After a decade away, singer Carol Kidd is back

Legendary Scots singer Carol Kidd is back with her first release in over ten years.

The Glasgow-born singer has recorded and self-released Both Sides Now, an album packed full of beautiful music that is close to her heart and depicts where she is in her life at the moment, after enduring a challenging few years.

Packed full of beautiful and renowned songs, such the title track Both Sides Now, Dimming of the Day and If I had Any Pride Left at all, coupled with Carol’s iconic and inimitable vocals, Both Sides Now is an unmissable album by a British legend.

Once referred to by Frank Sinatra as the best kept secret in British Jazz, Carol has faced a challenging 10 years battling both life-threatening illness and financial struggles.

Carol said: ‘This new album marks my hopes for the future, it’s my way of telling everyone what has been going on in my life. I have come through a period of adversity and the last ten years have been tough but Both Sides Now is marking a big positive step forward.

‘I love Scotland, I love singing. Everything I have ever done singing-wise has always brought me happiness, it has never been a hardship and the fact my audiences have always been 150% behind me has really helped me through these troubling times. Now I want to say thank you in the form of this new body of work, I want to share songs that are close to my heart with them.’

The album track listing is: 1, And So it Goes (Billy Joel); 2, The Dimming of the Day (Richard Thompson); 3, If I had any Pride Left at All (John Greenebaum, Troy Seals & Eddi Setser); 4, Something Wonderful (Rogers & Hammerstein); 5, Talking to the Moon (Don Henley); 6, Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell); 7, When I Dream (Sandy Mason).

Carol has enjoyed a lifetime in music that has won her worldwide recognition. She accepted an MBE in 1998 and also enjoyed 13 weeks at the top of the Asian charts with her signature song When I Dream. Her popularity rocketed in East Asia when Korean film Shiri chose her song as the theme track for the movie.

Previously signed to East Kilbride-based Linn Records, Carol got her first record contract with the company in the early 1980s when singer Tony Bennett encouraged her to make an album after hearing her at the famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. Carol has since parted ways with Linn Records and is releasing this new body of work independently.

The collection, Both Sides Now, was recorded last year at the studio of Wet Wet Wet guitarist Graeme Duffin, who produced the album with Carol laying down vocals on the tracks. Musicians involved included Paul Harrison on piano and arrangements, Seonaid Aitken on viola and violin, Christoff Fourie on cello and Graeme Duffin on guitars, bass and drums.

Carol also performed at the very first Glasgow Jazz Festival in 1987 and has that gig to thank for one of her most well-known stage characteristics – going bare foot.

Carol added: ‘I did the first ever Glasgow Jazz Festival back in the late 80s and I was scared stiff as it was the first time I had ever performed with an orchestra. I looked down at my feet halfway through the second number and I realised that I had been so nervous my shoes were on the wrong feet, so I took them off and I’ve never worn any onstage since!’