Diana Krall - Glad Rag Doll

[Doghouse Riley]

They probably decided the album needed the cover, given her performance of one of the tracks on "Jowls" Holland's "Later" show on BBC2 the other night.
I was really unimpressed. I wish she'd stick to classic standards, which I consider her best genre.
I blame the influence of her husband, Elvis Costello.

[TheArtfulDagger]

.....my opinion of Diana Krall has risen immensely. Whilst I was previously familiar with her, I never really got her. In the last week I’ve engaged with some of her back catalogue and have been very impressed.

I was particularly mesmerised by her cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case Of You”. So much so that I’ve just bought a ticket to see her at the Albert Hall in London next week.

And to think that this began with a discussion over a photograph!

[1/2 Baked, Not Fried]

I feel a bit conflicted about this kind of thing. On the one hand, I’m concerned about “sexploitation” in the media, advertising, entertainment, etc., and as a father of two girls, I worry about what they’re constantly being bombarded with in terms of societal notions of beauty and femininity and sex. Album covers like this don’t help, I don’t think.

At the same time, I believe in free speech and expression. Moreover, Krall is an adult and can make choices for herself. She’s successful and established and certainly didn’t need to do something like this if she didn’t want or agree to. And it may well have been, as DSS points out, an honest attempt to express something artistically – something commensurate with the mood and history of the music she’s trying to get across. Or maybe she just thought it would be fun. Who knows, and who am I to tell her her choices are wrong?

I would point out that in the grand scheme of things, this cover isn’t all that bad. Pop, rock, and rap albums have historically featured a lot worse. Even Melody Gardot’s latest album cover goes quite a bit further than Krall’s, I think, without a lot of hoopla that I recall.

As for Krall, I’d consider myself something of a fan. My wife really likes jazz vocals, so we’ve ended up with several of her albums, and I think they’re all quite good. “Live in Paris” is my clear favorite, though, with it’s live energy and more room for the musicians to stretch out. I do think she gets a bit of the "jazz snob" treatment sometimes, due largely to her commercial success.

As for this one, well, the jury’s still out in my mind. First couple of times through, I’m still not sure what to think about it. I do respect her for stretching out and trying something new. Still, I would have preferred that she hit those old tunes with a little more grit and sawdust. There seems to be an attempt here to "contemporize," with mixed results. My two cents, anyway.

[jav]

Melody Gardot's new cd definitley has a much sexier cover, but that seems to suit her more than Diana's does her. At the end of the day sex sells, and even if it is does not so much in the jazz world, the marketing people think so and so it will continue to be a fact of life. In actuality I find some of Krall's earlier albums more risque than this one. The more I see the cover the less it strikes me as a big deal other than as another nail in the coffin of female artists being able to be taken serious for their art without their sexuality always having to factor into the equation.

[Straycat]

Originally Posted by duaneiac

Always remember, it could have been worse!

At least the bathroom is clean. There is another album cover where it's not so clean. Can't remember the name.

[Saxman]

Love the cover, nice to hear her do something other than another strings-laden typical standards set. That formula was getting old to me 10 years ago.

[DraperiesOfNight]

I seen an interview where she was talking about the record, and she said she wanted to shake it up. Giving it , more of a broffle feel or speak easy.