Alice DiMicele
Swim
ALICE OTTER MUSIC AO/013
Adult Orientated Folk
I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I’d been listening to some Joni Mitchell albums in the days before playing SWIM, and I soon found myself comparing Ms. DiMicele to Canada’s #1 singer-songwriter; and it’s actually a favourable comparison, as it was latter day Joni.
Everything you want to know about the opening track is in the title, Soul Fly Free, as Alice’s voice does just that on a quite poetic song that features some mighty fine Hammond playing in the background.
That brooding poetic feel crops up several times; hence my mentioning Joni Mitchell; especially songs like If I Could Move the World, This Love and Inside, which all have soft Jazzy arrangements that need to be heard late at night or in a dark smoky club (if such places still exist).
The title track Swim, jumps out of the speakers with an up-tempo Soul Sound; straight outa Memphis; and again Skip Edwards Hammond playing plus a swinging brass section takes the song onto a whole other level.
For what it’s worth When Jane Rides Scout could have been left off the album; as it jars against the sound and feel of everything else.
Ripple, which closes the album is a jaunty ‘sway-along’ song, just perfect for closing concerts too, and came as a surprise to me as it’s actually a Grateful Dead cover….but I doubt they ever sounded quite like this pretty little version.
As usual I listened to the album several times before reading the Press Release and had already penciled in ‘one for the future’ before reading that Alice DiMicele has been touring for nigh on 30 years and has 13 albums to her name; but I’d not heard of her; and the loss is surely mine.
Released UK May 4th 2015
The Rocking Magpie 