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Jo Harrop: The Path of a Tear
ByHer second album, the first on CD, was Weathering the Storm (Lateralize, 2020) which was jointly credited to Harrop and Jamie McCredie who accompanied her on guitar, giving the music a sound which blurred the boundary between folk and jazz. Again, there were no songs by Harrop or McCredie but the ones they played were rather more modern than those on the previous album, including "Take It With Me" by Tom Waits, "Guilty" by Randy Newman and "If" by David Gates.
Harrop's third album, The Heart Wants (Lateralize, 2021) was a pivot point of her career, as she is credited as a composer of eight of its thirteen tracks, having used the opportunity presented by Covid to work on the album which she had longed to make for years. In addition, a plethora of musicians and singers made the music on the album far richer than on any previous Harrop album. Her fourth album, When Winter Turns To Spring (Lateralize, 2022) was jointly credited to Harrop and pianist and arranger Paul Edis who penned and/or arranged this musical journey through a year's weather.
In several ways, The Path of a Tear differs from Harrop's previous albums. Firstly, the album was recorded at The Village StudiosStudio D, Los Angeles, in September 2023, making it the first Harrop album to be recorded outside of the UK. Secondly, it was produced by Larry Klein, who plays bass and has previously produced albums by Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux and Herbie Hancock, among others. He was married to Mitchell for a period in the '80s and '90s. He is also a four-time Grammy winner. Thirdly, no musician from any previous Harrop album plays on the album. All of the musicians here have impressive track records as jazz players.
Of the album's eleven tracks, eight were co-composed by Harrop. The other three are "Travelling Light" by Leonard Cohen, "If It Wasn't For Bad" by Leon Russell, and "Goodbye" by Steve Earle. As is fitting, Harrop's voice dominates the album, rather than the musicians who accompany her. She has the uncommon knack of sounding as if she has experienced every emotion that she sings about. Where The Heart Wants was an album about love and life, as its song titles suggest, The Path of a Tear focuses more on the pain of love; it is a measure of her talent that Harrop conveys the ups and downs of love with equal credibility. Even when she is singing about being hurt, her voice makes beautiful listening. Sure to be one of the year's best.
Track Listing
Beautiful Fools; Whiskey of the Truth; A Love Like This; Travelling Light; The Path of a Tear; You’ll Never Be Lonely in Soho; If It Wasn’t for Bad; Too Close to the Sun; Hurt; Goodbye; Stay Here Tonight.
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
Jim Cox: piano, Rhodes piano, Hammond B-3 organ; David Piltch: bass (2-3, 5-10); Larry Klein: bass (1, 4, 11).
Album information
Title: The Path of a Tear | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Lateralize
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