Markey Blue - Ric Latina
Project
Jumpin' The Broom
soul O sound Records |
I'll start this review by saying that I absolutely love
this album, Jumpin' The Broom (soul O sound Records) from
Nashville-based Markey Blue - Ric Latina Project. The
more I listen to it, the better it gets! I've been familiar with
the name Markey Blue (real name Jeannette Markey) for quite some
time and even heard her sing a few songs one evening as part of
a larger ensemble that came through Phoenix, but this is the
first album that's come my way. I've since downloaded another
previous release to begin filling in the
gaps in my Markey Blue / Ric Latina discography.
However, I was not familiar with Latina until I
started spinning this disc, and that's a shame because the man
is an absolute stud on guitar. His hot guitar licks perfectly
complement Markey's strong and sometimes sassy vocals. The pair
also collaborated on the songwriting, with all 10 cuts being Markey -
Latina originals. What a great team!
Latina starts the opening cut, "Bad For Real,"
with snaky blues guitar, later putting on a slide for a
solo. It's a mid-tempo shuffle that serves as a nice
introduction to the band. "Hanging On" gives Latina a chance to
get a little funky, while Markey shows off her incredible range
on vocals as she very firmly tells her man that she doesn't want
him around anymore, although she does admit, "...maybe I'm
wrong, maybe you're right, I was too far gone to start another
fight..." Just for extra effect, she holds some of the notes for
a very long time.
"When It's Blue" is a soulful blues with strong
horn accompaniment, highlighted by the line, "...Grass ain't
always greener when it's blue ..." Latina again tears it up on
slide guitar throughout "Little Betty," a song about a woman
selling whatever you may want. On "Be With Me," an up-tempo funky
tune with horns, Markey makes it very clear what it's going to
take for a man to be with her. Latina will put you in a trance
with his guitar solo on the slow, swampy blues, "Lowdown Voodoo
Woman."
Up next are the two of the best songs on the
disc, with Markey adding a little more sass to her voice on "You
Got The Blues," asLatina throws down multiple guitar solos
over top of tasteful horn accompaniment. Topping everything here
is the slow snaky blues, "Right Kind Of Woman," with the horns
packing a whole lot of soul into the song. Markey gives that man
the blame, stating, "...I'm the right kind of woman, you're just
the wrong kind of man ..." Dana Robbins is a guest here with
a strong
sax solo. Chris West, who actually contributes most of the
horn work throughout the session, gets the sax solo on the next
number, "Crying Out Loud," a mid-tempo shuffle that also gives
Latina plenty of room on the stage.
Markey saves her best performance for the
closing number, with her voice emitting at least a year's worth of sadness and
angst. She wonders where her ex-man is that night. It's slow
and soulful, a perfect vehicle for Markey to show the fantastic
range in her voice, even as she's letting us know had sad she is
over her lover being with someone else. She may not be as
well-known as other blues singers on the "A" list, but
this song alone proves that she's
equally as talented, and ready to make her mark in the blues
business.
Markey and Latina thank their "GoFund Me peeps"
in the liner notes, so I suspect this was a totally independent
production with help from their fans. Jumpin' The Broom
is worth buying on its own merit, but now that we know that the
band and its supporters have skin in the game, let's make sure
it turns into a moneymaker for them.
--- Bill Mitchell