JENNY EVANS — Nuages (2004) Two Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1.    Mad About the Boy 5:08
2.    Remember Me 5:49
3.    Nuages 3:28
4.    Our Revels Now Are Ended 5:48
5.    Within You, Without You 5:49
6.    Flow My Tears 5:49
7.    I'm Alone After All 5:02
8.    The Feeling of You 3:07
9.    Veris Leta Facies 4:41
10.    No Love Without Tears 4:55
11.    What Joy 3:04
Credits :
Jenny Evans - Vocals
Mulo Francel - Clarinet (Bass), Saxophone
Robert Kainar - Percussion
Chris Lachotta - Bass
Walter Lang - Piano
Rudi Martini - Drums

SUSANNAH McCORKLE — Easy to Love : The Songs Of Cole Porter (1996) Two Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Susannah McCorkle has long been a lyricist's dream. Rather than distort or alter the words she interprets, McCorkle (who has an immediately appealing and likable voice) brings out the hidden beauty in the lyrics. For her latest Concord disc, Susannah McCorkle sings 14 songs written by Cole Porter whose lyrics were among the most sophisticated of the 1930-1960 era. The arrangements by her musical director and pianist Allen Farnham are quite inventive, with exuberant octet numbers (featuring concise but generally memorable solos from trumpeter Randy Sandke, alto Chris Potter, trombonist Robert Trowers, and Ken Peplowski on tenor and clarinet) alternating with more intimate performances including voice-guitar duets with Howard Alden on a slow chorus of "Just One Of Those Things," "Why Don't We Try Staying Home" and the sad "Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye." Among the other highlights are lengthy renditions of "Anything Goes" and "Let's Do It" which find McCorkle singing every stanza that could be found (the former has many obscure topical references), a boisterous version of "It's All Right With Me" and an emotional "Weren't We Fools?" Scott Yanow  
Tracklist :
1.    Night & Day    4:56
2.    Anything Goes    5:14
The "Spilt Milk" Medley    
3.    Just One Of Those Things    2:57
4.    It's All Right With Me    5:48
5.    Weren't We Fools?    3:37
6.    From This Moment On    3:40
7.    Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?    4:42
8.    Why Don't We Try Staying Home?    4:24
9.    You Do Something To Me    3:19
10.    Easy To Love    6:01
11.    Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye    3:08
12.    You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To    5:25
13.    Let's Do It    5:57
14.    Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye    6:06
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Chris Potter 
Bass – Steve Gilmore
Drums – Rich De Rosa
Guitar – Howard Alden
Music Director, Piano – Allen Farnham
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Ken Peplowski
Trombone – Robert Trowers
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Randy Sandke
Vocals – Susannah McCorkle

SUZANNE VEGA — Lover, Beloved : Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers (2021) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Suzanne Vega has always been a songwriter with a literary sensibility, displaying a feel for character and wordplay that was noticeably more nuanced than her peers. It seems entirely fitting that Vega might wish to honor one of her influences as a writer, and with Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, she's done just that. One of Vega's favorite authors is Carson McCullers, who enjoyed critical and popular success in the '40s with her novels The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Member of the Wedding, and Reflections in a Golden Eye. In 2011, Vega performed a one-woman show about McCullers' life and work, and five years later she's released Lover, Beloved, which features ten songs she wrote for the show. (Duncan Sheik co-wrote the music with Vega, except for two songs she wrote in collaboration with Michael Jefry Stevens.) The album often has a somewhat different feel than much of Vega's work, especially in the songs in which she takes on McCullers' persona and discusses her early days after leaving Georgia for New York City ("New York Is My Destination"), and dishes about fellow authors she sees as hopeless inferiors ("Harper Lee"). The vintage jazz accents on "Carson's Blues" and "Harper Lee" also take Vega's songs into musical territory that doesn't always seem comfortable to her. However, the less specifically biographical numbers are quite effective, as Vega takes up stories from McCullers' life and work and weaves them into her own creative sensibility. Vega's vocal performances are intelligent and skillful throughout, and the largely acoustic arrangements give this music a vintage sensibility without forcing the issue. Lover, Beloved isn't a radical shift from Suzanne Vega's usual body of work, but it does find her stretching a bit from her comfort zone, and she sails gracefully along on this smart and tuneful song cycle. Mark Deming 
Tracklist :
1.    Carson's Blues 2:56
Accordion – Will Holhouser
Trombone – Roswell Rudd
Ukulele Banjo [Banjo Ukelele] – Mike Merenda
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
2.    New York Is My Destination 3:09
Clarinet – David Rothenberg
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
3.    Instant Of The Hour After    3:07
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
4.    We Of Me 2:52
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – David Poe, Duncan Sheik, Ruby Froom
Banjo – Mike Merenda
Pedalboard [Hammond Bass Pedals] – Duncan Sheik
Percussion – Doug Yowell
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
5.    Annemarie 3:18
Bass Clarinet – David Rothenberg
Harmonium – Duncan Sheik
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
6.    12 Mortal Men    2:47 
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
7.    Harper Lee 3:43
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Duncan Sheik
Banjo – Mike Merenda
Trombone – Roswell Rudd
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
8.    Lover, Beloved 3:24
Bass Clarinet – David Rothenberg
Percussion – Duncan Sheik
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
9.    The Ballad Of Miss Amelia 4:18
Accordion – Will Holhouser
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
10.    Carson's Last Supper 3:32
Accordion – Will Holhouser
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – David Poe, Duncan Sheik, Ruby Froom, The Garrison Gang
Percussion – Duncan Sheik
Credits :
Double Bass [Upright Bass] – Byron Isaacs
Drums – Yuval Lyon
Guitar, Ukulele, Vibraphone [Vibes], Mandolin – Gerry Leonard
Lyrics By, Vocals – Suzanne Vega
Piano – Jason Hart

NICO – Hanging Gardens (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Loudly touted as Nico's final studio album, Hanging Gardens was, in fact, something of a mishmash, comprising a handful of tracks from her last-ever concert, at the Berlin Planetarium in June 1988, and a clutch more drawn from sessions back in the early '80s. As such, it was a considerable letdown to anybody hoping for a legitimate follow-up to Camera Obscura, although such criticisms can in no way detract from the overall beauty of the collection. Of the four new songs on display, the lyrically brief "I Will Be Seven" is absolutely redolent of the direction in which Camera Obscura might have headed without John Cale's scene-stealing production, while versions of "I'm Waiting for the Man," "You Forgot to Answer," "Vegas," and "Saeta" (mysteriously -- or deliberately -- mistitled "The Line") are only tiresome if you've already gathered up every other available version. As with so many of the posthumous albums issued in Nico's name, Hanging Gardens can in no way be described as essential. But fans will not be disappointed by anything other than the album's brevity. Dave Thompson 
Tracklist :
1.    Hanging Gardens    6:12
2.    The Sound    4:52
3.    You Forget To Answer    3:25
4.    Vegas    3:40
5.    I'm Waiting For The Man    4:23
6.    Your Voice    5:45
7.    Your Word Against Mine    4:06
8.    I Will Be Seven    4:50
9.    The Line    3:31
Credits :
Nico - Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals
Painting [Cover Painting] – Sarah Gregory 

JANE BIRKIN — Baby Alone in Babylone (1983-2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1.    Baby Lou 3:00
Lyrics By – Serge Gainsbourg
Music By – Alain Chamfort, Michel Pelay
2.    Fuir Le Bonheur De Peur Qu'Il Ne Se Sauve 3:10
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
3.    Partie Perdue 2:57
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
4.    Norma Jean Baker 3:10
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
5.    Haine Pour Aime 2:52
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
6.    Overseas Telegram 3:30
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
7.    Con C'Est Con Ces Conséquences 3:08
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
8.    En Rire De Peur D'Être Obligée D'En Pleurer 2:42
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
9.    Rupture Au Miroir 3:30
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
10.    Les Dessous Chics 2:10
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
11.    Baby Alone In Babylone 3:57
Arranged By – Serge Gainsbourg
Composed By – Brahms
Lyrics By – Serge Gainsbourg
Credits :
Bass – Brian Odgers
Drums – Dougie Wright
Guitar – Alan Parker
Keyboards, Arranged By – Alan Hawkshaw
Percussion – Jim Lawless
Vocals - Jane Birkin