is the truly the kind of music-making that begins where mere words lose their ability to adequately convey the intent of the communicator.

So this album is for everyone who's ever stuck a needle in their arm on a slate gray Sunday afternoon in a filthy flat in some rotten city, who's ever made a serious attempt at drinking themselves to death, who's ever known that "died of a broken heart" can be more than just a metaphor, who has gone a month without even a call from a telephone solicitor, who has ever forgotten how to talk because they've gone so long without speaking to another person, who has loved so hard what they can never love again that they wished they had never loved at all. Each song, in its own way, is like a suicide note from the edge of the abyss, except perhaps for "Rustin Man" which sounds as much like a love song from beyond the grave as you're ever likely to hear. This is not music to make your martini slide down easier, or to use as a soundtrack to your next sexual conquest. It's not easy to listen to, and it might just ruin your day. But make no mistake about it, this is one of the greatest vocal recordings ever made.

her music career had began with portishead.i have all of portishead albums,but this album is beth gibbons' best.this is her first solo album with rustin man and most successful album i have ever heard from her.this album is even greater than any portishead album.

You know her best as the ethereal voice of Portishead, but in "Out of Season" Beth Gibbons strays away from indie trip-hop into melancholy acoustic pop, jazz and folk, collaborated with Paul "Rustin Man" Webb of Talk Talk. This autumn-toned collection is melancholy and pensive, a bittersweet little gem.

"Out of Season" starts off strong with the gentle, plaintive "Mysteries," followed by the shimmery "Tom the Model," the piano ballads "Show" and "Resolve," jazzy "Sand River," and the brilliantly murky "Spider Monkey." It finally wraps up with the bizarrely enticing "Rustin Man," a wavering outflow of shimmery sonic currents and Gibbons' submerged vocals.

The opening lines of "Sand River" ("Autumn leaves/Beauty's got a hold on me/Autumn leaves/Pretty as can be") pretty much describe "Out of Season." The cool prettiness of Portishead carries over to the folkier, simpler tunes.

Beth Gibbons' vocals are outstanding, clear and sensual in just about every song. "Rustin Man" and "Romance" are the exceptions. In the former, her voice sounds seductively mechanical; in the latter, she almost sounds like she's parodying a torch singer sometimes. It's a little disconcerting, but her voice is almost uniformly beautiful.

The instrumentation is stripped-down to bare bones: piano and acoustic guitar, most of the time. Adding a bit of extra flavor are gentle string accompaniments, and a bit of subtle organ work. And the songwriting goes more towards being moodily evocative, with quiet lines like "And those water-coloured memories/Soft as a summer's breeze/You're as pretty as can be."

Though a little uneven at times, "Out of Season" is like a fall morning -- cool, pretty and faded. Beth Gibbons' foray into non-Portishead turf is a solid one, and this collection of autumnal ballads is definitely a keeper.

As a part of Portishead, Beth Gibbons churned out smoky cabaret blues which made for invigorating showpieces of her incredible smokey voice. But this somewhat self-indulgent solo debut collaboration with Rustin Man (what's with that name?) is ultimately a little less than what I expected.

Gibbons cannot be doubted for having taken some clever risks -- this album makes a cross into jazz, soul, autumnal and even folk arpeggios. But Portishead had oodles of subwoofer-bass and spunky, modern sounds. "Out of Season" on the other hand is a bit too ballady. The somber piano and mournful cello do NOT in my book live up to what I had expected from Gibbons.

We're plunged into this moodiness from song 1. "Mysteries" opens the album crisply, folkish arpeggios plucking their way around Beth's gasps, while a cadre of gospel singers in the background oooooh the record into being. "Tom the Model" carries on that flavour, answering delicate folk verses with a nicely retro big-band soul chorus. "Show", for all its miserable pleading, is as forgettable a song as Gibbons has ever crooned. "Romance" is another slowish ballad, with french horns thrown in for good measure.

"Sand River" brings on Gibbons' sexy voice into full swing, this is the most Portishead-esque number on the album! This, for me, is where the album really begins. "Resolve" and "Drake" lend the album its Billy-Holiday-in-Karaoke jazz flavour.

Overall, if it weren't for the amazing vocal talent of Gibbons and the splendid arrangements I'd probably have suggested you to skip this one. But her voice is what carries the album and keeps me from resenting this purchase.

4/5 material.