A review... Simply Soulful “Simple” is what occurs when two jazz heavyweights decide to do something else. The layers that you expect to peel back aren’t there. There’s not a single ironic surprise (okay, there’s one) or musical trick. Crescendos are restrained, swells are muted, movement is restricted to what is necessary. And that is just the beginning of the beauty of this album. Husband and wife duo Mark and Christi Bovee surely have chased many dreams in music with giftings that should see them singing for kings. In Christi’s stunning voice, such dreams are boiled down through real life’s filter, leaving the listener wet eyed and lumpy throated. You will hear what is really there and nothing else – love songs so genuine that there is no escape. Mark Bovee’s command of the ivory – clearly the life partner of Christi’s voice – invites you to feel these songs in a deeper way. He is Cohen’s minor fall and major lift. Irrepressible, mournful, joyful, spectacular. The backing band locks its step with the Bovees’ vision of simplicity. Showboats are mercifully absent. For your first listen to “Simple,” give yourself the gift of an hour in a still, dark room. I am not about to overstate what I love about “Simple,” so I will leave you with this lyric from Cover Me. “After floating soft under moonless nights without a plan, I woke up to what’s really wrong. I’ve known forever something’s missing … you.” Simple. Darren Thornberry, Stubborn Sounds Music Group