“Sometimes I think I’m going insane,” Nora Jean Wallace sings in the lead track on her new album, Blues Woman. That is a line and a feeling I believe we’re all in touch with these days. We are all on edge, and have been for nearly four years now. It is exhausting. But Nora Jean Wallace (previously known as Nora Jean Bruso) has some medicine to offer us all, some delicious blues music, delivered with power, soul and love. It is just the thing to help us as we approach the election. Her new album, Blues Woman, features mostly original material, some of it written by Nora Jean Wallace, and some of it written by Stanley Banks, who plays keyboards on this release. In addition to Banks, Nora Jean Wallace is backed by Johnny Moeller on guitar, David Earl on guitar, Steve Gomes on bass, Kevin Anker on organ, Steve Guyger on harmonica, and Robb Stupka on drums, with Kim Wilson joining them on one track.
From the moment the opening track starts, I am on board. “Martell” begins with a rhythm on guitar, and Nora Jean Wallace says: “This man is getting on my last nerve/I’ve got to get out of here/Go get me a drink somewhere.” She may be talking about a man she’s dating, but it’s hard to keep from thinking of that mendacious racist occupying the White House, the man who has made a home for himself in our heads until we are all in need of excessive amounts of alcohol. The song kicks in, and becomes a fun number. I like the backing vocalists echoing the line “I’m going to drink some Martell,” and then that harmonica is just bloody great. The song is like a blues party with the perfect host in Nora Jean Wallace. I’ve never had Martell, or any cognac for that matter, but it seems like it might be the time to change that. That’s followed by “I Can’t Stop,” the album’s first cover, written by Syl Johnson and Nathan Peter Kligerman, and included on Syl Johnson’s Back In The Game album. At the beginning of this version, Nora Jean Wallace lets out a near-howl, and it’s like this great release. You can feel it as well as hear it, and that’s just the start. This song develops a good groove, but it is Nora Jean’s vocal performance that drives it.
“I’m A Blues Woman” is the album’s title track, basically, written by Stanley Banks. Nora Jean’s vocal performance here is a great force, backed by that harmonica, which has a steady presence on this track. This one also features some really nice touches on both keys and guitar. “I’m a blues woman/A natural-born blues woman,” Nora Jean tells us here, and we can hear the truth of that statement in every note she sings. That’s followed by the album’s second and final cover, “Evidence,” written by George Henry Jackson and Raymond Moore, and recorded by Candi Staton (it was included on her 1970 LP I’m Just A Prisoner). This version features some cool work on organ. Then “Victim” is a slower gem, delivered with passion, and featuring some good work on guitar. “I’m a victim, baby/I’m a victim of your love.” Ah, it might be difficult to conceive a woman with a voice that powerful being any kind of victim, but Nora Jean Wallace totally sells it. She also wrote this one.
During this pandemic, a lot of homes have become a whole lot cleaner, or so I am told. People have had lots of time to take care of repairs and other things around the home, one of the positive things to come out of this ridiculous situation. I was thinking about that while listening to “Rag And Bucket,” written by Stanley Banks. In this song, Nora Jean Wallace sings about doing a thorough cleaning after getting rid of a man, essentially scrubbing him out of her home. “Got a brand new king-size mattress for my bed/Thrown away the pillow where you used to lay your head.” On this track, she is joined by Kim Wilson (of The Fabulous Thunderbirds) on harmonica. As you’d expect, he delivers some wonderful work. This is one of the album’s coolest tracks. It is followed by “Look Over Under,” which is a totally fun track. I mean, seriously, how can a song that begins “Oh, look over yonder, there goes my no-good man” be anything less than a joy to listen to? This is one that Nora Jean Wallace wrote, and she gives a tremendous vocal performance here. “Well, I love that man/I just can’t help myself/I know he ain’t no good/Slipping back in the neighborhood.”
“I’ve Been Watching You” begins with Nora Jean directly addressing her man, and, man, is he in trouble. “Hey, where you been?” she demands. I love the humor in the lines, “Nope, don’t give me that/You wasn’t over to your sister’s house, ‘cause your sister ain’t even got no house.” She then begins to sing, “I’ve been watching you/I’ve been watching you, baby/I’ve been watching you/Know everything you do.” Oh yes, it is a bit chilling, the way she tells him in no uncertain terms that she has been watching him and knows everything. This guy doesn’t stand a chance. Nora Jean Wallace wrote “I’ve Been Watching You,” and also the track that follows it, “Dance With Me.” Things are certainly looking up now, with this cheerful dance number. “Don’t you want to dance with me?” she asks. You bet! The album then concludes with “I Don’t Have To Beg You To Love Me,” a delicious blues song written by Stanley Banks. “I don’t have to beg you to love me/I know someone who will.”
CD Track List
- Martell
- I Can’t Stop
- I’m A Blues Woman
- Evidence
- Victim
- Rag And Bucket
- Look Over Yonder
- I’ve Been Watching You
- Dance With Me
- I Don’t Have To Beg You To Love
Me
Blues Woman is scheduled to be released on October 30, 2020 on Severn Records.
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