Sarah Blasko is an Australian singer-songwriter best known for her soulful voice and indie rock offerings. She has released a between-albums EP entitled Cinema Songs, consisting of five tracks made famous by well-known and much loved movies.
Blasko’s interpretations of these momentous numbers are delightful, most remarkably so on ‘Maybe this time’, originally sung by Liza Minnelli, in Cabaret. The original version has a hopeful, positive tone, sung by a smiling Minnelli, while Blasko delivers it with a more somber and regretful air, perhaps lending to it the true emotion attached to the lyrics (Maybe this time I’ll be lucky/maybe this time he’ll stay). Blasko also lends her honey-sweet voice to ‘Seems like old times’, which any film buff will know was sung by Diane Keaton in Annie Hall; one of the movies most memorable moments. It is just to say that the singer gives this iconic song the delivery it deserves: soft, touching and fit for any smokey jazz bar.
The most outstanding and unexpected cover on this EP is ‘Xanadu’. For those who may not, Xanadu, is the cheesiest most fantastical musical on which you could ever feast your eyes and the title song from the movie, is equally cheesy; think Abba, but with Olivia Newton-John taking the spotlight, dancing around with men on roller skates to an ELO backing track before she explodes into a ball of light. Blasko, however, strips the song of it’s 1980’s gloss and removes all synth, turning it into a beautiful and intriguing song; surely it is an homage to one of Australia’s golden girls.
On the whole, the EP is a pleasure to listen to, but only if you are already familiar with the songs covered. It puts sickeningly bad tweeny TV show, Glee, to shame, as it shows how an artist can be creative with covers, rather than simply copying all elements of the existing track. A must listen for all soundtrack lovers.