I'm a big fan of Diana Krall and was very surprised at the quality of her voice on this cd. Sorry, but I like jazz that makes me wanna stomp my feet and snap my fingers and make me get up and dance, not put me to sleep. The lyrics are so drawn out and her voice sounds strained. I wish she would do a tribute to Frank Sinatra,the capitol years. I would love to hear her rendition of Witchcraft.

A great step in the right direction for her. She has such a wonderful jazz talent, but has spent so much time covering standards. We all love her for that, but she has needed to start stepping away from the formulaic and just start being herself. I hope she begins to explore just playing the piano, I'd love to hear more of that from her. This is a fine listen and is highly recommended.

There's no doubt, in my opinion "The Girl in Other Room" is one of my best CDs I have. Just buy it!

I also have all of Diana Kralls albums, most on vinyl, this on SACD, and I am shocked by the negativity of some of the reviews. This is my favorite album of hers, by far. I love the original songs, and her cover of Elvis Costellos's marginal song "Almost Blue", raised it to standard level. Come on guys and gals, give me a break on this. Don't be mad she stepped out of her genre a little bit. This is a great jazz infused album I would recommend to anyone with no hesitation.

I ordered this CD and received one that only had an ad for the DK Club, which I gather must be the Diana Krall Club. When you click on the suggested icon you get a web site that is no longer accessible. There was no music on the CD.

I returned this CD and got a replacement that was the same thing. It looks like the distributor has an inventory problem. This is not the fault of Diana Krall and I will probably order again after the faulty stock has been replaced.

Amazon quickly replaced the first CD and then credited my account after I returned the second CD.

Just discovered Diana Krall, but love her voice! Just like going back in time to the golden days of jazz/blues. Her CD, "The Girl in the Other Room," is just terrific. We'll be purchasing all her CDs from now on.

....but this MAY be her best album. Diana Krall is undoubtedly today's best known jazz singer, though not the only great, and gorgeous, one around...we are fortunate. She has made a career of singing jazz standards, the masterworks of our greatest songwriters, to absolute perfection, but.....

....the numbers here are not well known, or standard. Most of them are her own compositions, written as part of her grieving process for her Mom. But, they are as fabulous as anything Diana has ever done...the title cut will really catch your attention. I have all of Diana's albums...she is a living treasure, and has never sung a wrong note. Highly recommended to every lover of great music.

Her voice is a little "thin" in spots. The production quality is not consistent.

That said, this set of songs is just great. She wants you to sit back and hear her songs. I did that and was not disappointed. She will get better with age.

Exceptional performances, material, and production.
Krall/Costello collaborations are my favorites - title cut in particular.
No weak cuts on the album, but alot of talent.

I have been following and enjoying Diana Krall's career since her debut at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Her amazing talent has been stunning and her ability to interpret and re-interpret jazz classics in immensely pleasing to her fans. I always wondered if she was really enjoying her gifts as much as her fans. This album reveals a multidimensional original talent, exploring her talent and finding her creative voice. I loved it the moment I heard a couple of tracks. I hope we hear many more original and collaborative pieces in the future. This seems like an intimate glimpse into the artist and is a gift to us all.

I liked this cd very much. The best tracks are Love Me Like a Man and Temptation. Real toe tapping, jumping music.

Put this CD on for an evening of great jazz. This is smooth jazz to unwind with filled with intimate feeling and sets a melancholy mood. Diana Krall has a great voice and these songs suit her voice well. A good one to have in your collection if you like to kick your feet up and relax with quiet jazz music.

In this album Diana moves past the stilted hero-worship and bland retro-staged recreations of years past, and creates her own sound. If your idea of ideal jazz is that which recreates the same arrangements, with the same songs as 1950, then you won't like it.

As a jazz musician and composer there's nothing more stifling than the idea that the genre stopped 40 years ago. Its funny to hear comments like the songs on this new album are just "pop music", when in the golden years of jazz, it *was* popular music! Jazz artists through the decades have always taken the best current songs and made them their own, even in the bop years.

Sure, there's lots of modern jazz that is "smooth" pap, not worthy of the name, but this is the opposite of that trend. For all of the complaints this album has a traditional acoustic jazz combo orchestration and sound, but with an energy and push that is lacking in her other albums.

Good grief, Elvis Costello, you'd better treat this lady well.

The room fills with rich smoke as Diana Krall sings, but it isn't the guy slouched in the corner with the Habano. It's what happens when Krall does this kind of singin'.

She could wrap this voice around your neck like a phython. 'Good thing she's friendly.

On THE GIRL IN THE OTHER ROOM, Krall sings across the repertoire of low-key, sultry tunes for piano in a jazz bar. She never even touches campy.

This is raw talent, brought to bear on great writing, with untouchable results.

Jazz lovers, beware. You'll never stop with just one Diana Krall album.

Given the high quality of her other works, saying that this is Diana Krall's best album is risky.

But this is her best album.

First, the sheer versatility of the performance is like nothing else she'd done before. It amazes the listener with adaptability, change and more: a sense of the underlying intent of the songs she performs.

For example, the title song shows a side of her that you don't often see. The girl in the other room is insecure, even crazy - and Diana carries this off without scaring you.

You'll love it.

Although I've heard indivudaul songs by Diana Krall, this is the first of her CDs I purchased. I liked her when I first heard her on the radio which is what prompted me to buy the CD; and, I was not disappointed. She is a great jazz vocalist and pianist. I liked her playing as well as her singing. She's very easy to listen to and does not have a monotinous style. Overall, the album is well put together and has a lot of great songs on it.

Diana Krall is one of the maxim exponents of the jazz genre, because as any other singer, has known to blend her expressive, suggestive and warmth voice with filled of vitality, creativity, fabulous arrangements and fascinating sensuality, without mention the first-rate enraptured musical support.

Here we have again, other of her most emblematic recordings showing the best of her craft. Another winner album that it must be part f your invaluable treasure collection of this genre that still keeps engaging a major number of smooth jazz lovers and newcomers.

A must-have!

I've been a fan of Diana Krall since I first heard her excellent renditions of old classics on previous cd releases. Her albums have never disappointed me. Her lyrics, deep and emotional, not spappy--revealing. The first time I heard Krall moved me. This CD is a great addition to her catalog. I also think it has some of the best "sounding" music I have heard on any CD. Her voice is simple and pure with a live quality and piano is set forward like it should be. This is new stuff, not pop, not jazz or blues just the best of the three styles.

Many Diana Krall fans have come to appreciate her renditions of classic jazz standards. They may be disappointed because this CD contains unfamiliar, mostly original material by Diana (with Elvis Costello, her husband, collaborating on some songs). "Stop this world" Mose Allison, "Temptation" Tom Watts, "Black Crow" Joni Mitchell, "Almost Blue" Elvis Costello (1982) and "I'm pulling through" are not by Diana and are also not that familiar. But after initial listening it grows on you and the more you play it the more you come to appreciate it. The lyrics, the combo backing, Diana's piano technique, and her phrasing with that incomparable voice all contribute to what I believe will come to be considered a classic. This is a fabulous collection of songs by one of the top female jazz singers today!

This album got a little more blue in the Jazz.

Wonderful, wonderful music. Hard to say which track would be my favorite, as that changes from time to time (they are all very good). I suppose I find myself returning most often to Diana's cover of "Black Crow".

Highly recommended.

Diana has clearly established herself as a great jazz talent. In this CD, she branches out to showcase her range of style and her versatality as a songwriter, vocalist and musician.
This is one of those rare CDs where every song is a beautiful work of musical artistry. Co-lyrisist Elvis Costello makes for a unique and soulful collection of songs.

My first exposure to Diana Krall was "Live From Paris" which I loved! This CD seems to focus more on Diana singing and not as much on her & the band's tremendous music. She proved to be a capable song writer & lyricist but the album as a whole kind of dragged. I hope she goes back to being more upbeat.

Average 3 stars?! Please, you've got to be joking! I hope that all who read these reviews will not let that stop you from purchasing an awesome, intelligent & deep jazz album!
I have been a fan of Diana Krall for some time & love her versions of some of the best jazz standards ever written. Little did I know how much of a talent she is creatively as a songwriter!
The first time I listened to this CD, I admit, my ears were not prepared for what I heard. (Thankfully I read on amazon that much of the songs she wrote with hubby Elvis Costello. Which by the way increased my interest in the CD!) But reading the lyrics while listening to the music, I found this to be an exceptional CD which I have listened to over & over again...and not during dinner/cocktail parties!
This CD never puts me to sleep, yet when I need to relax it does get me there like her other CDs...but with more of an emotional & inspired impact. I highly recommend this disc! It is pure pleasure to listen to such creativity coming from 2 musical geniuses, Diana & Elvis (what a pair!). Not to mention one of the best covers of Joni Mitchell (Black Crow)! Diana delivers this with such passion that I wish she would do an entire CD of Joni's songs! Amazing!!!
Thank you Diana!

I was surprised that CD didn't get very high reviews. True, it is a different from her previous stuff, so if that is what you are looking for in this CD, you might be disappointed. However, I love all of Diana's previous music, and I thought this CD was her best yet. It's more jazzy than her previous "mainstream" type music. Most of the songs are slower, soulful and smooth, unlike some of her more upbeat songs in the past, but she does it well. Also, she wrote several of the tracks on this CD, including The Girl in the Other Room (title song) and Almost Blue, which are very "jazzy" and great songs. Departure Bay and Narrow Daylight are just beautiful songs, too. I love every single song on this CD, and I've listened to it almost exclusively since I got it. Do yourself a favor and give it try!

This is a complicated album. Very unlike her past recordings. It is almost all new music. composed by Krall and sometimes Elvis Costello, her husband. The lyrics are also complex, and deep. It sounds autobiographical. Some of the musical is lyrical, more not very. Yet this deserves three or four listens--cetainly more than one. It is good, maybe great in spots. She does it well, except for hard-to-understand lyrics some of the time. However, most lyrics are printed in the libretto.

Give this a try if you like Diana Krall. This may be the girl she wants to be.

My Diana Krall collection might end with this one. I am a big fan, but this one was a disappointment. The songs are so slow and draggy. After listening to some of the lyrics though, it sounds like she recently lost her mother so that could explain it. I don't find myself reaching for this one to play again and again. It's always a good idea to listen to something before you buy. If you like to cry with your wine, you might go for this.

Man-o-man, Ms. Krall's voice is sooooooooo smooth. I honestly can't think of a better Jazz vocalist around today than her. This new collection draws very little on the jazz standards of previous collections. Instead, many of the songs are written by the artist and her husband, Elvis Costello (didn't know he had it in him!). They SOUND jazz standard-y, but they're not. And, oh, they're good. I especially like the first tune "Stop This World." She's also great on her jazz interpretation of the blues song "Love Me Like a Man."

The big difference between this collection and previous Diana Krall CD's involves the range of emotions she elicits with these songs. For instance, "Abandoned Masquerade," is distinctly depressing, and "Black Crow," is as bleak as a snow filled, black and white, winter landscape at twilight. In the past Diana Krall has stuck to top notch classic songs with a warm, engaging emotional feel. A change to a broader emotional pallet was bound to trip up some of her long term fans, and hence the many negative reviews from disappointed fans who expected an outing similar to her many excellent previous productions.

For various reasons, some people don't want to hear songs that are depressing, and many people have a particularly hard time with the cold, alienated emotions found in a song like "Black Crow." The other side of the coin, of course, is that many people do experience a wide range of emotions in their lives, and it is exciting, moving and engaging to encounter songs that mirror their feelings.

Diana Krall has the sensibility and the musical talent to deliver these songs. This album evidences the continuing broadening of the emotional range that her voice can convey. I would say that this broadening has been in evidence in each of her releases, but it has become especially clear in the last two studio albums and in her recent live DVD's. It will, however, be disconcerting to some to hear the explicitly ragged, cracked vocal sound that she uses to such powerful effect on some of these songs.

Usually when I see a very mixed set of reviews like the one's found here, I tend to think that the artist has slipped, often quite seriously. In those cases, the good reviews are from the die hards who refuse to abandon a favorite, and the bad reviews are from the folks who are willing to accept reality.

In this case, however, I think Diana Krall has really opened up new and exciting emotional and melodic terrain that she has never risked in the past. There is nothing wrong with having a taste for the wonderful albums she has made over the years. However, if you are willing to explore some rough and challenging emotional terrain, you are likely to agree with me when I say that this is her best, and most satisfying album.

Diana Krall is on magnificent form here, please have no fears.

The critic who thinks this hovers close to "bubblegum pop" is raving. Britney Spears is not going to lose any sales to Diana Krall with this album, or any other. So why would he want to hurt D.K.'s sales to jazz fans by trashing "The Girl In The Other Room?" Some kind of sexual jealousy, perhaps?

It is surprising how narrowminded and possessive critics can be. They will tell you how they love Diana Krall, but will give this wonderful album 2 stars because it isn't what they expected. Like she somehow betrayed their trust by not consulting them before marrying Elvis Costello and -- even worse -- by singing his compositions.

But artists don't belong to anyone except themselves. Ms Krall is a dazzling young talent evolving in all directions. It is a privilege to hear this exciting, thoughtful, intelligent, immensely enjoyable jazz album. As always, she has the capacity to make her studio recordings sound as spontaneous and intimate as her live ones.

Easily gets 5 stars.

I have always like the traditional jazz background that Diana comes from, so it was quite a surprise to hear a cd by her that conjers up of all things, the singer-songwriter movment of the seventies. I am not only speaking of the cover songs here, but the ones she and her husband Elvis Costello write as well. Departure Bay could have come off of For the Roses by Joni Mitchell, which outdoes Mitchell's own Black Crow. For Krall fans and those who like a little less jazz and more introspection, "GIRL" will satisfy.

I really expected to like this CD more. So I kept listening to this expecting it would grow on me. But I've learned that, even though some CDs take several listens to catch on, it's not going to stick more than it has after 10 listens.

This is not about what Ms. Krall has recorded in the past. Nor is it about whether this is Pop or Jazz, I don't really care as long as it's good. I'm very open minded about music and judge any recording on its own merit. Half the songs on this CD are covers and half are original compositions (her first) co-written with husband Elvis Costello. I don't find the covers were that well chosen. "Love Me Like A Man" is thoroughly unconvincing, like a suburban housewife auditioning to be a stripper. And a lot of the original material sounds like it would have been better suited to husband Elvis. "Abandoned Masquerade" is just boring.

This is certainly not a bad CD and "Departure Bay" is outstanding, one of her best on any album. On paper, the combination of Krall/Costello seemed unbeatable but, as we know from sports, dream combinations on paper aren't always borne out in reality.

I can certainly understand why Ms. Krall would want to do this, especially after marrying one of the best pop songwriters of the last 30 years. It's just disappointing it didn't produce better results. There's no shame in doing covers, after all how many songs did Sinatra write? There's a rare skill to selecting excellent material and interpreting that material in a fresh and exciting way. This is a skill that Ms. Krall has clearly demonstrated (on previous releases) she possesses.

It will be interesting to see which direction Diana takes from here. Whatever it is, I hope it produces results as engaging as many of her previous releases.

The Girl in the Other Room is - in one word - FABULOUS. Diana Krall has always been a very talented vocalist and pianist and I have most of her other albums. And I really like them. But her latest record (Girl in the Other Room) is an entirely different thing.

Krall has always, until now, pretty much been a "cover girl". Her songs have previously been covers of various jazz classics. Diana's not a "cover girl" now though. Her relationship with Elvis Costello (now her husband) has led to an unbelievably impressive musical collaboration between these two. With Diana writing the music, and Elvis doing the lyrics, Girl in the Other Room contains some of the very best songs I've heard in many years. Unbelievably intense, emotive, passionate, and downright fun-to-listen to music.

Buy this album NOW...

Brilliant!

What more can you ask from Ms Krall. After all these years of improvising on standards, she came up with this gem of an album. The 12 songs starting from "Stop the World" and ending with "Departure Bay" is so varied in each of its texture and style. This is the first of Diana's album where the word generic is absent from the description of her delivery.

One just need to listen to her rendition of Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow" to get a feeling of where the rest of "The Girl in the Other Room" is leading you to. Her bluesy trademark is well represented on track number 6 "Love Me Like a Man". These 2 selections are fine examples of Diana's diversity in style here.

"The Girl in the Other Room" is delightful and as stated by one of the reviewers this could really be Ms Krall's "Kind of Blue"!

Diana's newest album is a gem. She has matured and so has her music. All of her early fans who are bemoaning her change of direction are the type of fan who booed Bob Dylan when he first appeared on stage with an electric guitar. True art, which is the best art, is not static. Is there anyone who wishes that Picasso had stuck with his early realism phase and not evolved over time? In one of her songs Diana sings of a change of address; perhaps her original fans need to move forward with her. Yes, I agree that Elvis Costello has been a major influence. Men can be muses too, you know.