If you have seen the show, Shameless, there is a very talented lady by the name of Emmy Rossum who stars in it. And, if you follow her closely, you know she gave an awesome performance in the movie, The Phantom of the Opera. But last week she released another album entitled Sentimental Journey. If you like the old classics, this music is for you. The music dates back to the 1920s to the middle 60s and was produced by Stuart Brawley with live musicians playing in the studio with her.
Emmy really knows how to make this old music sound very new. Make no mistake about it, when you are listening to these tracks you feel like you are sitting in a concert hall or night club in the 1940s. The only thing you need to make it complete is walking outside and see a P51 Mustang scream across the sky. If you haven’t picked up on it by now, this writer happens to be ln love with the music of the 30s and 40s. (For anyone who cares, I m not related to Glenn Miller.)
In her first track, “Sentimental Journey”, she is extremely raw and real. Doris Day would have to be proud of this one. As Emmy sings, she seems to be saying, “here I am, and there is nothing making me sound good but me. ” And when she goes into “The Object of my Affection”, she gets a little help from her acting partner, William Macy. This is a great album that seems to have something for everyone. As she sings in the track “I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover”, the banjo and piano are just awesome together. As I listen to it, I feel like I’m in front of the TV watching Mitch Miller (not related to him either). When she belts out the sexy sultry “These Foolish Things”, she really climbs one step ahead of herself.. At the same time you also hear the origins of this album, the classic St. Louis blues sound. If you love the Andrew Sisters you will love “I’ll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time.” It has such a timeless melody, you can almost hear them singing the background vocals. Plus, the added strings really make the song a solid and complete piece. But it is Frank Sinatra’s “Summer Wind” written by Georgia’s own Johnny Mercer that puts you back in the low lite night club in New York. And once again she revisits those St. Louis blues with “Many Tears Ago,” and “All I Do is Dream.
I have the feeling this young lady has been to a few rodeos. She sings “Nobody Knows When You Are Down And Out” so well with the back up guitar of Eric Clapton–I mean Joe Corcoran. And in my opinion her best piece, “Autumn Leaves”, you really start to feel the hopelessness and emptiness in her voice. I also loved the Melancholy of the french accordion written in France in 1945 as( Les Feuilles Mortes) “Dead Leaves”.
The last track is a bonus track entitled “Keep Young and Beautiful.” It was written in 1933 and was performed by the great Eddie Cantor. I have to admit, the track sounded more like a Head and Shoulders commercial more than anything. I think it was quite obvious she was poking fun, maybe at our society’s obsession with the young.
There is truly something for everyone on this album and If you are into something different from today’s music, you cant go wrong. The bottom line is, in the days of lack luster talent in the music business, this recording artist is spot on.
If you like Emmy Rossum’s Sentimental Journey you might want to check out the rockabilly sound of Imelda May.