Touring behind her album of the same name, Stockport to Memphis tracks Barb Jungr’s metaphorical musical journey through the musical styles she finds compelling and inspiring. Often heralded for her ability to refashion folk classics, Stockport to Memphis is a show which takes full advantage of Jungr’s penchant for interpreting. Heavy weights such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Sam Cooke, and The Zombies are covered alongside original songs which, it is revealed, are largely autobiographical. A singer in the mold of a true chansonniere, her songs are highly lyric driven. The songs she covers share this reliance on lyricism to bear the brunt of their meaning. A little time is given between songs for some exposition, but most of the work can be done through the songs themselves.
Jungr’s best performances were, as her reputation would suggest, in her interpretation of other artists’ songs. The most interesting and entertaining song in the set is a cover of Tom Waits’s ‘Way Down in the Hole’, which powerfully displays Jungr’s vocal versatility, prowess, and ability to entertain. Her cover of Dylan’s ‘Lay Lady Lay’ is beautiful, as is her short story of how it was redeemed in her eyes to become one of her favourites.
However, this does not take away from Jungr’s ability as a songwriter herself. Her original songs are also quite lovely, such as standout track ‘Sunset to Break Your Heart’. The autobiographical nature of her own pieces, along with the emotional performance of each of them, make them intensely affecting to see love.
Whether she is performing someone else’s material or her own, Jungr is very entertaining to watch. Much of this comes from her comfort on stage and with an audience; it is obvious she wants to share herself with you through her singing. However,to describe her voice as simply pretty would be to do it a disservice. Truly, the word to used to describe Jungr’s performance must be powerful, because the sheer variety of tone and proficiency with which each piece is delivered is very impressive.
Jungr seems uniquely adept at understanding the work of others and passing it onto us with clarity perhaps unseen before. It allows her to effectively represent herself just as well in her original pieces, but more than that, it creates some of the most emotional covers of established songs that the audience are likely to ever hear.
