Avant le début de la tournée américaine d’Homogenic, Björk participe à Stormy Weather ’98, un concert de charité au profit du Walden Woods Project et the Thoreau Institute.
Parmi les invitées prestigieuses, on compte Joni Mitchell (la marraine de l’événement), Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani, Shawn Colvin, Paula Cole, etc. Avec un casting 100% féminin, les organisateurs promettent « an evening of Romance, Glamour and beautiful music ». Le thème de la soirée est de proposer des standards de jazz des années 30, 40 et 50 avec un grand orchestre.
Björk a chanté trois reprises :
– Gloomy Sunday, écrite en 1933 et chantée notamment par Billie Holiday,
– une chanson écrite en 1929, The Love That Went Out of Style accompagnée d’une harpe.
– What Is This Thing Called Love ? de Cole Porter en duo avec Joni Mitchell.
Joni Mitchell à propos du concert
« I sang a duet with Björk so she and I got three. One by one, women in beautiful evening gowns stood up like classic old band singers and sang with this big orchestra and it delighted us all. The experience of singing live with that big band is very powerful and exciting beyond words. »
Mitchell explained that there was very little interaction between stars. « We didn’t really - aside form the duet that i did - there wasn’t that much commingling. People came - they kind of kept us apart in case the fur would fly, i don’t know. I saw Stevie Nicks because she was before me, and Björk and I worked together. I love Björk, And i think we were all a little 14, 1998. »
Joni Mitchell, Mark Bego, 2005
Anecdote
Björk a souvent exprimé son admiration pour Joni Mitchell, plus particulièrement son obsession pour l’album Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter lorsqu’elle était adolescente. On peut alors imaginer le caractère très spécial pour elle de cette soirée.
Presse
"Bjork’s choice of songs was brilliant," says Larry Klein, citing one example. "I don’t want to give both of them away, but she picked this obscure Billie Holiday song called ’Gloomy Sunday’ for one of her numbers, which is this really dark, beautifully crafted song. It just isn’t something I would’ve picked her doing in a million years." source : jonimitchell.com
« The ex-Sugarcube lead singer Bjork squealed her way through Billie Holiday’s "Gloomy Sunday," while prancing around the stage like a schoolgirl in a class musical. She squeezed and released her left hand frantically throughout the number, which she followed with "The Love That Went Out of Style," accompanied only by a harpist. Only actress/singer Sandra Bernhard, visibly pregnant but typically irreverent, set such a bizarre scene, when she infused the lyrics to "Is That All There Is ?" with an exaggerated high pitch vocal and comic anecdotes. The theatrics of Sandra Bernhard and Bjork contrasted with more conventional spots by "Best New Artist" Grammy-winner Paula Cole, country singer Trisha Yearwood and the bluesy rocker Crow. » www.mtv.com
Parution
Le titre Gloomy Sunday est sorti en 1998 sur l’album Stormy Weather.
