look: Deanna Bogart - Real Time - Blind Pig, BPCD 5107 - BUY

listen:

Are You Lonely For Me Baby

Baby You Got What It Takes

Tender Days

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On her return to the Blind Pig label where she started her recording career sixteen years ago Deanna Bogart reveals her development into a four way threat: She's not only adept on vocals, saxophone and keyboards, but has become a fine writer as well. Eight of the 10 cuts featured on the disc were penned by Bogart and each reveals an artist with a fair amount to say about the twists and turns of life. On "Real Time" she ruminates about what it would have been like to experience first hand, rather than through the filter of history, the events that define our culture, such as Woodstock, and then expresses her gratitude at actually living through such monumental events as the fall of the Berlin wall.

On "Wonder what the weather is today" she turns to the more typical blues fodder about bad relationships as she takes on a lover who is as unpredictable as the weather. While she gets pegged as a blues artist she isn't afraid to step outside that box as revealed by the funky R & B take on "Are You Lonely for me Baby," where she and vocalist Eric Scott do their best Etta James salute. She's also no stranger to straight up jazz which is showcased on a number of tracks including the piano driven instrumental "Table for Three."

True to her status as a gifted multi-instrumentalist, Bogart features plenty of keyboards and saxophone on virtually every track. Tenor sax aficionados will find the jazzy instrumental piece "Blues in the ‘bine" particularly engaging with its sax fueled late night vibe and roaring solo. Likewise, "Baby, you got what it takes," benefits from well placed sax accents and from a funky solo on the bridge. Keyboards rule the day on the Billy Joel like piano anthem, "Everybody Has a Story" and on the driving boogie of "Bite the Bullet."

As good as she is on keyboards and saxophone you can't ignore Bogart's vocals which she delivers with a previously unheard deep soulfulness reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt. While she has always been adequate on vocals, the spare, unhurried musical back drop provided by Scott Ambush on bass and vocals, Mike Aubin on drums and percussion and Don Leonard on guitar gives her a chance to reveal a vocal richness that adds to the strength of this effort. While there is nothing ground breaking here this is a solid effort.

(©) 2006, Mark Smith
BluesSource.com