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Ally Venable: Heart Of Fire
by Doug Collette
The virtues so readily apparent on guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Ally Venable's last album, Puppet Show (Connor Ray Music, 2018), remain fully in evidence on her Ruf Records debut. It is telling, however, that for Heart Of Fire, the sultry poses she struck on the cover of the previous LP give way to those focusing on the way the blueswoman wields her instrument. Strutting her stuff with the guitar on the grinding opener/itle song, the stripped-down trio including Elijah Owings on ...
read moreGhalia Volt: One Woman Band
by Doug Collette
As pictured on the cover of One Woman Band, songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ghalia Volt radiates such a commanding presence that it's hard not to imagine the array of musical instruments displayed alongside her coming to life all on their own. In a very real sense, though, that's exactly what the Brussels Belgium-born blues-woman accomplishes on this third album of hers performing virtually all by herself. Co-producing the record with Lawrence 'Boo' Mitchell within the hallowed confines of Royal Studios in ...
read moreAlbert Castiglia: Up All Night
by Doug Collette
Make no mistake, the ambiguity in the title of bluesman guitarist/composer Albert Castilglia's seventh album, Up All Night, is a positive attribute. Because as much as he trades in the tried and true of the blues, as on the rough-and-tumble, “Hoodoo On Me," he manages to imprint a personal stamp on what he does.On the opener of this album, for instance, his gruff voice and gristly guitar bring the sentiment so close to home, it all becomes personal. ...
read moreSavoy Brown: Witchy Feelin'
by Doug Collette
Even though the impact of the music isn't any less potent, the artist designation for Witchy Feelin' is notably different than that of the prior album by Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown. In an act of combined humility and self-confidence on the part of the leader, the billing goes wholly to the band and that spirit of generosity bespeaks their unity and devotion to each other as an ensemble, not to mention a loyalty to the blues genre that dates ...
read moreVanessa Collier: Meeting My Shadow
by James Nadal
During the golden age of rhythm and blues, the saxophonist, who often doubled on vocals, was the leader of the band, and the star of the show. Fast forward, and we find Vanessa Collier who is all of the above, and also a genuine quadruple threat. With an honored degree from Berklee, and having spent several years honing her sax skills with bluesman Joe Louis Walker, her sophomore release Meeting My Shadow shows her terrific ability on blues toned alto ...
read moreTasha Taylor: Honey For The Biscuit
by James Nadal
Born into music royalty, does not, in any manner, guarantee success. Quite the contrary, it makes one work harder, to not only maintain the legacy, but break out from the looming shadow. With Honey For The Biscuit, vocalist Tasha Taylor, the daughter of Stax soul legend Johnnie Taylor, passed the heirloom boundary and crossed over into her own territory. Taylor went into the studio with thirteen well balanced compositions, and produced a reputable exposition of contemporary rhythm and blues, with ...
read moreKim Simmonds and Savoy Brown: The Devil to Pay
by Doug Collette
John Mayall may remain the so-called 'Godfather of British Blues," but if that's so, then Kim Simmonds is certainly his consigliere. After all, Simmonds did mentor three members of Foghat, among other stalwarts of the the British blues boom of the late Sixties. And like Mayall, Simmonds has followed a similar path of regular touring and recording, more often than not retaining the moniker of the band he started, Savoy Brown, as on this self-produced , independent work in a ...
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