Little Chevy – Lucky Girl
self release
14 songs time-58:11
Here we are ladies and gentlemen, the best thing to come out of Switzerland since their cheese – Little Chevy! It’s not only the name of the band, but it is also the moniker used by singer extraordinaire Evelyne Pequignot. On this their second release the music is an amalgamation of rhythm & blues, cabaret, ballads, country, blues, rock and whatever else they feel like throwing into the mix. The end result takes the listener back to a time when it was about the song and not instrumental virtuosity and bombast, although the soloing here suits the songs. That’s not to forget the European quality of Evelyne’s voice. With just a mere smidgen of an accent at times she runs the gamut from sultry cabernet singer to exotic chanteuse. Whatever suits the mood of the song. I detect a similarity to the voice and delivery of Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs. She is ably assisted by the top notch musicians assembled for this recording.
“Please Please Please” sounds like Natalie goes country, just a really enjoyable performance with a country-ish guitar solo by Markus Werner. Roland Koppel lends his considerable piano skills to “If I Was A Man”, the singer’s declaring that if the tables were turned she would macho it up. Fabio Bianchi provides nice sousaphone backing on this one. The title track’s lazy day vibe underscores Little Chevy’s fortunate lot in life, sans material possessions. European chanteuse’s of a bygone era are revisited in the dramatic and exotic delivery of “Mon Amour”.
Now for a light and breezy breakup lament in “Bye Bye Baby”. “Ready To Go” is a classic country style weeper. The narrator finds solace from the strife and suffering in the world in the arms of her lover in the moving ballad “In Your Arms”. Eerie guitar effects create the atmospherics for the slow cabaret song “Bad Boy”. One would swear that it is Lowell George era Little Feat backing Evelyn on “The Day I Fell In Love”. Markus has Lowell’s slide down to the last note. The shuffle beat is there along with a close approximation of Bill Payne’s piano styling’s. Great stuff. Acoustic country style slide guitar and harmonium are the sole instrumentation on the lovely closer “Lullaby”.
Passion, soul, deft instrumentation and heart felt lyrics are what make this effort such a solidly pleasing affair. Given amble air play in the states this crafty little band should surpass the notoriety that they have achieved in their homeland.
