Mizz Lowe – Classy Woman
Mizz Lowe Records – 2023
10 tracks; 40 minutes
Mizz Lowe is one of the two dancers who perform on stage with Bobby Rush where she is dubbed “The Young Hen”. Here she steps out front for her debut album, albeit heavily supported by Bobby Rush who co-wrote all the songs with her, shares the vocals on six songs and adds B/V’s to four; CC White is also on B/V’s on all bar one cut. The other person heavily involved is Brother Paul Brown who plays most of the instruments, drums, bass, guitar, horns, strings and percussion. Mr Rush plays guitar and harp on six tracks, Paul Black adds slide to six and Dexter Allen plays bass and guitar on one.
Mizz Lowe’s seductive personality shows through on all these songs. She opens with “Honey Tree” which follows a Muddy-style rhythm as she suggests quite clearly that she has plenty of sweetness in her. In the title track she describes herself as needing money in order to maintain the lifestyle she wants and “Hip Shakin’ Mama” may just be the best self-description. Some of the songs may sound familiar: “Easy Baby”, for instance, is very close indeed to Magic Sam’s song of the same name. Bobby’s vocals are more up front as Mizz Lowe complains about him coming home drunk, so she has no intention of responding to his amorous advances: “I Ain’t Givin’ Up My Love”; “Drink Drink” is a more uptempo song on the same theme. Fortunately, all seems to be forgiven as Bobby’s harp opens “Take My Love” before he and Mizz Lowe joust vocally over whose love is the stronger in the relationship!
The last three tracks move the focus away from the funky side of things, possibly intending to place Mizz Lowe’s voice in the spotlight. The ballad “This Love” certainly does that! In “4 Leaf Clover” Bobby’s harp and a horn arrangement frame the vocals nicely. Although released in June, Mizz Lowe has hedged her bets by adding a holiday song in “Christmas Tears”, complete with chiming bells and more of Bobby’s expressive harp, including a snatch of “Jingle Bells” to close.
