“A white Hungarian Jew from Australia sounding like a sixty-five year old black man from Alabama.” That’s how one of the world’s greatest soul singers, Renee Geyer, describes herself. Born in Melbourne in the early ‘50s, Geyer shot to stardom in the mid-‘70s with a string of edgy, funky soul albums that to this day still sound cooler than ever.  Her biggest triumph was a cover of James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s World” before she released the spell-bounding Ready To Deal LP in 1975.  With that record, Geyer and her bandmates realized they could write their own material and still maintain their funk/soul sound.

Throughout the ‘80s, Geyer continued having hits (in Australia only), even after she had relocated to California to begin her assault on the American market.  Once settled, Geyer also became a session singer in various studios in Los Angeles, and most notably appeared on Sting’s “We’ll Be Together” and Toni Child’s “Don’t’ Walk Away.”  Never having the exposure she deserved, Renee returned to her home land in the mid-‘90s and has been at the top of her game ever since.  She has remained a productive and highly relevant artist who now enjoys legendary status here in Oz.

Renee’s latest release, Reneesance, offers up fresh acoustic versions of some of her finest moments and new covers.  It’s always soulful, always enchanting, and couldn’t have been more rewarding for us fans.  Sting once said that all singers should get better at their craft the longer they do it.  This is certainly true of Renee who, at fifty-six, has never sounded better.

Renee recorded the entire album with Bruce Haymes and Jeff Burstin playing all the instruments, and it’s clear from the opener, a cover of “Dedicated To The One I Love,” that it’s going to be stripped-down affair.  One of Geyer’s biggest hits, “Heading In The Right Direction,” follows, and she dishes up one of her most inspired readings of the song to date.  Probably the most “pop” song of her career, “Say I Love You” loses none of its Latin charm and the ever-spritely Geyer gives an impassioned performance that betters the original.

A true highlight is “Stares & Whispers” from Geyer’s 1977 LP, Moving Along (her first LP recorded in the US). Always a charmer, this song has been reinvented to startling effect by marrying the sparse arrangement to the melancholy lyric. “It Only Happens (When I Look At You)” and “Too Late To Turn Back Now” both deliver the goods with punchy arrangements and layered vocals help to flesh out the soundscape.  A long time favorite among Geyer fans is her rendition of “If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Wanna Be Right).” The song for the most part remains unchanged, and once again, Renee’s reading as the mistress involved with a married man is stirring to say the least.     

Another stand out is “Standing On Shaky Ground,” which has long been a mainstay in Geyer’s live set.  Haymes’ Hammond organ screaming over the punchy rhythm track only adds fuel to the fire with Geyer snarling, “My car got repossessed this morning / Harder times I haven’t seen in years / You better throw me a life preserver / ‘Cause I’m about to drown in my own tears.”  “Difficult Woman,” from her 1984 album of the same name, was written by fellow Aussie Paul Kelly, and it’s given a rousing performance from Geyer, who identifies with the lyric to the extent that she named her autobiography after it.

“Baby I’ve Been Missing You,” from her 1981 LP So Lucky, sounds as fresh as ever thanks to the updated reggae-tinged workout.  Next up is a fresh and shorter version “It’s A Man’s Man’s World.”  The edge of a woman singing this song is always going to add a hint of anger to the lyric, and Geyer helps the cause by virtually growling her way through it.  The Jimmy Cliff-penned “Sitting In Limbo” finds Geyer’s heartfelt delivery gliding over the easy groove to close out the album on a rather cheerful note.  The song really typifies the whole mood of the record and that of its star performer.

Renee Geyer remains one of the last great interpretive singers going around.  She’s still producing some of her best work almost forty years after starting out, and her incredible voice is only getting better as the years pass.  Easily one of the best albums I’ve heard all year, Reneesance is every bit as good as it should’ve been and a whole lot more.

Rating: A-

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