Various Artists Joey Stuckey Presents: Ladies of the South Review by Gary Hill
The title pretty much describes this set. The mix of sounds here leans more often toward bluesy rock, but there really is quite a range. There are some things here that kind of lose me, while others work extremely well. Of course, that's typical for a various artists type of thing.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
What You See Ain't What You Get - Shadow Bandits featuring Sue Lu
This hard rocker has a lot of blues rock in the mix. In some ways it makes me think of Heart just a little.
Everybody's Pretty - Kim Meeks There is a short little weird electronic based movement at the start. Then it works out to a rather bluesy rocking cut.
Start Over - Hugh Hession featuring Camille Scoggins & Sue Tomlin Piano leads this cut out at the start. The cut is a pretty balladic piece of music. This is one of my favorites here.
With You - Someday Merry featuring Eline Chavez I dig this rocker. It's built on a classic sound and has both mellower and more hard edged territory.
Danish Cookies Is My Name - Vanessa Moses This is unexpected. It seems like Bjork, but with a real Latin element at its heart. Artsy and yet fun, this is so cool. This is weird, but I absolutely love it. This is probably my favorite tune here.
Box Labeled Questions - Tyler Moore featuring Camille Scoggins I love this jazzy, bluesy number. It's another highlight of the set.
Lonely Boulevard - Katherine Daniel I'm not really a fan of this rocker.
Letting Go The Vineyard Band featuring Amber Pierce & Heidi Clinite - More of a country ballad styled piece, this is a cool tune.
Home - Louise Warren
A bit more of an alternative rocker, I like this one quite a bit.
Lately (Morning Dove, Mourning Sparrow) - Doc Henderson featuring Kim Meeks Old school soulful sounds are the idea here. This is mellow and rather pretty. It doesn't work that well for me, though. I dig the cool instrumental work at the end of the piece.
Something More - Stacy Hostler
I really love piano on this cut. The tune starts mellower, but eventually works to more rocking territory.
Johnny 9 (Blind Man Remix) - TATB featuring Rachel Elkins
I really like this harder rocking number. It's a cool cut. In fact, it's another highlight.
