Judy Sings The Blues – Backstage Pass Live
self release
11 songs time – 50:41
Judy Sings The Blues out of Delaware features their namesake with the exuberant and expressive pipes. When they perform blues it falls into a groove similar to Tracey Nelson or Karen Lovely. It is good company to be compared to. Judy Mangini is in possession of a strong and crystal-clear voice. It doesn’t hurt one bit that she has the backing of a grade-A group of musicians. Lin Doughten has guitar chops to spare, be it blues or jazzy stuff, it is always arranged to fit the song like a glove. Bassist Jan Zukowski was in the Nighthawks for thirty years, as well as being with The Fabulous Hubcaps for fourteen years. Drummer Ray Lombardo played for The Army Jazz Band for three years and The Admirals for fourteen years. Sax man Brian Cunningham of The Brian Cunningham Project is top notch. The liner notes or their web page give no writer credits, but it all seems to be original material.
Her powerful and soulful voice launches right into “Help Me” and remains that way throughout the record. The song has a gospel feel in the music as well as the lyrics. Between Brian Cunningham’s soulful sax and Lin’s tasty guitar licks, the listener is in good hands from the get-go. Jan’s bass nails down the groove on “Tricks” as Brian’s sax weaves sexy magic. Lin’s biting soloing adds to the goodness. Judy trades vocal licks with the guitar and as always her vocals are in peak form.
The blues “I Guess I Was Wrong” chugs along nicely via guitar and sax wizardry. Lin shows his versatility with jazzy guitar on “You Got Me Down On My Knees”. She tells someone to back up “47 Feet”, why not an even 50? What do I know? None-the-less it has hefty guitar and sax riffing going on. Oh wowzah, that bass is too funky on “Junk And Trunk”, as well as the guitar and sax.
A nice groove again along with a pleading vocal on “Can’t Even Buy One”. Now for a slow and funky burner in “Come Over Here” that features one of the better guitar solos, although they are all good. Judy sings the hell out of it. Let’s git funky and jazzy with “Are Ya?”. As always Brian weaves his sax through the song. They bring down the tempo with the ballad “I Miss Your…”. It harkens back to old time rhythm and blues. Judy shouts her way through “52 Years” in a good way. You go girl!
You sure get a heaping helping of good music with this release, from Judy’s strong vocals to the guitar and sax underpinned by the sturdy rhythm section. This music is infused at various times with blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel and a bit of rock. There is something here for anyone that appreciates heartfelt music. Yep, Judy can sing!
