Vanessa Collier: “Live At Power Station” (2022) CD Review

Vanessa Collier is one hell of a good saxophone player, as well as a powerful vocalist. Her new album, Live At The Power Station, gives listeners the best taste yet of that power, that talent. This is her first live album, and it features mostly her own material, along with a few covers. All songs performed on this album were included on her studio releases, but, as she mentions in the liner notes, have grown somewhat since those earlier recordings. This album captures her performance from April 22, 2022 at Studio A of Power Station in New York City. It’s a live performance, but in a rather controlled environment, among family, friends and fans who were invited for the occasion. Of course, that means the sound is superb, if the atmosphere isn’t perhaps as wild as it might have been at a club. Joining Vanessa Collier on this release are Byron Cage on drums and backing vocals, Andrew Crane on bass, Laura Chavez on electric guitar, and William Gorman on keys and backing vocals.

As the album begins, there is a short introduction, then the band bursts into an energetic blues rock song, “The Run Around,” an original composition from her Heart Soul & Saxophone studio album, released in 2014. She tears into the song vocally, then delivers an excellent lead on saxophone while the band keeps rocking beneath her. After that sax lead, the song mellows a bit, relaxes for a more intimate section, giving folks a moment to breathe, and of course working to give Vanessa Collier another chance to explode into action. And we are treated to some exciting work on guitar before the song’s conclusion. That’s followed by “Whiskey And Women,” another original number, this one coming from her 2017 album, Meeting My Shadow. I love that power and attitude in her voice. “Well, you say you’re evil when you’re with me/Ah, but you’re jealous when we’re apart/I’m always foot stompin’ mad when I’m with you/‘Cause you’re always makin’ things so gosh darn hard/I wanna live a life without complaining.” Then the guitar shines in that lead section over that steady beat. It’s great that the guitarist is given an extended time to play, and afterward, Vanessa calls out her name, the crowd responding. Vanessa delivers another strong lead on saxophone. It’s wild that she has so much energy to rock that saxophone after delivering the goods on vocals. This woman is a great force. And the band jams. It must have been fun to attend this show.

The first of three covers on this album is “I Can’t Stand The Rain,” written by Ann Peebles, Don Bryant and Bernard Miller. This is a song that Vanessa Collier included on Heart Soul & Saxophone. In addition to a passionate vocal performance, this track has a solid groove. I especially dig that bass line. Plus, there is some cool work on keys. The band is seriously grooving, and I have to imagine the audience was dancing and giving themselves over to the beat. The band keeps it going, and the track is more than eight minutes. And, yes, this track also features some energetic work on saxophone. Vanessa Collier then switches back to her own material with “Sweatin’ Like A Pig, Singin’ Like An Angel,” a seriously fun number with a delicious southern vibe, a Louisiana thing happening which makes this particular track feel like a party itself, the saxophone leading the festivities. This song was the lead track on her 2018 album Honey Up. That’s followed by the album’s second cover, Chris Smither’s “Love You Like A Man,” here titled “Love Me Like A Man.” This song was the closing track on Honey Up. This song has that classic blues sound, and includes some very cool moments, like when they break it down, and the guitar plays over that beat. This track features some fantastic, expressive work on guitar. And in this live setting, the musicians have more freedom, more space to stretch out and dig in. That lead on sax is glorious. What a joy it is to hear her seriously jam on this one. This track is fourteen minutes.

Vanessa Collier then brings things down to a more intimate level for the beginning of “When It Don’t Come Easy,” an original number that was included on Meeting My Shadow. The band soon comes in, but the focus remains on her vocals, at least through most of the track. The band does get a chance to jam a bit toward the end. “There’s a hooked nose man hiding in the craters of the moon/He’s been aiming his spotlight at all my faults/I try to slip in between the slats of the light/But I’m having no luck at all.” That’s followed by “Icarus.” This one opens with some sweet, soothing work on saxophone, and has a soulful vibe. It features a beautiful vocal performance. We then get the final of the album’s covers, U2’s “When Love Comes To Town,” written by Bono. I don’t think of U2 as a blues band, but this song is really good. We first heard it on the band’s Rattle And Hum album, where it featured B.B. King. Vanessa Collier included it on Meeting My Shadow. And on this disc, she and company jam on it, the sax and keys engaging in a little back-and-forth fun.

At the beginning of “Tongue Tied,” Vanessa Collier tells the audience she’s a huge James Brown fan, and you can hear that influence in the song’s rhythm. She gets the crowd into it before going into the song’s lyrics. This song comes from Heart Soul & Saxophone. This track becomes a seriously fun jam with a cheerful energy, William Gorman rocking the keys. I especially love that section with drums and sax. Byron Cage delivers some very cool work on drums. “I ain’t used to doing the chasing/Usually I sweet talk 'em and split/But I’m at a loss for words for ya, baby.” The album concludes with “Two Parts Sugar, One Part Lime,” this one cooking and rocking from the start. Yeah, it’s another fun one, one to get you up off your seats. The energy never really flags.

CD Track List

1. The Run Around
2. Whiskey And Women
3. I Can’t Stand The Rain
4. Sweatin’ Like A Pig, Singin’ Like An Angel
5. Love Me Like A man
6. When It Don’t Come Easy
7. Icarus
8. When Love Comes To Town
9. Tongue Tied
10. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Lime

Live At Power Station was released on September 30, 3022.