Title - 'From Newport to London Greatest Hits Live & More'
Artist - Basia
Basia [Trzetrzelewska] is a very talented Polish singer-songwriter and record producer. She established a successful international recording career featuring characteristically Latin-flavoured jazz-pop crossover songs during the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly in the UK, the US, France, and Japan.
And so, in some massively overly-delayed (from a fan standpoint, of course) bout of musical productivity, Basia and her instantly identifiable voice returned to her native Poland in June of 2011 to record a live album, From Newport To London: Greatest Hits Live … And More.
The perky 'Third Time Lucky' starts things off, with the fun 'Drunk On Love' and one of her signature hits 'Cruising For Bruising' following close behind. The vibrant swing of 'How Dare You' is followed by the sultry 'If Not Now Then When,' before 'Love Lies Bleeding' (quite literally) bleeds into 'I Must.'
Still awaiting Basia's first spoken words of the night, we get a giggle, something is said under her breath, but we're quickly into the audience-appreciated 'Astrud.' This bleeds into 'New Day For You,' before we get into the second half of beautiful set with the playful 'A Gift.' After thanking the audience in Polish, the lovely, flowing 'An Olive Tree' is truly one of the stand-out tracks on this live CD.
Growing up in England, I fully recall the time when her debut album Time and Tide (1987) was released, allowing us all to welcome the Polish jazz/pop singer–songwriter into our musical lives. Much like 'Astrud,' the next tracks - 'From Now On' and massive hit UK single 'Promises' - are from that very same album. Still sounding as fresh, as vibrant as ever, that same albums' title track is next before the drum-intro'd 'Copernicus' rounds the live portion of the album out.
The actual album is truly completed by three studio tracks: 'There's a Tear' [Acoustic], 'Wandering,' and the title track of this actual new live collection, 'From Newport To London.'
Reviewed by: Russell A. Trunk
www.basiasongs.com