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We’ve been following Ms. Parks’ progress from afar on tracks such as the great, ‘Hope Suite’ (Nostalgia 77) and on the Woodland Records albums Rhodesmode (with Perry Hemus) and Pressure Valve (with Bryan Corbett) and I can report Watching Space is a strong addition to her impressive CV.

All the more impressive that she wrote or co-wrote all but one track on this 14-track collection. The cover version is of Björk’s ‘Joga’, which is my least favourite track here although it is a great showcase for Lizzy’s voice. And there’s lots of talent to showcase as she’s collected some fine musicians to help out. Particularly eye-catching on the credits is Heritage Orchestra collaborator and Ex-Ninja Tune, Chris Bowden who does the string arrangements on one of the tracks.

The best tracks are the ‘Jazz Club’ tunes, particularly ‘Star’ that slips into a broken stutter with trumpet solos and features the keyboards of Bob Norman. In addition to Norman’s keyboard work, he also adds some cool synth twiddles on many of the tracks like ‘Change Is Made’. ‘Change Is Made’ also features some cool trumpet and flugelhorn and with the same key personnel as the funky/soul of ‘What’s The Deal’, these are another couple of tracks that stand out.

Other tracks to watch out for on a varied set are the soul/gospel of ‘Pass Me By’ where her voice sounds as strong as Willis or Alice Russell (can never resist joining in on those handclapping bits) and the dramatic string-laden title track and ‘For Real’ (with some great flugelhorn by Mike Adlington).

At the other extreme, is the Radio 2 style opener, ‘Same Old’ and the harp duet on ‘You’ve Changed’ that finishes the album off; too Billie Holiday phrasing for me but the Harp is great.

One of the strengths of this album is the variety and I hope Lizzy sticks with this approach, as it’s one of those albums that you hear something new on every listen. Hopefully, the Big Chill gig appearance with the Heritage Orchestra will get her some more exposure (check out some of the tracks on her myspace site, see links below). Lizzy Parks is another ‘Star’ in the cosmos.

Hectic Mix nomination: ‘Star’ - initial stand out track.

Live Gigs:
Jul 28 2006 Broadway Casino Birmingham
Aug 6 2006 with The Heritage Orchestra at The Big Chill Festival Malvern
Aug 31 2006 The Hi-Fi Club (Harlem Bush Club) Leeds
Sep 2 2006 The Deviock Festival Devon
Sep 24 2006 The Jazz Cafe London
Nov 10 2006 with Nostalgia 77 Brighton
Nov 24 2006 The Barnfield Theatre Exeter

Links:
www.myspace.com/lizzyparksmusic
www.lizzyparks.co.uk

Reviewed: Lizzy Parks - Watching Space (The Birds Recording) Cat. No. BIRDSCD1002
Credits: Piano, Synthesizer - Bob Norman (tracks: 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14) Piano, Rhodes - Levi French (tracks: 1 to 3, 7, 10) Guitar - Frank Moon (tracks: 1, 3 to 6, 11, 14) Bass - Ryan Trebilcock (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13, 14) Drums - Carl Hemmingsly (tracks: 1, 3, 8, 11, 13, 14) Trumpet - Mike Adlington (tracks: 1, 3, 10, 11, 14) Percussion - Jaynie Maynard (tracks: 1, 3, 6 to 8, 10, 11, 13) Guitar - Pete Harris (7, 10), Bass - Roger Inniss (7, 10), Drums - Mark Fletcher (7, 10), Harp - Donna Tuddenham (tracks: 15)

Tracklisting:
1. Same Old (3:43)
2. Moral Of The Story (0:43)
3. Pass Me By (3:51)
4. Watching Space (3:10)
5. Piece Of Quiet (0:18)
6. For Real (3:31)
7. Change Is Made (4:09)
8. Last Night At The Theatre (3:44)
9. Roll Back (3:56)
10. What’s The Deal (3:48)
11. Follow The Dot (0:28)
12. Joga (4:25)
13. Star (4:51)
14. You’ve Changed (2:13)