Hard to believe after listening to this outstanding album that a few years ago Diana Krall was tweaking the 1940s-vintage Nat King Cole trio formula, sounding more often than not like a breath of fresh air inside a traditionalist retro-jazz mode. After several similiar albums Diana showed she was willing to break out of her musical comfort zone with the orchestrated bossa-driven THE LOOK OF LOVE. Yet that out-of-the-box experience hardly prepared us for THE GIRL IN THE OTHER ROOM, which for the most part offers all-new material, much of it composed by Diana Krall herself (often in collaboration with her brilliant spouse Elvis Costello). It's only a little exaggeration to say she's gone from the Y1K to the Y2K great American songbook.

The LOOK orchestrations are gone, the small jazz combo format is back but with drums included full-time. Overall the sound retains the attractive jazz elements of her past (swing, improvisations), but at times takes a tougher, bluesier stance. Diana's voice takes the lead in this area, sounding slightly worn but in a good, emotively-compelling manner that matches the depths of the excellent compositions. Speaking of the sophisticated tunes, without exception they manage to twist melodies and lyrics in fresh directions. Amazingly, the sum total of this disc bends the rules without breaking the spirit of Diana's best past efforts, managing to be instantly attractive yet certain to reward repeated listens no doubt for years to come.

The album mixes mid-tempo tunes with elegant ballads, no less bold and artistically successful as recent eclectic CDs by the likes of Cassandra Wilson. Furthermore, as much as I loved all of Miles Davis' transitions throughout his career, I admit that he tended to lose fans along his journey. But at this point, I'd say that Diana's managed to evolve in a manner that will keep her long-time fans on board while adding new ones. In fact, speaking of Miles I was thinking this may be Diana's KIND OF BLUE (relatively speaking). Overall, THE GIRL... shows off Diana Krall completing the transition from exquisite interpreter to an artist with an original, timeless vision of her own. Now, if anyone has a different opinion and can offer constructive criticism as opposed to a string of insults, I'd be interested in reading it.

I always thought that Diana Krall was nice to listen to, but with nothing extra that made me buy any records of her. That was until I saw and heard her Live in Paris DVD, where the Canadian singer stepped out from the former slick and almost icy approach and delivered that extra. Suddenly you could feel the warmth in her voice, her ultra sensual charisma came through with full force - I was hooked. Still feel though that her albums are too polished for my taste, I stick with the fantastic live DVD.

Now Mrs Krall has made a studio album that connects to the feeling on the Live DVD. The musical setting is much more intimate than on her previous albums. Basically you have one tight band, where the two most impressive musicians to my ears are Anthony Wilson on guitar and Christian McBride on bass. Diana Krall herself sings like a goddess and plays a very good piano. The songs are a mix of jazz, blues and pop, with a more rootsy feeling than her usual repertoire. There are also a mixture of covers and original songs. The originals are all written by Diana Krall and Elvis Costello, though Costello has only contributed to the music on the majestic title track, otherwise he has stuck to the words. There is a natural flow to the song sequence on the album and the originals stand up very good to the covers.

There are in my opinion no weak songs on the album, and my favourites (today) are the title track (Krall/Costello) and Temptation (Tom Waits).

Audiowise the album is very good recorded and produced.

Highly recommendable!!

Many Diana Krall fans have come to appreciate her renditions of classic jazz standards. They may be disappointed because this CD contains unfamiliar, mostly original material by Diana (with Elvis Costello, her husband, collaborating on some songs). "Stop this world" Mose Allison, "Temptation" Tom Watts, "Black Crow" Joni Mitchell, "Almost Blue" Elvis Costello (1982) and "I'm pulling through" are not by Diana and are also not that familiar. But after initial listening it grows on you and the more you play it the more you come to appreciate it. The lyrics, the combo backing, Diana's piano technique, and her phrasing with that incomparable voice all contribute to what I believe will come to be considered a classic. This is a fabulous collection of songs by one of the top female jazz singers today!

The big difference between this collection and previous Diana Krall CD's involves the range of emotions she elicits with these songs. For instance, "Abandoned Masquerade," is distinctly depressing, and "Black Crow," is as bleak as a snow filled, black and white, winter landscape at twilight. In the past Diana Krall has stuck to top notch classic songs with a warm, engaging emotional feel. A change to a broader emotional pallet was bound to trip up some of her long term fans, and hence the many negative reviews from disappointed fans who expected an outing similar to her many excellent previous productions.

For various reasons, some people don't want to hear songs that are depressing, and many people have a particularly hard time with the cold, alienated emotions found in a song like "Black Crow." The other side of the coin, of course, is that many people do experience a wide range of emotions in their lives, and it is exciting, moving and engaging to encounter songs that mirror their feelings.

Diana Krall has the sensibility and the musical talent to deliver these songs. This album evidences the continuing broadening of the emotional range that her voice can convey. I would say that this broadening has been in evidence in each of her releases, but it has become especially clear in the last two studio albums and in her recent live DVD's. It will, however, be disconcerting to some to hear the explicitly ragged, cracked vocal sound that she uses to such powerful effect on some of these songs.

Usually when I see a very mixed set of reviews like the one's found here, I tend to think that the artist has slipped, often quite seriously. In those cases, the good reviews are from the die hards who refuse to abandon a favorite, and the bad reviews are from the folks who are willing to accept reality.

In this case, however, I think Diana Krall has really opened up new and exciting emotional and melodic terrain that she has never risked in the past. There is nothing wrong with having a taste for the wonderful albums she has made over the years. However, if you are willing to explore some rough and challenging emotional terrain, you are likely to agree with me when I say that this is her best, and most satisfying album.

When talking about this album, I think of a tortured analogy once used by CBS commentator Andy Rooney, something like, "I like women's hair. I like butter. But I don't like finding a strand of women's hair in my butter." Well, I love Diana Krall. I admire Elvis Costello. But the combination of Diana Krall and Elvis Costello doesn't work, and her willingness to collaborate with her husband indicates that, at some level, she doesn't understand what makes her a great artist.

Jazz is not about lyrics in the way that many rock performers think of them. Elvis Costello's lyric writing is firmly in the tradition of Bob Dylan--wordy, poetic, complex, allusive, clever. It has more in common with T.S. Eliot than it does with Cole Porter. For performers in the Dylan tradition, music often takes a back seat to the lyrics. Thus, it is uncommon to find a jazz performer covering a Bob Dylan tune. But it is very common to see a Bob Dylan lyric published as if it were a piece of poetry.

A great lyric in a pop standard adheres to a totally different aesthetic. While it can be clever, it can't be something that you need to read on a piece of paper in order to understand. But those are the kinds of lyrics that Elvis Costello specializes in. Sometimes, he can be absolutely brilliant. But he's also capable of being frustratingly dense, and too many of his collaborations with his wife on this album fall into that category.

Krall's music to accompany these lyrics suffers from some of the same problems that Costello's music suffers from--an excessively artful wandering from recognizable melodies, a forced quality where it feels like her reach is exceeding her grasp. Not every song is equally bad, but overall, you hear these collaborations and feel no desire to hear them a second time.

Fortunately, there are a few tunes on this disk that redeem it, and almost make it worth buying. Her take on "Stop This World" by Mose Allison is a great direction--I think more blues from Krall sounds like an excellent idea. And her version of "Love Me Like A Man" is a tour de force.

Diana Krall is a world-class jazz artist who combines the pianistic skills of an Oscar Peterson with a vocal style that is utterly unique. She is a brilliant intepreter of the jazz/pop standards, and her interpretations have created new standards. But she is not, nor should she try to be, an avant-garde artist, an auteur like Elvis Costello, or a synthesizer of disparate styles.