Renee Austin - Sweet Talk

Bitrate:320K/s
Year:2003
Time:45:02 
Size:103,6 MB 
Label:Blind Pig Records 
Styles:Blues/Modern Electric Blues 
Art:Full 

Tracks Listing:
 1. Not Alone - 4:03
 2. Pretend We Never Met - 3:52
 3. When Something Is Wrong - 3:30
 4. Pour The Sugar Slowly - 3:51
 5. Bottom of A Heart - 4:00
 6. Fool Moon - 4:50
 7. Bury The Hatchet - 4:18
 8. Unraveling - 4:40
 9. Bitter Water - 3:56
10. Ain't Nobody - 3:58
11. Black Pearl - 4:01

Musicians:
Renee Austin - vocals; , 
Delbert McClinton - vocals;
Kevin Bowe - guitar;
Andy Dee - slide guitar;
Dik Shopteau -bass;
Joe T. Cook - harmonica;
Dave Jensen - trumpet;
Bruce McCabe -piano, electric piano, clavinet;
Jeff Victor - electric piano, organ;
Billy Thommes -  drums, percussion;
Cynthia Johnson - background vocals;
Daryl Burgess - background vocals.

This Texas by way of Minneapolis blues/jazz/soul belter's first nationally available disc made a substantial impression out of the box in late 2003. It received major press attention and was nominated for a W.C. Handy Best New Artist Debut award. Even a cursory listen shows why. Austin's tough, husky growl can be as gutsy as Tina Turner or as tender as Maria Muldaur. Although her stunning duet with Delbert McClinton on "Pretend We Never Met" is one of the album's obvious highlights, it's by no means the only striking track. The soulful "When Something Is Wrong" recalls Ann Peebles' Hi label work and Austin gets downright nasty on the grinding sexy funk-rock of "Pour the Sugar Slowly." Incorrectly pigeonholed strictly as a blues artist (probably due to her Blind Pig label affiliation), Austin is closer to a classic R&B vocalist in the tradition of Etta James and Turner. Also impressive is that the multi-talented musician -- who plays guitar and piano live -- was responsible for penning all but four of these tunes, an unusual accomplishment for a female singer. Her writing is sharp and diverse as she shifts gears from the gospel fervor of "Bottom of a Heart" to "Fool Moon"'s bluesy jazz lounge mood, just two songs that display her impressive range. Far from scattershot, Austin's talented band and the disc's smart pacing display her strengths without sounding as if she's giddily jumping genres. Like McClinton -- an obvious role model -- her presence is so powerful that she's comfortable in a variety of grooves and, at least on the basis of this album, succeeds at all of them.

Sweet Talk