Sunny Bleau and The Moons – Bag of Tracks
CoccoMusic
9 Tracks – 38 minutes
Kelly “Sunny Bleau” Brock was originally from Scottsdale, Arizona but now resides in Oxford, Mississippi. She was given her nickname “Sunny” when she was young because of her bright and playful personality. She started writing poetry and short stories when she was young and studied writing in college where she wrote single act and full plays. Her father bought her a guitar for her 16th birthday, and she quickly learned some basic chords.
In 2019, she met Nicholas “Nic” Cocco and the two began writing songs. Nic became her producer and guitarist. Initially the two were performing in senior homes in Detroit where she played the kazoo. This led her to learn the harmonica, which she now plays as part of her band’s music. Nic started playing guitar at age 7. He further studied the guitar at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he developed skills in jazz, blues, fusion and progressive rock. He has over 100 published works and has produced and worked with a large number of acts.
In addition to Nic, the band consists of Tom Sumner on drums and Jon Staercke on bass and backing vocals. Tom has played with many acts over the years including The Diamonds, The Drifters, Freddy Cannon and Del Shannon. He became a radio host on a succession of shows until he retired in 2022 and joined the band in 2024. Jon started playing guitar at 17 and after a 22-year career in the navy, has immersed himself in music playing, guitar, bass and drums.
Bag of Tracks is Sunny’s third album and is a mixed bag of recordings beginning with a live recording of a rocking cover of “Little by Little”. Sunny gives a clear, powerful vocal performance. Next up is an original studio recording of “Vegas Blues (Hey, Mister Rich Man)”, which slows things down with a slightly country feel and her announcement that her “sugar daddy is coming to town”. A cover of Tear for Fear’s 1985 hit song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is noted as having been produced for HBO Films.
“Can’t Turn Down Rock and Roll” shifts back to an original studio production with the band firing up with a song that sounds like something Pat Benatar or The Bangles would have recorded. A cover of The Moody Blues’ hit 1965 song, ” Nights in White Satin” is next and is followed by a live recording of an acoustic version of the traditional “House of The Rising Sun”.
“Football Fever” is noted as being recorded for “Sports Media”. It is a rocking blast of sound with a spoken football commentary on a football play and a declaration of what is great about a football season. “He’s My Peach” slows things back down with another live acoustic song. The album concludes with a live recording of “Merry Christmas, Baby” offers a bluesy Christmas ballad as she says “you sure did treat me nice”.
The album is a mishmash of styles, mostly ingrained in pop. Only the last song offers much in the way of blues. It appears that the album serves as a display of the versatility of Sunny’s powerful, slightly raspy vocals and the delivery of a talented band. One can look forward to her next album, which has been announced as being produced by Mick Kolassa, leading hopes that it will lean more into the blues.
