Diane Durrett and Soul Suga – Put A Lid On It
Blooming Tunes Music
8 songs, 32 minutes
Diane Durrett is a mainstay on the Atlanta Roots music scene. A board of governor’s member and former VP of the Atlanta chapter of the Recording Academy (the Grammy’s), Diane has had a long and varied career. On her new record Put a Lid On It, Durrett employs her bright, controlled voice on a set of original material that offers her unique and at times irreverent take on current events.
Durrett works with her long time backing band Soul Suga. For Put a Lid On It this includes Melissa Junebug on drums in lock step with Fuji Fujimoto and Gregg Shapiro holding down the bass. Yoel B’nai Yehuda offers excellent keyboards and flourishes of brass are provided by Mike Burton on saxophone and Melvin Jones on trumpet. Tomi Martin, Cody Matlock, Ian Schumacher, and Daniel Groover all contribute guitar work. Adam McKnight and Peggy Still Johnson offer backing vocals. Fellow Georgia legend Tinsley Ellis does some hot six string wranglin’ on one guest shot.
Diane Durrett is a very talented singer. With an airy, breathy delivery that floats and soars, Durrett’s lush vocal chords are mostly surrounded by low key, emotive accompaniment on Lid. The tone is set by the slow jam piano ballad opener “In My Soul.” The feel good adult contemporary vibe of “We Got It” and “Sweeter Love Grows” offer Durrett space to expand her ethereal singing. More gritty are the Tinsley Ellis featuring title track and the tongue in cheek “Make America Groove.” Stand out track “Good News” offers a darker funk and allows Durrett to show off some of the fire she exhibits on earlier records.
Put A Lid On It is a sentimental and heartfelt blast of catharsis. At 32 minutes, almost EP length, this feels like a nice check in from Durrett the singer/songwriter about how she’s doing and how she’s getting through these tumultuous times.
