Glad Rag Doll

Style: Raw, Depression-era piano songs; compare to Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln, Ray Charles

Diana Krall

Verve

October 2, 2012

Top tracks: “Lonely Avenue,” “There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’s Worth the Salt of My Tears,” “Wide River to Cross”

Take the old-timey album title seriously: Krall’s latest is a collection of vintage saloon songs, many of them valentines from the 1920s, all of them bathed in the analog ambience of producer T-Bone Burnett. This could have been a museum piece, but in reality, it’s an album teeming with life: Krall reaches deep down for some revelatory performances, while guitarist Marc Ribot and drummer Jay Bellerose keep these stalwart songs a little off-kilter. It’s a dusty gem of an album, highlighted by a smoldering, seven-minute take on the Ray Charles standard “Lonely Avenue,” a feisty romp through “There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’s Worth the Salt of My Tears,” and a reverent take on the Buddy Miller song “Wide River to Cross,” which frames these songs of love and loss as something of a pilgrimage.

- More from Josh Hurst

Our Latest

Inside the Ministry

The Next Generation Is Ready. Are We?

See how CT is investing in the next generation of the Church—and how you can, too.

The CDC Listened to Vaccine-Hesitant Moms in My Living Room

Carrie McKean

I was surprised to find myself hosting an off-the-record chat with people worlds apart on public health. But I hope that night was a seed of something new.

The Russell Moore Show

Listener question: Why Aren’t Christians Engaging in Humanitarian Aid?

Russell takes a listener’s question about the crisis of humanitarian aid and why Christians are not stepping in to help.

A woman at a lectern in a clerical collar in front of a gold cross.

New Archbishop of Canterbury Steps into Anglican Divides

Tim Wyatt in London

Conservatives call on Sarah Mullally, the first woman at the spiritual helm of the Church of England, to uphold biblical faith amid same-sex blessings debate.