Classic Edith Piaf torch songs transplanted from the coffee house, delivered in perfect French accents and applauded by Bohemian intellectual types (you can tell from the clapping style): it hads to be one of the Wainwrights. This time it’s the forceful, textured tones of Martha, under the guidance of Hal Wilner and accompanied by a band of virtuoso musicians.
Now, when any artist approaches the “songbook” of another my antennae begin to twitch, because high-falutin as it sounds, it’s often just a cover for something quite banal. After-all, The Australian Doors regularly tackle the Doors “songbook” and nobody’s given them a Grammy for it.
Still, when a bunch of classic songs are tackled with renewed zest by a talented vocalist it can add a fresh layer of perspective as evidenced by Johnny Cash’s extraordinary resurgence in the ’90s.
I’m not convinced that Wainwright’s Piaf is such a good idea. There’s occasionally an avant-guitar edge underpinning some otherwise classical arrangements and sometimes (like on ‘Une Infant’ and ‘l’accordionist’) Martha does well in recreating Piafesque melodrama. But for the most part, she struggles to reach the same emotional peaks scaled by Piaf, who was after all a magnificent singer.
If you don’t know the music and you like Wainwright’s charismatic voice, then this is a reasonable introduction. Otherwise there’s not a huge amount here that transcends cabaret.