Glamour Puss: Wire & Wood

Fourteen originals and one John Lee Hooker cover allow Glamour Puss to interpret modern electric blues with ease. Their title track explains through traditional roots anchors that the blues guitar, just a simple instrument made out of wire and wood, has been known to provide the kind of companionship that we need when things aren’t going right. That guitar never forgets birthdays and always has time to spare when it comes to keeping us company. Everybody needs such a friend.

This lively blues band hails from New Brunswick, Canada, whose Acadian Peninsula played a major role in the development of Southern Louisiana folk music. Cajun cooking bears a strong resemblance to the forceful presence that Glamour Puss brings to the stage. Roger Cormier’s “Dangereuse” is sung in French with the kind of exotic mystique that comes naturally with the blues. Dramatic pieces are interwoven on the program with happier, fun-loving tunes whose English lyrics generate festive thoughts. Their music amplifies the band’s message throughout the program.

The horn section on “I Don’t Know How to Win Your Love” promises to keep the session happy for all time. The session’s lone instrumental number, “Blues for Sheila,” provides traditional roots from way back. The album’s high point comes through Cormier’s “Maman Don’t Play No Zydeco,” where French and English lyrics give the listener an old friend in the New Orleans tradition. It’s repeated at the very end, in French. Throughout their highly recommended program, Glamour Puss provides a genuine look at what makes the blues so much fun.