Lily Wilde - Insect Ball

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Music reviews of Insect Ball

Music Review: Great jazz and blues big band swing!
Rating: 5 Stars

Lily Wilde's voice is supremely soulful and powerful, reminding a bit of Ella Fitzgerald and Helen Humes (one of Count Basie's best female singers), but separate enough to have her own identity. She does a great job with such swingin' classics as "Mister Five by Five," "Work Baby Work," and "Oh Babe!" (my personal favorite cut from the album). These all swing smooth and very danceable, and should get a whole room of picky swing dancers jivin' and wailin'. I also enjoy the humorous "Rip Van Winkle." Lily slows it down and gets soulful and torchy on "Since I Fell for You," (the best slow number on the album) and a beautiful version of "Stormy Weather."

The band itself swings hard in a very Basie-like style, sounding like the legendary "Atomic" band from the 50s. This is most noticeable on a stand-out, mid-tempo instrumental, "Go Ahead and Rock." It's an infectious piece.

The only flaw in the album is the one bad track among the bunch, and ironically, it's the title track, "Insect Ball." The band swings fine, but the electronic manipulation of the voices and the silly lyrics cripple it. Unfortunate -- but how often do you come across an album where every track is great?

This still counts as a five-star swing recording for me. Swing fans who haven't heard Lily Wilde need to get their hands on this gem while it is still around. It's guaranteed to get you dancing again after you've worn out all your "Swing Session" albums.

Description of Insect Ball

Blues CDs

• Music > Styles
• Dance & Electronic
• Jazz
• Pop