Crystal Shawanda Church House Blues

Crystal Shawanda
Church House Blues
True North Records

Crystal Shawanda is an indigenous musician who grew up on the Wikwemikong reserve on an island in Ontario, Canada. She grew up in a home filled with the blues, her brother's favorite music, while her parents encouraged her to play country songs. She moved to Nashville where she had some commercial success as a country act and had a top 20 hit on the country charts. However, her heart was in the blues. "The whole time I was singing Patsy Cline on stage, I was singing Etta James at home." After she left the major label, she formed her own record label to focus on the blues.

This is her fourth blues-oriented album. Among those backing her include Dave Roe on bass (Johnny Cash, Yola, Ceelo Green), the McCrary Sisters on backing vocals, Dana Robbins (Delbert McClinton's band) on sax, and Peter Keys (Lynyrd Skynyrd) on keyboards. This is not a traditional blues album in the sense that there are plenty of soul and rock flourishes in the music. This is heard when she belts out her vocals in the manner of blues-influenced rock of a Bonnie Bramlett and Tracy Nelson.

As she sings on the title track that opens this album, she went to the church house to get her Sunday morning right where she found them dancing like the roadhouse he played the last night. She immediately strikes one with the power of her gritty, rasping singing as she draws parallels between the church and the roadhouse. Her husband, Dewayne Strobel, plays a searing solo while Robbins adds raunchy sax fills. The band is stellar, and their backing complements her intense, brooding vocal on "Evil Memory," with more hot guitar. The power of this performance sticks with the listener after it is over.

Another choice tune is "When It Comes To Love." Here, she sings with tenderness about needing to hold on for love and doing what one has to do. "Hey Love" sounds like an updated song from the 1950s with nifty playing accompanying her. Then there is "Blame It On the Sugar" as she employs various sweet confections to display her attraction to a lover with its get down on the dance floor groove. Then there is a bluesy power ballad, "Bigger Than the Blues," about one working hard to find a smile. Performances like this one remind me of Allannah Myles of "Black Velvet" fame. The album closes with an intense, riveting cover of the Tragically Hips' song about Hurricane Katrina, "New Orleans Is Sinking."

It does not matter whether this is blues, blues-rock, or hard rock recording. Crystal Shawanda is a commanding singer who can go from a whisper to a shout and back. The excellent studio band helps raise or lower the musical temperature as appropriate. The result is this stunning recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. here is "Church Street Blues" from this recording.

 

Delbert McClinton Tall Dark & Handsome

Delbert McClinton and Self-Made Men + Dana
Tall Dark & Handsome
Hot Shot Records

"Tall Dark & Handsome" is the 26th album from Delbert McClinton and is another collection of his roadhouse roots stew mixing blues, jazz, Americana, honky-tonk country, rhythm and blues, and more. Delbert, his long-time keyboard player Kevin McKendree and his guitarist Bob Britt co-produced this recording. It was recorded at the Rock House in Franklin, Tennessee that is owned and operated by Kevin McKendree. Kevin, Britt, and Kevin's son, Yates, were the engineers. Kevin and Britt did the mixing.

Delbert was involved in the writing of all 14 selections, many with Britt, McKendree or bassist Michael Joyce of Delbert's band. Delbert's current band of Dana Robbins (saxophone), Jack Bruno (drums), Mike Joyce (bass), Bob Britt (guitar), James Pennebaker (guitar), Quentin Ware (trumpet), Dennis Wage (keyboards) plays on this. However, on most of this McKendree and Britt are joined by Joe Maher on drums and Glenn Worf on bass with Jim Hoke on reeds and leading a horn section.

Now 78 one should not be surprised that Delbert is not quite as robust a singer as he was some years ago. If he doesn't project as powerfully and reach certain notes, he more than compensates by his timing, phrasing, and sometimes employing a  more conversational style. There is little that detracts from the pleasures to heard here. There are strong originals like the opening jump blues "Mr. Smith" where McClinton shouts about a hot band in a performance that the late Big Joe Turner might applaud. Then there is the honky-tonk flavored "If I Hock My Guitar" with Britt's stinging guitar. Stuart Duncan's fiddle adds a western swing accent to the bouncy "No Chicken on the Bone," while there is a Tex-Max accent on "Gone to Mexico." Hoke adds norteno flavored accordion along with with his sax, and Dana Robbins' sax.

Both "Lulu," and "Ruby & Jules," exhibit a sophisticated flavor with jazz-accented backing. In contrast, "Loud Mouth"  a rocking blues shuffle on which Britt's guitar channels B.B. King. "Any Other Way" is a late-night sounding saloon blues with a thoughtful, vocal. It is followed by "A Fool Like Me" a rocker with a New Orleans second-line groove. One lyric that stands up is "Can't Get Up," where he remembers his younger days but now realizes he can't get up to get down as he did before. McKendree, who is outstanding on the B-3 here, is superb throughout, as are the rest of the backing musicians here. With excellent original material, excellent production and McClinton's heartfelt vocals, "Tall Dark & Handsome" will have the roadhouse jukeboxes rocking tonight.

Received from my review copy from a publicist. Here Delbert performs "No Chicken on the Bone."

Debbie Davies Takes A Love Spin

 

Debbie Davies has a new release of interest, "Love Spin" (Vizz-Tone). In addition to her usual band mates including her longtime drummer Don Castagno, the album has appearances from Terry Hanck (sax, vocals), Dana Robbins (sax), Dave Keyes (piano) and Jay Stollman (vocals).

No criticisms can be raised about Davies fluid, biting fretwork. She learned a lot playing with the late Albert Collins, and like her former boss, makes use of space, as well as tone, in her fleet improvisations. Her vocals are heartfelt, sung without artifice and ring with conviction. The rhythm section is also on point and provide strong support on tunes like the opening "Life of the Party," a straight-forward boogaloo number with interesting, ironic lyrics. "Let the Heartaches Begin," a duet with Terry Hanck is a superb swamp-pop styled tune with wonderful vocals. There is also Davies fine, precise guitar followed by Hanck's slightly raspy sax.

Vocalist Jay Stollman joins Debbie on the funky R&B flavored "Don't Change It Up" on which Scott Spray guests on bass. There is nice organ coloring Debbie's focused guitar pyrotechnics. "As long as it sets your soul free" she sings against a loping rhythm on "It's All Blues." Davies gets playful on the rocker, "I'm Not Cheatin' Yet," with has a booting Hanck solo. Davies shows her humorous side telling of her man's illusions about being sexy and dreaming of trading Debbie in for "Two Twenty-Five-Year-Olds." She ingeniously incorporates an Eddie Taylor riff into her tune. A jazzy sophistication is exhibited on "A Darker Side Of Me," adding to the variety heard here.

A slide guitar showcase, "Way Back Home," that uses the "Rollin' and Tumblin'" groove to close out this album. There is a nice mix of material on this that Debbie Davies delivers with more than a little panache resulting in another most entertaining recording from her.

I received my review copy from Vizz-Tone. This review appeared originally in Jazz & Blues Report, but I have made significant changes (Most stylistic) from that review. Here is Debbie in performance.