After All, Just One Song (Music Review: Deborah Winters, Lovers After All)

I hear so many standards albums that most of them go in one ear and out the other. Deborah Winters' album "Lovers After All" got my attention because of the title track:  a simple beautiful song composed by R R Bennett. And she does quite a good job with it - sung plaintively, with intelligent and emotional phrasing. It was such a promising first track in the album. Unfortunately, the rest of the didn't quite hold up for me. And I think it just boiled down to a 'taste' thing. I disagreed with all the artistic choices for the rest of the tracks. There is a slightly swingy version of "How Deep Is The Ocean" that felt all wrong for me. It felt overly long and missed the point. And why ever would someone employ "Haunted Heart" with a bossa nova beat? Even a fool-proof song like "The End Of A Love Affair" misses the mark. Ms. Winters has a nice voice, but it's a bit colorless, and just gets lost in the spacious arrangements. I wonder if she would fare better in a duets album. There's just too much happening here. But, she does have that one good track and that will go to my iPod.