American Standard

Dayna Kurtz explores a whole lot of American music styles, rocknroll, americana, rockabilly, folk, blues, jazzy, roots music, in her own way. Various instrumentations and even an a capella sung track. It swings, it stings, enchants. As a sort of tribute to american music making, it is an album that definitely grows on you. It contains remarkable covers (Elliott Smith, Sonny Burgess, ...) in original interpretations, as well as new work by herself. And it does sound all great and especially timeless, as if she brought some standard non-obvious examples from each genre together, as a coherent portfolio. Its an ecclectic talent. "Are You Dancing With Her Tonight?" reminds me a lot of Fats Dominos "Blueberry Hill" sound (speaking of a true classic!), yet its entirely different. Classy 50s styled and daring, a haunting ballad. Dayna Kurtz is one intense performer and certainly an extraordinary singer! This high level of quality in versatile singer-songwriters is hard to find. Some call her a female Tom Waits - like each comparison this one could be argued, but it sure is a well-deserved compliment for Dayna Kurtz as a gifted songwriter. The album ends with a party : `Election Day, an energetic dixieland tune, and another tribute: "good guys sometimes win". Perhaps not her best album, but every Kurtz album is worth five stars! ~Review by Will Durang