Ann Hampton Callaway's AT LAST

Starting with the first number, “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, right through to the last, “On My Way to You,” vocalist and songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway creates a sultry, sexy world of cabaret favorites and original music in her captivating new CD, At Last.

Backed by dynamic musicians, Callaway evokes a world of jazz clubs and sophisticated New York nightlife. The recording is so sharp and the performances so rich I felt I was in the room with all of them.

Besides such lushly sung classics as the title track, Callaway includes a pop favorite of mine, Joni Mitchell’s “Carey.” It’s certainly not standard cabaret fare, but with Callaway’s interpretation it’s a perfect fit, and just right for a CD she describes as “love songs for grownups.”

In a press release, Callaway describes her approach to recording. “I always think of CDs like movies,” she says. “It’s really about creating an emotional journey that starts in one place and ends in a place that’s very different.”

That’s a good way to describe this CD. The complete song list is:

1.) What Is This Thing Called Love?
2.) Comes Love
3.) Carey
4.) At Last
5.) Spain
6.) Lazy Afternoon
7.) Landslide
8.) Save A Place For Me
9.) Over The Rainbow
10.) Finding Beauty
11.) On My Way To You

“As years go by,” she writes in her liner notes, “I am increasingly awestruck by the power of music. It seems to have the sneakiest way of reaching deep inside of all of us and making us human once more. Good songs remind us that there is more to life than headlines. We have heartlines too, and they are patiently waiting to bring us closer together.”

At a time when the headlines are so bleak, it’s a gift to have anything that nurtures the heartlines. This CD does. At last!