Tackling the Randy Newman songbook is like being a football manager with a full squad available: it’s knowing which ones to leave out. Former This Mortal Coil singer Louise Rutkowski can rest a whole forward line of strikers, including Mama Told Me Not to Come, in favour of her own selection and still field a winning side.
This show is the epitome of good judgement. Rutkowski sings beautifully, clearly and with feeling but without ostentation, covering Newmanisms from Simon Smith through Short People to Toy Story and onwards. Her accompanists, pianist Roland Perrin and one-man orchestra Gerry Hunt, apply a similarly light touch to create the perfect backdrop for short stories that have atmosphere, plenty of humour, and on the remorseful Marie, the kind of aching poignancy that only Newman and a class singer can achieve.
Short Stories – live performance at Edinburgh Festival 2001
by Rob Adams
Covering other people’s songs is a tricky business, particularly when the songwriter in question is maverick American rogue Randy Newman. Reproducing his ironic, idiosyncratic material is a challenge, but Rutkowski rises to these tales of misfits, loneliness, sex and desperation with skill and wit. Her smokey, assured delivery and way with a sardonic lyric at times echo acclaimed Canadian chanteuse Holly Cole – but as she proved during her time with This Mortal Coil, Rutkowski has a sound and style that are uniquely her own. Her mature, polished vocals lend themselves perfectly to the theatrical feel of The One You Love, and are just about strong enough to mimic the masculine voice of Real Emotional Girl. Bittersweet, and all the better for it.
Review of 6 Songs CD by Holly Dearden of Attitude magazine
Described by its creator as “music for people who don’t like to go out”, Smile’s OK is a melancholic, yet oddly soothing record, whose woozy arrangements and wounded lyrics evoke the uneasy sleep patterns of a troubled 30something.
Singer Louise Rutkowski offers beautiful re-readings of David Sylvian’s Let the Happiness In and Heidi Berry’s Only Human, while instrumentally the album relies almost exclusively on Lawrence O’Keefe’s delicate bass arpeggios and Audrey Reilly’s minimalist strings.
What fascinates is the uniformity of themes and treatments, creating the illusion that all the songs were written by the same person. Like the output of Ivo’s 80s collective, This Mortal Coil, Smile’s OK exists in the usual territory of measured good taste. Emotionally and sonically it’s too raw for daytime radio, but it’s perfect for your private jukebox.
Review of The Hope Blister, Smile’s OK album by MOJO (James McNair)
The Hope Blister is the conjugal son of This Mortal Coil, the 4AD collective which of course was the golden brainchild of the label’s founder, Ivo Watts- Russell. This album will win no converts nor lose any disciples because it carries on pretty much where This Mortal Coil’s Blood left off, with cover versions of songs by cult geniuses that not only give good homage to, but even enhance, the originals. The majestic Louise Rutkowski – who along with her sister Deirdre, gave TMC some of its most sublime and haunted moments – is the lead vocalist throughout, and she invests these songs with a silken purity and grace that is just astonishing. A must.
Review of The Hope Blister, Smile’s OK CD
by Nick Kelly of Hot Press magazine
Incredibly beautiful melodies, arrangements and vocals along the lines of Lennox’s Diva and Lang’s Ingenue. The powerful, mature voice of Louise Rutkowski soars over lush, unforgettable songs. Truly stunning.
Review of The Kindness of Strangers, Hope CD
by In Fashion magazine
