Caro Emerald
Album: The Shocking Miss Emerald
Label: Dramatico
Tracks: 14
Website: http://www.caroemerald.com

By the time my review copy of "The Shocking Miss Emerald" arrived in the office it had already spawned the hit single "Tangled Up" and entered the top ten of the album charts, so anything that I say here may seem a little superfluous, the public have spoken and spoken loudly.

Following up a multi-platinum debut album like, "Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor" was never going to be an easy task, the album received massive acclaim in Britain, I'm sure there was at least one track from it played on Radio 2 every day, Germany, her native Belgium and much of Europe as well as starting to break her in the US.

There is no disputing that "The Shocking Miss Emerald" is an album that is as much an album of style as well as substance with it's between the wars Parisian chic dominated by that big band sound, but where Emerald has been really clever, like the likes of Marlene Dietrich and Monroe before her she has absolutely ensured that the songs have lived up to that style. She has taken on board some of the finest writers, arrangers and producers to make sure that that chic is genuine and not a façade that will fall apart at the first glance behind the scenes.

To a degree Caro Emerald is a character, part performer, part singer, a riotous festival wrapped into a personality, one that can burst into life for a concert, an album, even a single song and that takes real talent. "The Shocking Miss Emerald" is a sophisticated album, one that makes you think of class and sass, one where you almost feel you can touch it and yet remain, tantalisingly beyond on your grasp, it's no coincidence the public have spoken and spoken loudly.

Neil King