The multi-lingual US singer/songwriter Melody Gardot celebrates her recording career’s 20th anniversary with The Essential Melody Gardot, a self-curated best-of compilation. Scheduled for release by Decca on 25th October, the collection features 25 hand-picked tracks, most of them plucked from the New Jersey-born singer’s back catalogue of six studio albums.
“I tried to create a vibe as one would with a set list, especially for the vinyl, so that each side has a mood,” explains Gardot, who painstakingly sequenced the tracks. There are also two previously unissued cuts – the live ‘La Llorona,’ a plaintive Mexican ballad, and a studio cut, ‘First Song,’ co-written by the late veteran jazz bassist Charlie Haden, who featured on Gardot’s recording. “Charlie was the catalyst,” explains Gardot. “It was a random, heartbeat moment à la [the Duke Ellington/Charles Mingus/Max Roach session] Money Jungle. We were all there, and Charlie handed me the music and said, ‘I want you to sing this.’”
The retrospective also features some remixes – including her rare alternate version of Elton John’s ‘Love Song,’ which is different from the one featured on 2020’s Sunset in the Blue – and four in-concert performances, capturing the singer at her magnetic, enthralling best. “I love the vulnerability of a live performance” states Gardot. “It’s raw and honest.”
TRACKLIST
Side A:
1. Baby I’m A Fool
2. If The Stars Were Mine
3. C’est Magnifique feat. António Zambujo
4. Morning Sun
5. Sweet Memory
6. Mira
7. Over The Rainbow
Side B:
1. Worrisome Heart
2. Our Love Is Easy
3. Love Song (Feat. Ibrahim Maalouf)
4. La Charon des Vieux Amants
5. Les Étoiles – Live
6. La Vie En Rose
Side C:
1. First Song *UNRELEASED*
2. This Foolish Heart Could Love You – The Paris Sessions
3. Once I Was Loved
4. Ain’t No Sunshine (Live In Paris)
5. Moon River
Side D:
1. Your Heart Is As Black As Night
2. If I Tell You I Love You
3. Who Will Comfort Me
4. Love Me Liker A River Does (Live In Paris)
5. Bad News (Live)
5. La Llorana (Live) *UNRELEASED*
The Essential Melody Gardot is released on Decca on October 25th and is available to pre-order:https://melodygardot.decca.com/products/the-essential-alternative-sleeve-marble-vinyl-signed-artcard
