Stacy Jones – Love Is Everywhere
Self-Release – 2017
11 tracks; 43 minutes
Stacy Jones is based in the Pacific Northwest and although she is still relatively young this is her seventh album release. A multi-instrumentalist, Stacy plays acoustic, rhythm guitar and dobro, harmonica, Hammond B3 and tack piano on this record, as well as handling all lead vocals. Stacy also wrote all the songs bar one and she produced the album – phew, that is real multi-tasking in action! Her band is Jeff Menteer on electric guitar, Tom Jones (Stacy’s Dad, not the Welsh singer) on bass and Rick Bowen on drums.
The album opens impressively with “Mojo Potion #61 &49” which perhaps reflects Stacy’s own story of finding the blues at the crossroads. The tune adds Sean Denton on second guitar and Angelo Ortiz on washboard, giving it both a rocking blues and a second line New Orleans feel. That and the closer “I’ll Be On My Way” are the closest to straight blues tunes here though Lee Oskar’s duel on harmonica with Stacy on “Stomp Jump Boogie”, written by Jeff and the band, is an excellent instrumental feature. In another change of style “One Stop Light” is a rapid-fire jump blues/jazz piece with Mike Marinig’s sax added to good effect.
Elsewhere the album has some attractive playing in non-blues contexts: “Wait For Heaven” is a slower tune with excellent guitar from Jeff and sad lyrics dedicated to a departed friend. Stacy does seem to force her voice a little on the quieter numbers, as here and on the ballad “Can’t You Be Mine”. Stacy wrote “Love Is Everywhere” after the Orlando nightclub tragedy, another quieter number with an exciting rock guitar solo on the outro. Stacy moves into a country vein on two songs towards the end of the album: “Gotta Get Over You” is a fun tune with duelling harp and guitar while Tracy wants to avoid sentimental stereoptypes as she declares that “Tough Girls Never Cry” – “I’m a tough girl, please don’t buy me flowers, I like it much better when you tell me me how they just die.” Stacy makes good use of a bass line influenced by “These Boots Are Made For Walking” on the jaunty “Can’t Find Love” and sounds very much like Sheryl Crow here, a comparison that comes to mind again on “I Fell In Love”, a joyful celebration.
This album is not all blues but does have some strong songs and performances, sufficient to be of interest to Blues Blast readers.
