This is the latest in a series of recordings by Lyn Stanley focussing on the songs made famous by Julie London, along with two songs she feels Julie would have recorded if she had been around. A lot of play is being made of that fact that this is a direct to disc recording, and in that respect, it is quite an incredible effort, as they were recoding without a safety net. It also meant that there were only a few seconds to reset their minds before going straight onto the next. This meant the recordings had to be completed one complete side at a time for the original vinyl release, no opportunity to overdub or fix problems. From there it was just the case of choosing which set to go with, and ‘Favourite Takes – London With A Twist – Live At Bernie’s’ was done.

I am sure the pure audiophiles will state the sound quality produced by this is incredible, and if I were listening to this on a high-quality record player/amplified/speakers I am sure I would agree. As it is I am using Bluetooth headphones connected to an iPhone, so while I can say it does sound well produced I can’t comment any more than that given the sound I am listening to has been both compressed and cut up. For me this sounds like a studio recording, and therein lies the problem for me, in that Lyn does make mistakes and there are times when she is flat and times when she isn’t really singing but going for emotional emphasis. In a live environment, or on a live recording then that can all be forgiven, but this sounds like a studio effort. Many jazz bands record live, but flubs and flaws are often fixed, and that isn’t the case here. It is interesting, but even with a take of Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac” on offer I can’t see me returning to it again.

Rating: 6/10

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Track list:
1. Route 66
2. Pink Cadillac
3. Lover Man
4. Blue Moon
5. Let There Be You
6. You Never Can Tell
7. Goody Goody
8. Love Letters
9. Bye Bye Blackbird
10. I’ve Got You Under My Skin
11. Body And Soul
12. In The Still Of The Night

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Links:
https://lynstanley.com/