(Vocal Jazz) Patricia O'Callaghan - Real Emotional Girl - 2007, MP3, 320 kbps

Patricia O’Callaghan was born and raised in Northern Ontario, Canada. In her travels she has lived, studied and picked up the local languages in Mexico, Quebec, Germany, and France. She trained at the University of Toronto and The Banff Centre for the Arts.
In 1996, she got a Chalmer’s Grant, which allowed her to stop waitressing and devote herself to music full time. Pulling in favours from friends and family she made her first CD, Youkali. It featured songs by Weill, Satie, and Poulenc. The week Youkali was released, Marquis/EMI signed her and she subsequently recorded Slow Fox (reviewed in Billboard as…"the most promising cabaret performer of her generation"). Her worldwide distribution outside of Canada was then snatched up by Teldec/Warner and she toured her third CD, Real Emotional Girl, around Europe and North America. Her fourth CD, Naked Beauty, co-produced by Steven Page, formerly of the Barenaked Ladies, received critical and popular praise. As of November, 2011, She has released two new CDs: Broken Hearts and Madmen with The Gryphon Trio and Matador: The Songs of Leonard Cohen.
Ms. O’Callaghan divides her time between recording, touring, and collaborating on other interesting projects. Some collaborations include singing with Bryn Terfel at Roy Thompson Hall, touring the multi media opera Constantinople by Christos Hatzis, produced by The Gryphon Trio, to London’s Royal Opera House, among other places, and recording and touring with jazz clarinettist Don Byron, in support of his Bluenote release, A Fine Line. Recent appearances include opening the 2007 season with Soulpepper Theatre Company playing the role of Polly Peachum in Threepenny Opera. 2010 saw her with Calgary and Edmonton Operas and Alberta Ballet performing Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins. She is in her fourth year as one of twelve Resident Artists at The Young Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto.
She also has the good fortune to appear in television shows, such as her own Bravo! Special Live at the Rehearsal Hall, the Rhombus/CBC special Youkali Hotel, and the acclaimed Ken Finkleman Drama, Foolish Heart. Patricia is achieving her heart’s ambition to bring her distinctive brand of cabaret to a broad-based audience.

Patricia O'Callaghan's Real Emotional Girl was her first album distributed in the U.S. and is also her major-label debut. This O'Callaghan album reduces the number of Kurt Weill tunes to just three, increases the Leonard Cohen quotient to five, and includes other songs from slightly more mainstream writers, such as Pearl Jam and Bob Dylan. Those who were introduced to O'Callaghan with Slow Fox may be critical of the inclusion of such songs as Eddie Vedder's "Better Man" or even Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." But her interpretations are often inspired. (In fact, can listeners be so hopeful as to expect that O'Callaghan's next record will be exclusively Cohen material?) Some expecting jazzy vocals may be disappointed; those familiar with her operatic soprano voice should be impressed again. For the pop music fan, covering lesser-known (but highly engaging) material may play better on the ears. One could argue that Real Emotional Girl is too pop and mainstream. Others would say that her take on those pop hits is not of interest to the early 20th century pop expert. The risk this collection takes may be considered a weakness by some. But it is hard to criticize a singer who covers Randy Newman as well as Cohen. (Real Emotional Girl repeats five songs from Slow Fox.) Standout tracks include "Je Rêve de Toi," "I'm Your Man," and "Real Emotional Girl." Real Emotional Girl, because of its diverse song selection, should be where a pop listener starts. But fans of Kurt Weill would be wise to check out this album too. ~ JT Griffith, Rovi