For All Time

I was introduced to Jill Barber's music by a Canadian friend whose musical tastes are generally dependable. Well known in Canada, Jill's voice and style may be a little jarring at first to Americans who are looking for the same old same old--either an edgy delivery, or an impossibly pretty presentation. Jill does neither. She owns a warbly, slightly nasally tone that doesn't appear as if could come from her. But there is something appealingly old-fashioned, and at the same time originally modern about her sound. Not afraid to use 3/4 time, she still manages to get her messages about modern love across in convincing fashion. It took a couple of listens to "get it", but it is worth the effort. She deserves to be heard by a wider audience.

Great voice. Sultry delivery. Romantic, smart and playfull lyrics. Perfect musicianship and production. Every song a keeper. Jill Barber is the real thing. Do not hesitate to buy this CD

Let me reiterate, I love Jill Barber. Although music tastes are highly subjective, her sound is soothing and relaxing. Her musical influence is obviously of a by-gone era. to see a great video of Jill that is very indicative of her style go here: [...] I have all her music, and never get tired of listening to her.

I discovered the singer-songwriter Jill Barber through her sample song, "Never Quit Loving You." Never Quit Loving You I followed up by purchasing "Mischievous Moon." Mischievous Moon I enjoyed "Mischievous Moon," but the quality of the songs on "For All Time," completely blew me away.

"For All Time" is a classy album, and I'm extremely pleased with the songs. This earlier album has less of a torch-song feeling than "Never Stop Loving You." "For All Time" was originally released as a CD in October 2006, and the MP3 version was released April 2012.

Jill's music doesn't fit precisely into one category, but I've found all of it enjoyable. She has strong lyrics with the ability to make you stop what you're doing and listen to the words of the songs she's singing. One of my favorite lines is from, "Starting to Show," "You are an arrow, my heart the bull's eye."

Because of the twang in her voice, several of the songs have a bit of a country flavor to them. But that's not all she does. "When I'm Makin' Love to You," is bright and jazzy with interesting piano and clarinet accents; "Ashes to Ashes" is a melancholy easy-listening song about letting go; "Hard Line" is a fast-paced song with a blue-grass feeling, and she's thrown in a song or two that could be used for a waltz.

Even though I had never heard any of the songs on this album before I downloaded it, I enjoyed all of them. If you enjoy the easy-listening style of music, you'll love this.

I hesitate to publicly confess to how much I love Jill Barber -- so I'll just say how much I love music and her talent. Before purchasing this album I had bought Chansons (buy it and listen -- you will be transported to Paris, I promise!) and Chances. The only improvements on those albums, which I purchased on CD, would be high res PCM or, preferably, DSD downloads.

This album, a somewhat "older" effort didn't immediately grab me. Well, there was one exception: Don't Go Easy. This is a country tune, which totally throws you for a loop if you are only familiar with Jill's latest work. But boy, it is a winner in my book -- done with style and class yet preserving the essence of a solid country ethos without saccharin.

My other favourite song on this is Ashes to Ashes. A mourning song, it feels me with both compassion and hope. Not only is the melody completely appropriate to the loss of a dear loved one, but the lyrics are perfect, portraying both loss and the reality that life continues:

"We let go
Because we must"

Wow. Jill understands the true nature of life, that is Zen.

I won't go through all the other songs on this record -- the styles and subjects are varied; this is certainly not a theme album. That makes this record all the more sweet to me -- it takes me all over the place, just like an unplanned road trip full of delight and surprise.

You go girl!