Barb Jungr – Every Grain of Sand – HMV Choice

Best know as an imaginative interpreter of songs – from French chansons to musical standards – Barb Jungr now turns her talents to Bob Dylan. Jungr confesses to not being very familiar with Dylan's songbook, yet a great yearning to sing his Every Grain Of Sand overcame her while out walking on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and agian on a sacred island off the coast of Alesund (the most western point of Scandanavia). That song is the album's finale and the 14 other Dylan tunes chosen range from 60s classics to the recent Things Have Changed.

Jungr sings in a calm, clear style, emphasising each lyric's bite, while careful not to over sing songs that are now part of our popular musical vocabulary. The songs' arrangements involve ambient jazz as well as a string section that brings a sharp, classical touch to certain numbers. Jungr avoids vocal pyrotechnics, although it is obvious that she is classically trained as she holds notes in a very formal manner. Still, this CD should both satisfy Jungr fans and surprise Dylan diehards, bringing a new twist to familiar melodies.