Low Fidelity

This Canadian singer has put together a disc of jazz, rhythm & blues, and gospel that is easy on the ears and an interesting listen for the large part. There is the odd song or two that does little in any way to make the listener sit up and take notice, Truth Will Set You Free, for example, but for the most part her vocal abilities can carry the tune and make it interesting. She wrote, or co-wrote, eight of the ten songs and she is a very competent songwriter telling a good story, though for the most part they stay in the realm of the ups and downs of love and relationships, and don't venture into life stories.

The musicians behind her—no indication of whether she has a regular band—are tight and competent. There is good use of the horns and keyboards that really set the tone of the disc and there is some fine work done with a variety of keyboards. Additionally, at times, what sounds like a large group of backing singers provide good support for Ms Levasseur. Her voice is at times smoky and at other times subtle and though very good, however on some of the tunes it is not full, or powerful enough to quite fill the space created for it, leaving the listener a bit short. The proper material, or treatment of the material seems to be very important to her. She just doesn't have quite enough force in her voice to carry Amen"(good song) when you are wishing for a voice that will carry the song to another level. There are only a few voices that have the power and strength of an Aretha or Mavis and though this isn't one, there are plenty of niches Leevasseur's voice fits into and does it very, very well.

Track List:

Edited by: David N. Pyles
(dnpyles@acousticmusic.com)