Well, i’m not too sure how to explain this but….. imagine this:
You see this cute little girl standing in the middle of the stage, getting ready to sing a nice little tune for her audition to “We’ve got talent!”.
And suddenly, she pulls out a electric guitar out of nowhere and starts playing “Amazing grace“, but only METAL version.
Yup, you kind of get the idea. I guess what Eliza lumley has done is really to do the reverse, instead of pulling out a guitar and singing “Amazing Grace“, she showcased her angelic vocals coupled with her simple sounding jazz piano and sings experimental rock songs in jazz.
We have very limited Information on this lady but what we do know is: 1) She graduated from Royal College of London. 2) She was involved in making “Mama Mia” a success. 3) And she is very involved in making broadway musicals.
Perhaps what i really really salute her for is for her interpretations of radiohead’s hit songs like; “Blackstar“, “Street Spirit“, “How to disappear completely” etc.
Visit her myspace!!: http://www.myspace.com/elizalumley
i would say that i am quite a fan of radiohead, always very amazed by their music arrangements, using of impossible to create effects, always being able to write very melancholic/sad/emo songs and at the same time showcasing each of the members unique sound and doing things out of the way(e.g. playing in 5/8 and all sorts of weird rhythms). But there is only one problem in my opinion. It kinds of make me feel very distant from their world and their music. Definitely i enjoy listening to them and WOW-ing(is there is such a word) at their music. But i feel distant and unable to relate to them sometimes.
But Eliza Lumley did what nobody could have done. She made it so nice, sweet, familiar and intimate(at least to me). I love jazz and rock, and she strikes a balance so well when re-doing these songs.
The first song: “Street Spirit” starts out by recreating the radiohead guitar riff onto the piano accompanied by her straight-forward vocals(she did not use any fancy techniques to go with it). And during the second verse, the intensity builds up with kickass strings/violins coming in. Finally in the last section percussion comes in(though i’m quite sure it is computer generated) bringing the whole intensity to its highest. In my opinion, she tempered with the dynamics exactly how radiohead had done it too. Sweet.
And “blackstar” on the other hand is a very contemporary-smooth jazz sounding song, using trumpets/horns section accompanied with a standard bass, drums, keyboards and a constant 6/8 rhythm to back the whole song up. I wouldn’t be surprised if i actually hear this song at a jazz pub.
If you are looking for something not so jazzy and more easy-listening, try “Bullet proof i wish i was“. You can definitely see her broadway musical influences on this song. But i can feel that she actually added a tinge of jazz element into the song through her voice.
Well, So if you are looking for something jazzy: “Blackstar“, experimental sounding: “Street Spirit“, “How to disappear completely” and finally if none of that works for you, try: “Bullet proof i wish i was“. Great songs by radiohead. Great interpretations by Eliza Lumley.
(i would be away looking for my angel JJH in korea, so wun be updateing for a while…. See you guys in Sept!)
No Music-to, No Dream-to
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