Tru-thoughts has a new songbird on their roster and her name is Lizzy Parks. The promise that Lizzy displayed on her 2005 release “Watching Space” is shining through on “Raising The Roof”. With production from Ben Lamdin of Nostalgia 77, you know that the musicianship here is top notch. In addition, Riaan Vosloo does masterful job on string arrangements. As for Ms Parks, she displays a sultry voice and flawless phrasing on this eleven track disc. The disc starts out with the title track, what immediately stands out is the synergy that exists within Lizzy and the trio, particularly the crisp playing on double bass and the sparse drum beat. On a great sound system you would think you were at a live concert. Lizzy shows that she can groove on the soul jazz tune “All That”, a swinging tune that is aided by the funky riffs of the Hammond B-3 organ. On “Prayer”, Lizzy’s voice is so tender and yet so powerful as she weaves through an orchestral aesthetic of wonderful soundscapes. This is a climatic ending for a wonderful record that should catapult Lizzy to star status. Highly recommended.
