look: Barbara Blue - Love, Money Can't Buy - Big Blue Records, 2006 - BUY

listen:

Broken Hearts Row

The Love Money Can't Buy

Man Sized Job

buy:

Barbara Blue has had the good fortune to record this CD with Taj Mahal's Phantom Blues Band and she makes the best of it. From the opening track, Broken Hearts Row, Blue's vocals are a driving force back by a hurricane of a band. I've found that when Blue belts her vocals out that they are nothing short of great, but when she tries to slow things down as on Wild Stage of Life and Bag O' Bones, Blue's vocals are slightly pitchy. But then she can turn around and as on the Pearl Woods penned I Play Dirty, blow the doors off without breaking a sweat. I like it when Barbara raises the bar and volume and lets her vocals stretch. I'm not saying her slower ballads are bad, just weaker than the high energy tunes. Over all this is a fun, quality effort with high recording quality and a backing band that is tops.

(©) 2006, Tim Richards
BluesSource.com