@@EricMiglinJazzI admit that saying "in way over her head" might be hyperbole. I understand what you're saying about saudade and the exquisite Stacy/Jim Brazil bossa vibe... I just think that when doing this monumental 3 act Greek tragedy of a song, one must bring to it something as heart stopping as was brought by the legendary interpretation by Ms Nina Simone. She tore it up and reinvented it. Her cover in French burned with broken embered passion. This song needs the singer to bring something new to the stage or to the recoding session. Stacy's very lovely arrangement and vocal timbre sound to me like shades of Doris Day, another singer that i have ears for, but not one I would ever imagine singing "Ne Me Quitte Pas". In fact Day had far more drama in her voice than has Kent. Stacy and Jim are brill with their sound of saudade. Nobody does it better. But "If You Go Away" isn't in my opinion a song that requires something as esoteric as saudade. Brels song is a broken plea, a supplication, a a wept prayer... to not be left alone. There's drama there. It's all semantics, a concoction and spouting of personal tastes. I'm French. I love cuisine. When eating certain hardy foods, let's say a piece of Charolais beef, I love to accompany it with a deep red, rich Gigondas de Bourgogne because it marrys sublimely with the cut of meat. In Stacy's take on Brel, I wasn't quite able to connect with that particular culinary euphemism. And still in my book Stacy Kent and Jim Tomlinson can do no wrong.