There still seems to be a lot of prejudice towards women in some areas of the rock business, but in the blues, female artists seem to thrive. I have been following Joanne’s career for quite a while and it’s nice to see her getting some success. Her new album is being produced by Joe Bonamassa so I look forward to that one.
This album was released in 2016 and was produced by long time Bonamassa producer, Kevin Shirley, and he has given the album a real gutsy edge that I really like. Dyin’ To Know opens up the record and it’s a really cool shuffle vibe with a great hook. Ready To Roll dips its toe into funk/gospel territory with great melodies and some killer leads from Joanne. I guess recording the album in Nashville rubbed off a bit as Get You Back has a great country rock vibe with a nice gritty vocal – you can’t go wrong with that chord progression. No Reason To Stay is next up and it has an old school RnB vibe to proceedings which I really like. Side 1 closes out with Wild Is The Wind and is quite a laid back tune with emphasis on the beautiful tones of Joanne’s voice, along with some killer playing.
Side 2 opens up with the up-tempo RnB grooves of Wanna Be My Lover – superb track. I’m In Chains has a Deep Purple vibe mainly due to the chopped off Smoke riff. My Hearts Got A Mind If It’s Own is a really old school swing blues number, complete with ALL the horns that reminds me of something Aretha would have done. Nothin’ To Lose is the penultimate track, and the country blues vibe is strong here with a killer chorus and melody. The album closes with an awesome cover of Gershwin’s Summertime and this all about the voice and the guitar. So there you have it, a great little record so go grab yourself a copy.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
