Patti Zlaket is a Tucson, Arizona songwriter and pianist with a long résumé outside the usual album cycle. She started playing piano young, wrote songs as a teenager, studied theatre at USC, and recorded early work in Los Angeles before time in Nashville and a return to Southern California. She toured the U.S. and U.K., worked as a commercial jingle singer, and later graduated from law school. Lately she has been back in release mode with remastered catalog reissues through Meridian (ECR Music Group) and new singles tied to a forthcoming record, Dance Again. “Second Chance at Love” is produced by Tariqh Akoni and features session players that include Lee Sklar.
“Second Chance at Love” sets its tone instantly. Keys and pleasant percussion land at the top, with vocal ad-libs already in the air, so the track establishes its feel before the lead vocal arrives. After that, the instrumentation drops into a slower feel to introduce Zlaket’s voice. The vocal stays upfront and warm, with a classic-leaning sound that keeps the lyric in focus.
Then the band expands. Brass and guitar come in and the song speeds up around them. The arrangement is full and active, with a complete band sound that keeps adding parts without pushing the vocal into the background. Small bits of ear candy, including wind sounds that show up from time to time, sit at the edges of the mix.
Organ appears in the background as another layer, adding color behind the bigger moves. The track keeps switching its energy and density while keeping Zlaket’s vocal centered and clear. Even when the brass and guitar push the loudest moments, the vocal stays close and readable.
Zlaket has said the song is written from a dog’s perspective, tied to her experiences with shelters and rescue organizations. That frame gives the title its meaning and explains why the song leans on warmth and momentum instead of a colder, distant delivery.
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