Randy Crawford - Vocals
Joe Sample - Piano
Nicklas Sample - Bass
Doug Belote - Drums
recorded live at Forum, Leverkusen, November 6, 2011
1. Gee Baby Ain´t I Good To You
2. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe
3. Feeling Good
4. The End Of The Line
5. But Beautiful
6. Me, Myself And I
7. Rainy Night In Georgia
8. Everybody´s Talking
9. One Day I´ll Fly Away
10. Rio De Janeiro Blue
11. Cajun Moon
12. This Bitter Earth
13. Almaz
14. Danceland
Georgia-born R&B/jazz singer Randy Crawford and keyboardist Joe Sample go back a long way. Sample played on The Crusaders' huge 1979 hit, Street Life, which featured an extraordinary vocal by Crawford – check out the excellent YouTube footage, complete with Sample's frilly shirt! Although Crawford's early run of subsequent solo hits (Rainy Night In Georgia, You Might Need Somebody, etc) wasn't sustained, and she's had a fairly low profile in recent years, the UK's Shola Ama enjoyed success with a more or less copycat version of You Might Need Somebody in 1997. In 2006, Crawford and Sample made their first joint album, Feeling Good, which he claims was the first time her voice had ever got the stripped-down setting it really deserved.
No Regrets continues that approach with the same small ensemble on a selection of carefully chosen, lovingly crafted standards, plus a few less familiar numbers. There's great, unobtrusive backing by Steve Gadd (drums) and Christian McBride (bass), the occasional tasty touch of guitar and brass, and intuitive piano accompaniment by Sample. Crawford’s voice has deepened and mellowed over the years and she doesn't go in for the vocal gymnastics she once did, but her tremulous phrasing is as distinctive and appealing as ever.
Apart from that, and the fact that the world probably doesn't need another version of Chip Taylor's Angel Of The Morning, this won't disappoint old fans.
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