Female performers in the romantic, pre-rock influenced style that many of us call chanteuse seem to be proliferating, thanks in great part to the success of Norah Jones. They range from jazzy singers who perform standards, to singer-songwriters whose original music is influenced by the cabaret style. This week, we have the latest CD by one of the latter, whose interesting and sometimes whimsical songs take center stage, with her appealing vocal style being in support of them, rather than being an end in itself. She is Sylvie Lewis, whose new second CD is called Translations.

Sylvie Lewis is nothing if not peripatetic. She is a native Britain, where she was exposed to music at an early age. She says she wanted to be Maria Von Trapp of The Sound Of Music fame, but decided that she would rather just make music than become a nun. She was living in Los Angeles around the time of her memorable 2005 debut release Tangos and Tantrums. Then she moved to Spain where she wrote much of the material on this CD, which was recorded partly in the UK and partly in the US. Now, she is living in Italy. But she worked with most of the same people as her last album, including co-producer, keyboard player and multi-instrumentalist Richard Swift. The CD follows some of the patterns of her debut, including her charming vocal style and the mostly acoustic instrumentation which harkens back to pre-rock styles. She also gives us more of her seemingly stream-of-consciousness liner notes for each song, which may or may not have anything to do with the track. The style here is a bit less toward cabaret, and lyrically is a bit less outwardly whimsical than last time. But the arrangements remain refreshingly iconoclastic, and the songs are full of that pleasing ambiguity that lets the listener draw whatever meaning one may like from the words, most of which, like last time, are about relationships. Once again, there is a small orchestra with strings and woodwinds, adding to the period sound, but the extra players were used sparingly.

Other musicians in the regular band include Elijah Thomson on bass and guitar, Byron Hagan on piano, Rich Young on drums, plus Josh Thomson and Joel Graves on the infrequently-heard electric guitars. Ms. Lewis herself plays piano and acoustic guitar.

The title of the CD, according to some of Ms. Lewis' notes on the CD, derives from living in places with different languages, and how that can affect one's thought processes. She writes about meeting a Japanese woman in Rome, an opera singer, and becoming friends. They were both attending a class in which they were learning to speak Italian, though they came from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Opening is one of those slightly cryptic love songs called Starsong... What Became of Us. It uses the analogy of astronomy in considering a rocky relationship. <<>>

Also on the vagaries of love is Happy Like That, with its more laid-back sound. The analogy she invokes here is music. <<>>

One of those songs that shows some of the cleverness and wit of her debut album is Say in Touch. The song's protagonist has a long-distance relationship, and that brings complications. <<>>

Just You is one of the most charming tracks on the album, a straight out love song, whose arrangement has a bit of a twist in the form of background vocals in operatic tenor style. <<>>

One of the tracks with an old-fashioned cabaret sound is called And Of Course, Isabel. It seems to be a kind of lullaby to a young daughter, written from a male perspective. <<>>

Ms. Lewis' last CD had a sort of drinking song. Alcohol also plays a role in Something to Dream To, performed with just a piano accompaniment. <<>>

Love and a state of change form the ostensible basis for Old Queen, Monet and Me. It's another of those interesting songs that undoubtedly has a story behind it, though one can have fun coming up with one's own ideas. <<>>

The CD ends with a Your Voice Carries, also with ties into the translation theme of the album. In her notes, Ms. Lewis remarks on watching classic films dubbed into other languages, and in the process, the voice of the actor, so much a part of him, is lost. <<>>

Translations the new second CD from Sylvie Lewis is another enjoyable album from a literate, creative and eclectic chanteuse style singer-songwriter. Though she mainly writes love songs, her material is often subtle lyrically, and in the great folk tradition, the listener is provided with starting points for interpretations, or, if you will, "translations." The words are a bit more understated this time around with her wit being not being quite so close to the surface as on her debut. Musically, the CD is similarly understated outwardly, though there are some interesting and sometimes quirky combinations of sounds.

Our sonic grade is an A-minus. Ms. Lewis' vocal is nicely recorded, but sometimes the clarity of the instrumentation could be better. The dynamic range is fair, with a few instances of excessive volume compression.

Overall, Sylvie Lewis' new CD Translations is quite appealing and downright charming throughout. It's one of those multi-layered recordings that seems to reveal something new each time you listen to it.

(c) Copyright 2007 George D. Graham. All rights reseved.
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<<>> indicates audio excerpt played in produced radio review

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