SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DIANA PANTON – SOFT WINDS AND ROSES

DIANA PANTON
SOFT WINDS AND ROSES
THE SRG/ILS GROUP

Diana Panton made her recording debut in 2005 with the album …Yesterday Perhaps, and she quickly established herself in the world of jazz. Her easy yet very strong vocals and wonderful arrangements became favourites to many jazz and pop aficionados. soft winds and roses is her 15th studio album, and her first since her incredibly successful Blue (2022). For soft winds and roses, Panton has decided to cover pop songs from the 1960s through to the 2000s and interpret the classics in her own wonderful way.

The album kicks off with a very straight-ahead cover of Elton John’s “Your Song”. It is a wise decision, because she basically sets the stage for the evening’s programme. It is a beautiful stripped-back version with great piano from Don Thompson (who also arranged the album). Thompson is featured in the next song, Panton’s cover of the Carpenters’ “(They Long To Be) Close To You”. This is much more of a jazz arrangement with Thompson providing a very solid base. Panton makes the song her own. Her voice just melts, and she really does bring out the beauty of the song and the lyrics.

Some of her choices are very unexpected, such as Ron Sexsmith’s “Secret Heart”, which Panton turns into a torch song while “Pussywillows Cat-Tails”, a classic folk song made famous by Gordon Lightfoot , features beautiful guitar work from Reg Schwager. Here Panton dives into the melancholy aspect of the song and it becomes quite an emotional moment during the album. “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye” is another unexpected treasure on the album. Her a cappella vocals at the beginning are chillingly magnificent and by the time the piano comes in, you might find yourself wishing she was left alone with the song.

Other choices are not huge surprises but welcome nonetheless, such as Panton’s lovely cover of “Sweet Happy Life”, written by Samba de Orfeu, or “Snow”, written by Randy Newman. Once again, she takes these loved songs and brings something very new to them. “Here, There And Everywhere” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney has been covered by a number of artists, but once again, Panton puts her own spin on the song and she takes it to a very mellow place. The album ends with Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”, a song that Mitchell herself has reworked into a jazz arrangement. Panton, very smartly, leaves that version alone and has come up with a distinct moving version. It is the perfect way to end the album.

soft winds and roses is a beautiful album. It really comes down to Panton’s voice. She has produced the album in such a way that her voice is clearly spotlighted. It is clear, and it is full of emotion and feeling. She draws the listener in, and magically keeps them well within her grasp. A gentle kind grasp that is, but she holds on to the listener. soft winds and roses is a wonderful album.

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