First off, thanks all for your comments.
I saw my friend Mike (from Verve Records) yesterday and passed on the gist of the (useful) commentary, which seemed to be - "keep it simple, lose the strings". I didn't offer up the "She's a hack" side of the commentary, simply becaause - right or wrong - it's not really useful to him.
If anyone has further comments on the sexier look or retro musical feel of the new release, please post, I'm sure that he'd be all ears.
Again, thanks to all who have taken the time to post.
Marty