Melody Gardot: My One and Only Thrill

"The clouds, the clouds
Clouds raced all across the autumn sky
And you and I fumbled for a way to say goodbye
Strangers weren't we
Scared to look into each other's eyes?"

My One and Only Thrill has been sitting in the CD-player of my car for days, continuously playing as I drive and add to my list of reasons why Melody Gardot makes me melt. The passage above is just one that stuck with me while listening to the album. It hasn't happened since Fiona Apples When the Pawn... but this is a state of pure awe. Baby I'm a Fool, the opener of the album, kicks it off with gorgeous violin that painted a dozen pictures of bliss in my head. I felt myself speed up as I got to track #3, Who Will Comfort Me. I must apologize to my comrades driving on Northwest Highway because the second the rhythmic acoustic guitar sounded beginning this song, I was swept away. Gardot’s impeccable delivery as the words "My soul is a-weary" trickle from her lips...I was hooked within the first ten seconds! After a verse or so the trumpets solidify the awesome groove that pumps through the entire song. Elements pile on top of each other as Gardot scats and, at the end, adds a choir of baritone voices to echo her pleading "Who will comfort me?".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKDj-OVJ6hc

All of that, and that's not even my favorite! They all are..I could gush at least that much about most songs on this album.
The next one to stick with me was the haunting "Your Heart is as Black as Night". The emotion of the piano accompaniment would suffice, but as soon as Gardot lays her sultry vocals on thick, the song takes off. In perhaps the most accusatory track, Gardot keeps her magnificent cool as she slides from note to note with the same ease as every other track--which is almost more enticing than the obnoxious belt of many other current artists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmc1XN3iVVc


The album has impressed me so far (if you couldnt tell, shame on you), but I hadn't been moved to tears quite yet. Lover Undercover begins with an innocent sounding Melody simply stating: "I don't need anything more than I got, I'll make it simple when others may not". The song is a word of comfort to a lover, a letter of loyalty as Gardot promises to ease her lover's pain. Everything about this heartfelt ballad moved me. As I drove through the hellish parking lot of Northpark Mall the day after Christmas, this track played and calmed my road rage and my fear of screwing up. I entered a daze the first time I heard it and still check into the same peaceful place in my head when I see the track number change to #5. The climax of the song arrives at the last note. All accompaniment holds as Gardot finishes the song off herself (as she does on other songs as well). Gardot sings the words:
"Whenever you need a soft touch
Know my demands are small
Make me a lover, undercover
Or don't ever love me at all"

All of the words are sung with the typical delivery until Gardot reaches the last phrase. She launches into a beautiful full voice with the words "at all" as she commands your attention. For reasons beyond my logical understanding, I was almost moved to tears at the sound of that note. I guess the music had already lulled me into a perpetual state of content and that last note was the reminder that Melody wants what she wants--a lover undercover. I melted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLNzMxhyDWU

I could gush for hours, and will probably write more posts about Gardot as I continue to learn about her. I still need to rant about Our Love is Easy, but all in good time. As soon as I am able to take a break from My One and Only Thrill I am going to do everything in my power to learn about Melody Gardot. What an inspiration.

"How was I to know that this was always only just a little game to you?
All the time I felt you gave your heart I thought that I would do the same for you,
Tell the truth I think I should have seen it coming from a mile away,
When the words you say are,
'Baby I’m a fool who thinks it’s cool to fall in love'"