Who’s Got Trouble? (2005)

I’m not entirely sure how I acquired my CD copy of Shivaree’s third album, featuring the deliciously named Ambrosia Parsley, singer, songwriter, and daughter of California, along with guitarist Duke McVinnie and keyboardist Danny McGough. Duke and Danny both, separately and together, collaborate with Parsley on many of the songs in this set. I must have found it in some used CD palace somewhere along the way. It has lurked there in my collection for many years. Or maybe I ordered it up online on an impulse, after reading some review. It has often happened that way. The most memorable track on Who’s Got Trouble?—perhaps all I took from it all those years ago before filing it away, because I responded to it so instantly again—is the cover of Brian Eno’s “The Fat Lady of Limbourg.” The icy-cool trio has a lot of fun bearing down on Eno’s 1970s tale of hapless groupie love on tour in the Benelux region. But returning to Who’s Got Trouble? again, and with regular attention, a good many more virtues begin to disclose. The band underplays it always, with arrangements that feel loose and warmly open, holding lots of space in a smoky room, and not afraid to bring in the horns at will. They let simple sharp musical figures propel the momentum in low-key fashion. Parsley has something of a baby-doll voice that can verge on too Betty Boop cute but on a song like “Lost in a Dream” her skill is eminently apparent, regularly working minor keys and blue notes to good effect, landing on every note and syllable with the precision of a jeweler. In turn, the sidemen support her with a heady voodoo lounge stew that often reminds me of the jazzy cabaret exercises of Tom Waits. Shivaree started off on career highs, with the 2000 “Goodnight Moon,” a Parsley/McVinnie composition, featured over the closing credits of Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and subsequently appearing in about 12 more movies, TV shows, and commercials. Blame it on Moby. By the time of Who’s Got Trouble? they appeared to be fading and the next album, a collection of covers (Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs), would be their last. All their stuff is worth a visit on your streaming travels.