Ali Manion’s debut album Reflections offers six standards and six originals. Reflections is an apt title as she reflects back on her own songs and others that have become part of band’s set list when she plays out in greater-Boston/New England.
Manion opens her CD with Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” And, she does bring a change. Manion, performing the standard with a gentle approach, coaxes and teases the beauty out of the song with her easeful, rangy, silky smooth vocal line. She doesn’t, like previous singers who have recorded this, show off a soulful belt. Instead, she caresses the reflective lyrics with her ever so pretty voice, letting the words breathe, giving them sweet life, brightness, freshness, and that makes this track feel alive.
“Take A Moment” finds Manion gliding over its lilting, jazzy groove. Each verse she sings comes across with an assertive brightness. The singer puts her own personality into this thoughtful tune. You can almost picture her beaming on stage as she works her voice through the light, jaunty groove. It doesn’t hurt that her band includes keyboardist Bruce Bears, guitarist Mike Mele, bassist Michael Ball, and drummer Gillian DeLear. A layer of tender organ swirls, tasteful jazzy guitar touches, and a subtle, persistent rhythm section keep her afloat while staying out of the way of Manion’s lovely vocal line.
Bassist Michael Ball sets the tone for “Photograph” with his isolated, floating low end intro. Manion emotes with subtle sophistication here. She teases the feeling out of this number warmly, gently. Her voice is like a delicately applied instrument as she lets it out in carefully, self-restrained, and measured dollops of color and tone. Her ukulele notes, gently strummed, contrast well with Mike Melee’s electric guitar melody, one he plays so easefully that it hit’s the vocal line like a soft kiss.
Manion pulls out of her low key mode for “Whispers,” a song that skips along at a merry pace. The singer gets to jazz it up a bit, her assertive vocal lines getting a natural lift when the band brings up the tempo. This one maintains a perfect, artful balance between its two tempos, one with sweet persistence, the other with a jaunty bounce in its step.
“Keep On Loving’ Me” has a jazz singer’s classiness in Manion’s lifted range. She becomes so vibrant that you almost expect to see sunshine coming out of the speakers. She gets a lot of mileage out of the few words in her chorus because her range lets her stretch and sustain notes like nobody’s business. Bruce Bears plays a bubbly organ line beneath her that gives this tune another layer of class.
To say she can deliver a romantic ballad would be an understatement. “Under The Apple Tree” is hypnotic in the way Manion applies her whispery vocal. She tugs the ear and keeps it focused on every bit of her breathy delivery. Manion adds a touch of exotic flavor in her sustains, making her vocal lines sound, as they do on other songs here, lifted, buoyant.
The lady shows a little sass on “Don’t Take It Personally,” a tune she should probably send out to radio stations. It’s catchy as hell and the lady means business, in a way today’s women can relate to. Classy but tough, she will lay any man out cold with her steadfast, serious attitude. You can picture her in a bare shoulder black dress with velvet gloves, entertaining at an upscale film noir nightclub that might be attended by a few men who need to be taught a lesson the old fashioned way. Bruce Bears puts bracing support beneath her vocal line with a cool, jazzy organ strut.
“Sit Back Down” finds Manion continuing her sassy attitude. This one moves with old time classiness. Manion tells her man that she’s taking over the household’s financial situation by finding herself steady work. Her strident tone comes through loud and clear in her vibrant sustains, especially during her chorus. The writing feels like something out of yesteryear: “You Can Sit Back Down, Daddy/Mama’s got the job.”
Manion brings a sense of playful fun to the Elvis Presley popularized “Hound Dog.” She doesn’t go for Presley’s swaggering delivery. Rather, she plays to the strengths of the original lyrics by Big Mama Thornton. She rides these words well, emoting, milking each verse for all its worth. Her huskier delivery brings the hound to the dog house and makes him sit.
A special treat for the ears comes when Manion dominates Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly.” Words cannot do justice to how well she carries these tender lyrics with her whispery voice. The singer brings forth all of the emotions that the tune longingly imparts, thanks to her passionate take. Beneath the vocal line, Bruce Bears aims his piano line for the listener’s heart, and he hit’s the bull’s eye.
“Beautiful People” is a call to human beings to accept others as human beings. She sings it with such sincerity that you know she believes every word. Keeping it subtle, with gentle raindrops of guitar notes beneath her vocal line, Manion reaches a pleasant conversational tone with her listener. Connecting on a personal level is another strength to this exceptionally pleasant song.
Manion closes out strong with the jazzy number “Everybody Loves My Baby,” a tune that Doris Day popularized in the 1955 film Love Me Or Leave Me. Manion manages the rising, rangy vocal line well, carrying it as written. Classy expression infuses every line with joyful, playful exuberance. Mike Melee’s brittle, heartfelt melodic line gives it all a jazzy flair while the singer combines the joy of singing one’s heart out while keeping it all contained in well disciplined musical frames.
Manion is certainly worthy of jazz venues and concert halls. Nothing can stop a voice like that from finding more and more appreciative audiences and venues that seek the best talent for the enthusiastic fan. Reflections is a fine, enjoyable document of many of the things Manion can accomplish with that voice of hers. As good as it is, though, one suspects this CD only scratches the surface of all she has to offer.
