Holly Cole – Temptation (4LPs, Box Set, 45RPM, Analogue Productions)

Holly Cole’s fourth album, released in 1995, is dedicated entirely to Tom Waits songs. If you now think of a loud drunkard with a tattered voice, you don’t have the slightest idea what to expect on this album. The Holly Cole Trio is supported here by drums and guitar (as on the live tours), and when the invitation to the blues is breathed into the microphone or the Jersey Girl walks almost lasciviously across the stage, Temptation is like a bloodthirsty vampire suspected in the studio, then you get to the essence of the Tom Waits songs. This album was produced analogously and these tapes were available for the remastering in order to enhance the previously excellent-sounding album even more. If you want to get an impression of why grown men can melt away when a jazz vocalist sings when a Diana Krall is as emotional as a refrigerator, then you’ve come to the right place.