Caro Emerald - 2010 - Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor

Caro Emerald came out of nowhere in 2009 with the summertime hit "Back It Up," a catchy jazz-pop song with a dance beat. The follow-up single, "A Night Like This," was an even bigger hit, topping the Dutch charts. By the time Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor came around, Emerald was well established as one of the most exciting new artists to emerge from the Netherlands in some time, and her full-length album debut was eagerly awaited. It includes the smash hit singles "Back It Up" and "A Night Like This," both written by Vincent de Giorgio, David Schreurs, and Jan van Wieringen. The latter two Dutchmen are Emerald's producers. They released Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor on their Amsterdam label Grandmono Records. In addition to the pair of singles, the album includes ten new songs quite varied in style. "Just One Dance" is straight dance-pop with dashes of jazz, and "The Lipstick on His Collar" draws from both Amy Winehouse circa Back to Black (2006) and Portishead circa Dummy (1994). "The Other Woman" is another song that brings to mind Winehouse and Portishead. Other songs like "Dr. Wanna Do" go heavy on the jazz. Emerald is a talented singer and she sings in English well, but in the end, the varied jazz-pop productions and the slick dance beats are what set her apart from the crowd. Fans of the initial singles should find plenty else to enjoy on Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor, which finds Emerald trying out a number of different jazz-pop styles. (AllMusic, Jason Birchmeier)

I like the bbc.co.uk review by Lloyd Bradley way more:
"This album has spent longer at number one in the Dutch charts (27 non-consecutive weeks) than any other, and although thatΓÇÖs a bit like saying "Sneezy was the tallest of the Seven Dwarfs" it shouldnΓÇÖt be taken lightly. Thriller only managed 26 weeks. ItΓÇÖs also the sort of album that could only have been taken seriously somewhere like Holland ΓÇô big-band jazz and lounge, fronted by a vocalist channeling Jane RussellΓÇÖs wardrobe. However, Deleted Scenes From the Cutting Room Floor is so thoroughly joyous and cleverly thought out itΓÇÖs almost impossible not to be seduced by it.
Emerald is a conservatory trained jazz vocalist and itΓÇÖs her consummate mastery of this specific skill allows her to hold her own against a fiery swing band, while focusing on interpreting the songs not just hitting the notes. These dozen songs ease their way around swing, mambo, rumba and lounge, as big rich vocals weave the kind of witty, intriguing stories sure to draw you into a world of loves lost, found and betrayed. The orchestrations, too, understand the styles to such a degree they can be subverted with subtle modern twists to stop this being a museum piece: the spectacular Absolutely Me is what Cab Calloway would have done if heΓÇÖd ever had a drum machine; The Other Woman features the funkiest xylophone youΓÇÖll ever hear, mixed with the sort of electric guitar that ought to have its own 60s TV theme.
But while the arrangements add an almost cinematic setting to the narratives, this is all about the vocals. Numbers like Just One Dance and You DonΓÇÖt Love Me are Basie-type big band pushing Emerald to fabulous heights, while Back It Up shows off a croon so smoky it could extinguish most modern torches. New Orleans-style syncopation causes no problems either as bounces through the quirky Dr Wanna Do and even a couple of thinner songs are brought back to life by singing of this quality.
Really, itΓÇÖs not rocket science ΓÇô good songs sung well makes a great album. Ultimately itΓÇÖs a bit like their approach to football, city center traffic and recreational drugs, one more example of how the Dutch seem to know something we donΓÇÖt."

Track list:
1. That Man
2. Just One Dance
3. Riviera Life
4. Back It Up
5. The Other Woman
6. Absolutely Me
7. You Don't Love Me
8. Dr. Wanna Do
9. Stuck
10. I Know That He's Mine
11. A Night Like This
12. The Lipstick On His Collar

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