Sunday, December 4, 2011

Applause! Applause! Review of Audrey Morris' CD "Film Noir" by Marle Becker

This review of Audrey Morris' CD "Film Noir" was written by Marle Becker and appeared in Volume I, Issue 2 (December, 1997) of Applause! Applause! published by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens.

"Film Noir" - Audrey Morris
(Fancy Faire, 7845)

Some eight years ago, I reviewed the "new" CD by an amazingly talented, yet relatively unknown, Chicago-based singer/pianist by the name of Audrey Morris. Back then, I thought it was the ultimate concept album and one of the very best CD's I'd ever heard. I still do! Recorded in 1989 - long before the current Carly Simon project - Ms. Morris' "Film Noir", a true original, stands as tangible proof of what really, yet rarely happens when a prolific singer like Ms. Morris and truly great songs come together. This CD has been painstakingly researched, is unmistakably focused, and is exquisitely performed. This is the real thing. This "Film Noir" is deeply intimate, now-and-then sentimental, occasionally vulnerable, yet always dark and moody - as it should be - and, yes, even romantically reflective. Now in its second pressing, "Film Noir" by Audrey Morris is just about as perfect as it gets, yet without the money and promotion of a major record label behind it, this CD stands to get lost in the shuffle. If all the brou-ha-ha surrounding the release of Ms. Simon's "Film Noir" seems to invite comparisons, I'm afraid I'll have to go with the original "Film Noir"; the authentic "Film Noir"; the Audrey Morris "Film Noir." If not available at your local record outlet, you can reach Fancy Faire at 773-763-2033.

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