Petula Clark - From Now On (2016)

In an incredible career spanning over seven decades Petula Clark is a true international superstar and legend. On her new album “From Now On” Petula Clark states: “Once you say, ‘I know how to do this’, it’s time to move on to the next thing,” her eyes searching, her attitude sharp. “I’m learning all the time, and it never stops. And to do new songs - it’s like having love affairs. They’re always my favorites because they’re sort of slightly unknown. And to do things in the same way…I love singing the old songs, but I’ve done that. Newness is important to me. Moving on is important to me.” You hear that spirit of hers, when Clark sings Miracle To Me, another of her own compositions, written in the French mountains, embellished later by her writing on her piano. You hear it on her cover of The Beatles’ Blackbird, in which she gives the song a very different pair of wings. You even hear it on songs which flirt with other genres, like in the country swing of Endgame, and in the subtle dance music sensibilities of Sincerely. There are other covers on the record too, all tackled in searching new ways. Clark was nervous about tackling Peggy Lee’s Fever - they met years ago, and even sang together - but here the song gains an interesting, and sly, rocky edge. Steve Winwood’s 1980 hit While You See A Chance also gains a choir, created quite by accident by the people working in the studio “I love how that happened: organically, naturally. It’s how the music should be - from the heart, and straight out.”