Steve Terrell • The Santa Fe New Mexican • December 23, 2005

TERRELL’S TUNE UP

Live by Bernadette Seacrest and Her Yes Men. Good news and bad news here. The good news is there’s a new Bernadette Seacrest album, and it sounds smoky, seductive, and slinky. The bad news is that about the time the Cd arrived, the Yes Men had broken up, according to the singer. But, as I say, the Cd is really good. It was recorded live last summer at Santa Fe’s Swig. Seacrest is backed by a bass, sax, and drums, and she shows her stuff as a torch singer with a punk-rock past. There are some familiar tunes here (“Fever,” “Summertime”), but the real treats are the originals penned by bassist Michael Grimes and Seacrest crony Pat Bova. The best one here is a Grimes song called “Money,” which sounds like it’s from a crime movie. Even though she’s no longer surrounded by a bunch of Yes Men, I’ll bet Seacrest re-emerges soon with something mysterious and wonderful.