Anastasia Barzee: vocals; Gil Goldstein: piano, Fender Rhodes, accordion, arranger; Larry Campbell: guitars; Larry Grenadier: bass; Kendrick Scott: drums; Bashiri Johnson: percussion; Lois Martin, Louise Schulman: violas; Jody Redhage, Maria Jeffers: celli; Steve Wilson: saxophone on 1, 2, 10; Greg Gisbert: trumpet on 12; Brian D’Arcy James: vocal on 5;

Produced by Matt Pierson; Recorded by Meredith McCandless at Flux Studios, NYC; Mixed by Fab Dupont at Flux Studios, NYC; Assistant engineers: Daniel Sanint, Mike Comparetto, William McIntyre, John Burgos; Mastered by Alan Silverman at Arf Mastering, NY

Some singers accost you and insist you listen. Anastasia Barzee does not fall into this camp. Her musicality, her soulful silver peregrinations, go wandering through the overgrown landscapes of love and regret. You have little choice but to follow. On THE MAN WITH THE CHILD IN HIS EYES it becomes clear that women know things that men don’t, but that the knowledge does them no good. The song’s a subtle wonder, but the real revelation is that voice. There were moments in this recording when I could feel Miss Barzee’s voice on my skin. Her intelligence does nothing to get in the way of her sensuality and her emotions. Whether she is leading you to some soft balcony on St. Tropez (SUMMER ME, WINTER ME), or dabbing your honkytonk tears in Nashville, the theme of these tracks is sophistication of the heart. Christ, this woman knows how to say goodbye! If you have any doubt, just listen to the elegiac DINNER AT EIGHT. Or if you are erotically inclined, try on the sultry supernatural sexiness of LILAC WINE or NOTHING LIKE YOU’VE EVER KNOWN. My advice? Step back from the hurly burly of modern life, pour a glass of dandelion wine, and abandon your heart and mind to this beguiling enchantress. Her magic is good. John Patrick Shanley