Barb Jungr needs little introduction because her work has taken her across the globe and into the hearts of many listeners and concert-goers. She has played with legends and unknowns in more or less equal measure and is a strong supporter of both established and new artists.
I have had the pleasure of seeing her live, hearing a lot of her work and getting to know this quite remarkable and always positive lady. From her early days working in amongst the London comedy scene of the early ’80s as a singer and musician alongside the likes of Alexei Sayle, Jo Brand and Julian Clary, to her position now as one of the greatest living interpreters of song, Barb Jungr has devoted her life to entertainment. Barb has been drawn to the songs of Bob Dylan throughout her career and also the work of Jacques Brel, the Belgian singer who died at the age of just 49 and influenced musicians from Bowie to Marc Almond. This album features new translations by Robb Johnson and her own compositions, written in collaboration with Mike Lindup, Jonathan Cooper and Jamie Safir.
Bob, Brel and Me is a work of wonder, and I asked Barb to explain a little bit to me about the music and her bringing together of the differing styles. “This work takes me back around to where I started as a recording artist – with Jacques Brel in unique translations and Bob Dylan in jazz arrangements. So, then I added original material to the mix, so the party is Bob Dylan – Bob, Jacques Brel, Brel, and me – Barb!” she told me.
In putting together the album, Barb Jungr “called people I wanted to work with, they came back to me with ideas,” she said. “I had a song list and met with them – Jamie Safir [Will Young, Ian Shaw, Joe Stilgoe] and Jenny Carr [Julia Fordham, Beverley Craven], and then they and I worked together on the arrangements. I knew I wanted to record with Christoph Bracher, who’s a friend of long standing and a colleague, and I knew which musicians I wanted. They all said yes, so Rod Youngs [Gil Scott-Heron, Courtney Pine] is on drums, Davide Mantovani [Lisa Stansfield, Natacha Atlas, Seckou Keita] on double bass, Mark Lockheart [June Tabor, Polar Bear] on sax and Pete Horsfall [Kansas Smitty’s] on trumpet. I wanted Dick Beetham to master, and he kindly agreed. I wanted Steve Ullathorne to take the photos and also to do the design, and he agreed.”
All of it came from a deeply introspective place. “I hadn’t done a deeply personal project for a few years,” Jungr added, “and it felt like it was crying in me to come out. I thought, I don’t know how many more albums I will ever want to make, maybe this will be the last – so I shall do it, and I shall have it be exactly as I want it. As a woman, I think that’s a powerful position to take with my creative work, and I was so thrilled that the people who joined me in the boat were all prepared to let me set the course and fly the ship.”
The result of this journey of creation, so eloquently explained by Barb above, is Bob, Brel and Me. The album opens with “Rise and Shine,” which is sassy. The vocals are powerfully delivered in Barb Jungr’s inimitable style – classy, full on, a touch of the mischievous and complete conviction. A great opener and also the newly released single. “Jacky” sees Barb in narrative mode and deals with the self-analysis of a performer looking back with some cynicism and a little sniping on their intriguing, sometimes sleazy and lively career. A different style and tone from the Scott Walker interpretation, this is a superb delivery. Lines like, “To be once more for just that one hour, so beautiful and such a twat again” add the humor, with which Barb can imbue even a poignant story.
Dylan’s “Hey Mr. Tambourine Man” is covered with reverence and clarity of words, and features some delicious sax lines from Mark Lockheart. The slow roll out toward the end is wonderful. “Incurable Romantics” is tender, sweet and Barb’s ascensions to and from chest voice are pitch perfect. With such a title and knowing Barb Jungr, I must admit to expecting a punch line, but one never came. This song is passionate and true right through.
“The Tender Hearts” is heralded with a trumpet introduction from Pete Horsfall, before Barb paints the portrait of an eclectic mix of people, fragile dreamers, fearful and careful people with hearts tender and in need of care. The trumpet solo is meaningful and soulful, and Barb Jungr adds a very French sounding multi-vocal section over which the trumpet flairs. “Buckets of Rain” is beautiful and laced with sadness which comes across in the vocal delivery, tailored beautifully by the interpretive accompaniment, including accordion.
“Buckets of Rain” is atmospheric and visual in its depiction of many different buckets, full to overflowing with memories and emotions. It’s a song of observation and waiting, but also with a touch of sensuality which Barb has a knack of introducing. “If you want me honey baby, I’ll be here” and “I like the way you love me strong and slow, I’m taking you with me honey baby when I go” are sung with feeling. It is beautifully delivered and laced with sadness which comes across in the vocal delivery, tailored beautifully by the interpretive accompaniment, including accordion. “One Too Many Mornings” is brilliant and speaks to us all with a really gorgeous harmonica solo adding to the vibe. That leads to a sax solo which travels the keys, all held together with a pick-me-up walking gait.
“The Cathedral” is a song of change and differing attitudes, depending on your viewpoint, and that reality if not the same as dreams. The piano on this track is lovely and perfectly suited to the lilting, powerful yet somehow gentle vocal lines. “No One Else Could Ever Wear Your Shoes” is an older track co-written with her much-missed musical partner, Michael Parker. A song of memories and longing, its story is told in emotive, poignant tones with a deep-seated yearning for what is lost. The trumpet’s melancholic echoes emphasizes the heartache contained within.
“Simple Twist of Fate” is redolent of a music hall skit, a full story in song form with one heck of a lot of happenings and events around a brief encounter. The piano solo adds its own dialogue and the lyrics speak to the heart. “Sometimes” is oh-so-sleazy, with muted trumpet wah-wahs and a dark storyline. Deftly but confidently, we are invited into the tale by the vocals and that ever-present trumpet slurring away in the backlines – sometimes a growl, sometimes a gentle purr. Gorgeousness incarnate. Even the organ manages to inject a tone of indolent, laid back sleaze, and it’s all in contrast with the heart-wrenching lyrics.
“Secret Spaces” is joyful and focuses on secret places where lost people can be found, from streets at night when foxes roam, to fields and secret walks. The track features a gorgeous, blues-infused piano and percussion conversation. The structure is full and textured. A stand-out track, ending with vocal instrumentalization on this creative album. “To See a Friend Break Down and Cry” is overflowing with emotion and pathos, its lyrics reaching out, caressing the soul and telling of many awful events and situations which inflict deep-seated emotions, before deftly delivering the killer words of the title and how this can rend our souls open.
If that song brings us to face some unholy truths, “This Wheel’s On Fire” raises us up again. Sung low, sung sassy, sung strong, with some deep and full instrumentation supporting, this is a great rocked-up version of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko’s song. At times in the vocal intonations, it is as if Eartha Kitt and Nina Hagen had somehow spawned a (slightly) gentler child. Simply wonderful. “If We Only Had Love” features a new interpretation of the original lyrics and is simply lovely and sung with the heart. Jungr is backed by the chorus of the Fourth Choir, London’s celebrated LGBTQ+ ensemble. As the song progresses, the emotion takes over and the listener cannot help but be drawn, heart and soul into the number. “If You See Her Say Hello” (sung as “If You See Him, Say Hello”) is a great track to finish this wonderful album and again features a terrific piano and percussion conversation.
Bob, Brel and Me is listenable, entrancing and beautifully put together. The care and attention to detail make it special. Barb Jungr hinted that this could be her last album. I, for one, sincerely hope not – and that this powerful album is perhaps the first of several more.
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