Sings by Patty Waters

‘Sings’ by Patty Waters is raw, emotional, and creates a full circle by the end.

              Patty Waters first album ‘Sings’ was released in 1965 and she was only 19. Yet her voice sounds bold and mature, easily passing for someone above her young age. Waters’ often falsetto voice is unique on this record, and so is the piano execution. Both complement each other in a somber and peaceful way. Strangely enough, this type of ‘sad bar music’ often falls short. It can often be too mopey and lack to create a full circle image, and just ponder ideas. Gratefully, what makes this album work in my opinion is the length. As with a lot of albums following in this style, they can start to drag on but the album is short enough you never get bored with it. In this first half of the tracks, we get short batches of Waters’ vocals and piano. Some songs such as ‘You Thrill Me’ have short and brief but far from meaningless lyrics. Her vocal delivery makes it seem as if each word was clearly thought out, making it meaningful and packed with emotion. She carries a lot of them out with a somber tone, almost melancholy. Such as on the track ‘I Can’t Forgot You’ where she explains her dilemma of loving someone to an unrealistic extent and not having them want you. Then suddenly the album takes a turn halfway through, as the album clocks in at being almost thirty minutes in length, and the last track is just shy of being half of the entire record.

               This last track is something quite remarkable, it’s raw and completely unlike the rest of the album. A lot of the other tracks seen here are Waters’ reciting of conflicts with lovers and relationships, yet this last track has nothing to do with that. It’s her rendition of a folk song, ‘Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair’, originating from Scotland and sung lots by the early Appalachians in the United States. It’s also been done by many artists including Nina Simone. Her rendition though is something quite jaw-dropping if you know the original. Also her piano isn’t the only instrumentation at play. We now have a free jazz ensemble with very distinct sounds and creating a new atmosphere. Not one of calmness like the rest but of intense vocal yelping and honestly… She pulls it off.

               At this point I can see a lot of people finding her vocal passages too abrasive or unlistenable and yet I disagree. Firstly, you have to keep in mind that this was one of the first times where vocal jazz went on top of free avant-garde jazz.  Adding to this, Patty Waters herself is fairly obscure. With some digging, you can find information on her but generally speaking, her personal information is very limited. Secondly, the song has growth and composition. Although being improvisational, it is quite well done and has great production on the back end.

               Now, this album mostly gets talked about for specifically the second leg or the last track. Personally, I believe the first half has a lot to offer with Waters’ being very calm and subtle. I think it helps create this very clear double-sided album with two very differing attitudes. One is a woman alone with her thoughts, thinking out loud and describing her heartache. The second half then offering this completely different side of being fed up and expressive, although vocal jazz Waters’ definitely sounds like she yelps with emotion. I specifically decided to discuss each half of the record separately, since each has a very different atmosphere. Not to mention some great people helping with Burton Greene on piano, Steve Tintweiss on the bass, and Tom Price with the drums.