Considering her superb albums from the past, like You Gotta Pay the Band, it's hard to fathom, but Over the Years is likely Abbey Lincoln's best album. That voice, like a contained volcano, rides a full gamut of conflicting emotions on tunes about war and peace ("When the Lights Go On Again"), love and family abuse ("A Heart Is Not a Toy"), and the simple pleasure of fruit ("Blueberry Blossoms") and self-awareness ("Lucky to Be Me"). She is at once the savvy veteran singing with the tension that a jazz life can bring and the youthful explorer shedding innocence with each musical discovery. Half of these 10 songs are polished originals, in which the actress in Lincoln takes the listener on a voyage. She controls the suspension of belief and only lets go to free the other musicians. Kendra Shank, a devoted disciple who frequently records Lincoln's compositions on her own albums, guest stars on guitar on a track, and Joe Lovano makes a number of subdued turns on sax, while showing a Pharoah Sanders influence on "I'm Not Supposed to Know" and "Windmills of Your Mind." But the most compassionate and valued sideman for Lincoln is her very young pianist, Brandon McCune, who has grown up with Lincoln and may have reached maturity on this release. --Mark Ruffin
Product details
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer
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No
Language
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English
Product Dimensions
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5.25 x 4.75 x 0.25 inches; 2.83 ounces
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"Will there be blossoms to heal us?", Abbey Lincoln asks in 'What Will Tomorrow Bring?', one of five original compositions featured in her second to last Verve album, 'Over The Years' (2000). If the music on this album is any indication, the answer is a simple YES. I just ordered this cd for a special friend who is going through hard times; may the healing blossoms touch him as they did me. Offering a typically eclectic mix of standards and originals, Over The Years ranks among Lincoln's finest albums. As is the case with some other singers of her generation that achieved veteran status in the 1990s (I'm mainly thinking about Carmen McRae and Ernestine Anderson), Lincoln's art became increasingly subtle with age. By the year 2000, when 'Over The Years' was recorded, her interpretive skills had reached a peak; there is a compelling intimacy about her voice, a conversational tone that makes each and every one of her recordings a special event. Lincoln's voice is no longer the powerful instrument of her youth, nor are the earlier blasts of fury (reflecting the turbulent moods of the 1960s) called for; instead we get ample warmth and an assuring sense of world-weary wisdom. The latter distinguishes her ballads above all, while the more up-beat songs express a vital enthusiasm. A recent gig at the Blue Note in New York showed us that Lincoln still means business: well into her seventies, her stage persona combines the "matriarchal" poise of a respected elder with the laid-back coolness of a hipster. Like the idol of her youth Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln always means the lyrics she sings. 'Over the years', with its many highlights, is a case in point. Lincoln's reworking of 'Lucky To Be Me' (from the 1944 Broadway show On The Town) is packed with gentle conviction; 'Blackberry Blossoms' is a traditional ditty with an arresting, folksy charm. 'Somos Novios', sung in Spanish, is pure, tingling romance, while Michel Legrand's classic 'Windmills of Your Mind' receives a dynamic, soaring reading. 'I'm Not Supposed To Know' is another original graced by the uplifting Lincoln touch. The album ends with an a cappella rendition of 'Tender As A Rose', a song Lincoln first recorded back in 1958. Sweet and simple, pure earthy emotion, this is Abbey Lincoln at her best. As in all Lincoln sets, the musicians are top notch, and the lady gives her hand-picked players plenty of room to shine. If you insist on a more youthful sound, try 'Abbey Is Blue' (Riverside, 1959). But if you appreciate a voice that "knows", 'Over The Years' is definitely for you. I can't wait to hear how my friend likes it.
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2001
I discovered Abbey Lincoln through a wonderful compilation album, C'est Si Bon, on which she sings Avec le temps, the Leo Ferrer song. Hearing her version stopped the seconds on the clock and the air in the room just hovered, waiting for me to exhale. Who was this wonderful singer who, even as she mangled the French language, brought such depth, sweetness and melancholy to every note? I went out the very next day and bought Over the Years, choosing it among the catalogue of available albums mostly for the cover (yes, i admit, i do that all the time). Weary of the infantalizing of music, I love her 60 odd years looking so wise and warm. Half the songs are original, all are éclatant, frappant and ... amazing. The best way to describe her is a Nina Simone without the bitterness, or a Billie Holiday with a folksy confidence. She returns Windmills of Your Mind to its original poetry (sans saccharine). When the Lights Go On Again, the song that opens the collection, is precious and tuneful and modest. The musicians are subtle and soulful. Nice to hear Joe Lovano. Yup. So glad to be listening to Abbey Lincoln right now.
Miss Licoln has all been overlooked amongst the new generations of lady jazz singers, but she has paid her dues to the fact of her legendary status.Abbey sings from the soul and stylizes each song the way ''Lady Day'' did. Each emotion and nuaunce is bared for the listener to take in and relate to the music.Backed up by superb musicians,Abbey is the crowning glory of the lady jazz persona.She has often been compared to Billie Holliday in the way she sings behind the tempo and interpertation of song,it is quite eerie but sometimes you can fell Billie singing inside Abbey.Miss Lincoln is quite different in many ways than''Lady Day''but sings in such a way that wraps you up in an emotional blanket and keeps you warm until the last flame flickers out.
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