Sunset in the Blue
Studio album by
Melody Gardot
ReleasedOctober 23, 2020 (2020-10-23)
Studio
GenreJazz
Length56:27
LabelDecca
ProducerLarry Klein
Melody Gardot chronology
Live in Europe
(2018)		 Sunset in the Blue
(2020)		 Entre eux deux
(2022)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[1]
AllMusic[2]
The Arts Desk[3]
DownBeat[4]
Jazz Journal[5]
laut.de[6]
Mojo[7]
musicOMH[8]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[9]
The Yorkshire Times[10]

Sunset in the Blue is the fifth studio album by American singer and songwriter Melody Gardot.[11] It was recorded both in the US and in Europe. It was produced by Larry Klein and released on October 23, 2020, by Decca Records.

Background

The album is a collection of originals and standards; the bonus track "Little Something" features Sting. The tracks are her performances recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[12] For one song, "From Paris with Love", she invited unemployed musicians from around the world (United States, Armenia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Norway, and others) to record their parts in their homes and then to send their recordings to her electronically. Gardot insisted that the musicians were paid fees related to a standard UK musicians studio wage in order to compensate for their time and expertise.[13] Said Gardot, "It is so important that we come together in this moment where there is a deafening silence happening in the arts...we are part of one large family (artists, musicians, singers, painters...) and this album is a testament to that collaborative spirit; a smorgasbord of talent all in one place, and living proof, that even now, we can use the numerous resources we have to break traditional ways of thinking about recordings, if just for the simple sake of continuing to move forward and create great music..."[14] Of his duet with Gardot, Sting commented, "This new song... has a simple and infectious joy, and it was so much fun to trade vocals with the exquisite Melody Gardot I hope you can hear the smile in our voices."[12]

A bonus edition of the album was released in France and Japan featuring two additional songs. An orchestral arrangement of "La Chanson Des Vieux Amants", which is different than the version that Gardot contributed to the Brel: Ces Gens-La tribute album, and the collaboration "Little Something" (with Sting) that also appears on Sting's 2021 Duets album.

A studio version of "Wayfaring Stranger" was recorded at Studios La Fabrique and video of this recording session with sound engineer Al Schmitt was provided to Mix With The Masters[15] as part of their programming and is currently still available to view with a membership. The audio tracks from that recording session are still unreleased with only that song on Mix With The Masters, despite references during the video to tracking other songs that day. Studio La Fabrique does not appear in the liner notes for any of the released songs including the Deluxe Edition.

A deluxe edition of the album was released April 16, 2021[16] and will feature five additional bonus tracks. The following was cited to fans via email from Melody Gardot's mailing list: Following the success of her highly anticipated 5th studio album Sunset In The Blue, we are delighted to announce a new Deluxe Edition featuring 5 new bonus tracks, out on April 16. The record includes an intimate recording of 'C'est Magnifique' featuring António Zambujo' performed live from Namouche Studios which is available now.

Sunset In The Blue is an exquisite collection of originals and covers that nod to Melody's jazz roots and influences. Now joined now by 5 new bonus tracks including 'C’est Magnifique feat. António Zambujo (live from Namouch Studios)', 'Love Song feat. Ibrahim Maalouf' a reimagined version of 'From Paris With Love' and stunning covers of 'What Is This Thing Called Love' and 'Trav'lin' Light'.

"It's as if we've thrown some turpentine on the canvas to reveal the painting under the work... there's beauty in the danger of it all... it's vulnerable and fragile... unapologetic and unpolished. I even went so far as to ask the engineers to give me the prints as they were printed off the board for the masters... straight from the cutting room floor to you." - Melody Gardot

Reception

Liz Thomson of The Arts Desk stated, "What a pick-me-up this album is. Released as the days darken, literally and metaphorically, it's a real joy – a transport of delight to dappled squares in Paris or Lisbon, or a street party in Rio. Sunset in the Blue is billed as "an orchestral celebration of Melody Gardot's jazz roots" but the abiding sound that remains in the mind's ear after the album's finished is that of a jazz guitar, played with a bossa nova rhythm."[3] AllMusic review by Matt Collar commented, "With 2020's Sunset in the Blue singer Melody Gardot sinks into a dusky and languorously produced album that builds upon her love of jazz standards, Brazilian music, and intimate balladry. The record finds Gardot surrounded by a production dream team, including longtime associate Larry Klein... From beginning to end, Gardot's Sunset in the Blue holds you in its deeply rapturous glow."[2]

John Murphy of musicOMH added, "Technically, it's an impressive achievement. Listening to it, you'd swear that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra were in the same studio as Gardot, rather than virtually accompanying her. While there's nothing particularly challenging about Sunset In The Blue, there's no denying that Gardot has become something of an expert in this kind of thing: originals, covers and old standards all performed in the best possible taste."[8] Atwood Magazine observed, "Oscillating between languages, based on their natural cadence and feel on her tongue, Gardot helps us to experience the varied rhythms and flows of each dialect as if they were each a separate musical instrument, capable of expressing different emotions with each sound... As an album, Sunset In The Blue is nuanced with many of the same stratum that make up Gardot herself. An equal balance of vivid culture, romantic verse and vintage class, it's almost a microcosm of the artist herself."[13]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."If You Love Me"
4:35
2."C'est Magnifique"
  • Carvalho
  • Melody Gardot
  • Pierre Aderne
4:53
3."There Where He Lives in Me"
  • Gardot
  • Philippe Baden Powell
  • Aderne
5:49
4."Love Song"Lesley Duncan3:58
5."You Won't Forget Me"
6:05
6."Sunset in the Blue"
4:33
7."Um Beijo"Gardot4:06
8."Ninguém, Ninguém"Gardot3:38
9."From Paris with Love"
  • Gardot
  • Aderne
4:47
10."Ave Maria"
  • Gardot
  • Reese Richardson
4:28
11."Moon River"
3:48
12."I Fall in Love Too Easily"
3:10
13."Little Something" (with Sting. Bonus Track)
  • Antoine Chatenet
  • Conor Blake
  • Dominic Miller
  • Hilda Stenmalm
  • Gardot
  • Nora Abakar
  • Sting
2:41
Total length:56:27
French/Japan Edition[17]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."La Chanson Des Vieux Amants" (Bonus Track)
6:59
14."Little Something" (with Sting. Bonus Track)
  • Antoine Chatenet
  • Conor Blake
  • Dominic Miller
  • Hilda Stenmalm
  • Gardot
  • Nora Abakar
  • Sting
2:41
Total length:63:26
Deluxe Version (April 16, 2021 Release)[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."From Paris With Love" (Bonus Track, acoustic)
  • Gardot
  • Aderne
4:21
15."Love Song" (Bonus Track; featuring Ibrahim Maalouf)Lesley Duncan5:25
16."Trav'lin Light" (Bonus Track)
  • Trummy Young
  • Jimmy Mundy
  • Johnny Mercer
4:06
17."What Is This Thing Called Love" (Bonus Track)
3:27
18."C'est Magnifique" (Bonus Track, live in Namouce Studios featuring António Zambujo)
  • Carvalho
  • Melody Gardot
  • Pierre Aderne
4:54
Total length:78:40

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[37] Gold 50,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[38] Platinum 20,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Gudell, Scott (January 25, 2021). "Melody Gardot: Sunset in the Blue album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Collar, Matt. "Sunset in the Blue – Melody Gardot". AllMusic. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Thomson, Liz (October 22, 2020). "Album: Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue". The Arts Desk. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  4. ↑ De Barrons, Paul (January 2021). "Melody Gardot: Sunset In The Blue". DownBeat. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  5. ↑ Lomax, Ian (December 19, 2020). "Melody Gardot: Sunset In The Blue". Jazz Journal. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  6. ↑ Kausse, Philipp. "So anspruchsvoll kann Easy Listening sein" (in German). laut.de. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Melody Gardot - Sunset In The Blue". Album of The Year. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Murphy, John (October 23, 2020). "Melody Gardot – Sunset In The Blue | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  9. ↑ Klinge, Steve (October 23, 2020). "Black Thought's first official album is 34 minutes of rich, sublime rhymes". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  10. ↑ Clark, Graham (November 14, 2020). "Melody Gardot- Sunset In The Blue (Decca Records)". The Yorkshire Times. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  11. ↑ Shaffer, Claire (September 4, 2020). "Sting, Melody Gardot Duet on New Song 'Little Something'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Melody Gardot Releases 'Sunset In The Blue' - The First Session at Abbey Road After Lockdown". Abbey Road Studios. October 26, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Kalish, Ilana (December 1, 2020). "Interview: Melody Gardot's 'Sunset in the Blue', an Open Window Amongst Closed Doors". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  14. ↑ "NEW MELODY GARDOT ALBUM, SUNSET IN THE BLUE, OUT NOW". Umusic.ca. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Recording a Band #5 | Mix With The Masters". mixwiththemasters.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Sunset in blue - Deluxe edition".
  17. ↑ "Sunset In The Blue". Amazon.fr. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Sunset In The Blue". April 16, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Melody Gardot Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  25. ↑ サンセット・イン・ザ・ブルー | メロディ・ガルドー [Sunset in the Blue | Melody Gardot] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Veckolista Jazz, vecka 44, 2020" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Melody Gardot Chart History (Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Melody Gardot Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Melody Gardot Chart History (Traditional Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2020" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2021" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  37. ↑ "French album certifications – Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  38. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Melody Gardot; 'Sunset in the Blue')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
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