Jane Germain – Chinese Whispers

REVIEW by Ian Dearden .
The title of this CD, Chinese Whispers, alludes to Jane Germain’s heritage (her great grandmother was a Manchurian, married to an English missionary), her recent residence in Beijing, and the Chinese musicians playing on various of the tracks on this album.

The title track is dedicated to her great grandmother and speaks poignantly of her choices and conflicts. “Model Young man” is a response to a documentary on a young Manchurian man trying to protect his heritage, and features singing and playing from Hanggai, a Mongolian folk band Jane met and played with in Beijing.

The balance of this delightful nine track album (all originals) features Jane’s songs performed by a range of Western Australia’s fi nest musicians, including two ex-Cowpersons (Ian Simpson and John Reed), a Waif (Ben Franz) and delicious electric guitar playing from Dave Brewer. Heartfelt songs,beautifully sung and played, with Jazz style somewhere between folk, Jazz and country, and a chinese element thrown into the mix for good measure.

This is a fabulous listen !