When The Rain Falls Up
CD Review
The Melbourne Age
December 5 2002

The reputation built by Melissa Langton and her pianist husband, Mark Jones, on the Melbourne cabaret scene is fully realised on her debut solo CD, a testament to her development into a mature, versatile A1 talent.

Langton applies her exciting voice to a smorgasbord of songs that range from heartfelt, poignant statements, such as Rupert Holmes' Letters That Cross in The Mail and Tom Waits' Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis, to a sweetly punchy treatment of Lieber and Stoller's Love Potion No. 9, an arresting Jacques Brel-ish makeover of Abba's I'm A Marionette and a joyful take on Tony Hatch's Call Me that, in Melissa's words, "sounds like a jingle for a Mexican take-away restaurant".

She also teams with Kane Alexander for one of those jokey duets, My New Celebrity is You, by Johnny Mercer and Blossom Dearie with lyric update by Mark Jones and Shane Hewitt. Perhaps the highlight is Angie Baby, from the Helen Reddy repertoire, in a slightly spooky arrangement that showcases Langton's powerful belter voice.

Jim Murphy