Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Dami Im, Sony Music Australia 2018.
Acclaimed Australian singer/songwriter and classically trained pianist, Dami Im has released her fourth studio album, an album of jazz classics and reimagined pop hits.
The album was recorded in Nashville and includes songs from some of the most acclaimed women in music including a fantastic version of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good.
Dami said of the album: “Before you listen to the album it might look like an unusual combination of songs but I recorded every tune with the same desire, which was to share the stories of these amazing women, the most raw and simple way, through a microphone and my fingers on the black and white keys.”
Breaking with the modern norm of recording, every track you hear on the disc has been recorded with Dami Im singing and playing the piano or Wurlitzer live.
This approach has given the album an immediacy and spontaneity that is often lost through mathematically precise digital recording.
The album was produced by Rick Price and includes some of Nashville’s most illustrious session musicians including: bassist Dennis Crouch (Johnny Cash, Elton John, Diana Krall), virtuoso harpist Kirsten Agresta Copely (Lada Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Beyonce), string arranger and viola player Kristin Wilkinson (Taylor Swift, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton) and members of the Nashville Symphonic Orchestra.
Dami Im has crammed a lot into her short career.
After winning the 2013 version of X-Factor she hit #1 on the Australian album charts with her debut self-titled release.
Since then she has released two more critically acclaimed albums including the #3 charting, Classic Carpenters, which achieved gold record status.
She also travelled to Sweden to represent Australia at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest where she placed second and performed in front of an estimated worldwide audience of 200 million people.
This is the first Dami Im album that I’ve heard in its entirety and it’s very good.
An album of classic songs from the greatest women in music performed by one of our own outstanding female performers.
It’s hard to go wrong with this one.
