photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

Album Review of Gráinne Duffy: Dirt Woman Blues

Holy moly, do we at the Blog ever love Gráinne Duffy, as evidenced by all the unabashed gushing in my review of her Voodoo Blues album a couple years ago. Well, she is back and every bit as talented and engaging as ever on her new album, Dirt Woman Blues, so get ready for several paragraphs of effusive praise.

image courtesy of Cobra Promotions

Indeed, if you’re not yet familiar with Gráinne, you’ll have your “oh, my god!” moment – the one I had when I first heard Voodoo Blues – on disc-opener “Well Well Well,” a snarling blues number that somehow manages to be grizzled and gritty yet crisply modern and energetic. And that voice! I stand by my Joanna Dean comparison, but I’m hearing a bit of similarity to Danielle Miraglia – Boston’s resident flagbearer in the “how is she not already world famous?” music club, blues division. There are hints of Janis Joplin in there, too. So, basically, one song into the album, and you’ll realize you’re listening to one of the best blueswomen on the planet… and you still have eight more new songs to enjoy for the very first time!

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

By comparsion to the disc-opener, “Dirt Woman Blues” is a tonally darker and more brooding blues number. There’s not the hint of rock ‘n roll you found on “Well Well Well.” “Dirt Woman Blues” also features this neat little audio trick, a flip to grainy AM radio-quality vocals at the beginning of the chorus, as if the whole world reverts from technicolor to black and white, truly fitting for this raucously pleading, distortion-infused, internally-wailing blues plaint.

“What’s It Going to Be?” follows, introducing a lighter, strumming personality – almost what you might expect from Sheryl Crow, if she sang the blues. It’s a welcome respite from the preceding intensity; very cool.

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

The next track, “Running Back to You” is a groovy blues Gospel-style number that glides along smoothly until the chorus, when Gráinne’s vocals intensify. I’m also fond of the bridge after the second chorus, first the nifty vocal turns of phrase and then the heartfelt cries of the guitar solo.

Next up, the beat that drives the rhythmic “Rise Above” meld with Gráinne’s muddy pop-soul vocals to create what could best be described as cool, bluesy alt-rock. It’s followed by “Sweet Liberation,” a jangly, distorted-guitar blues-rock love-in that harkens back to the ’60s and ’70s, the era of peace, love, and… well, liberation. Oh, and the song ends in a badass, semi-frantic, axe-filled jam leading to an era-appropriate quick stop.

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

The blues Gospel returns on “Hold On to You,” the musical equivalent of a slowly-moving, howling, oh-so-blue raw nerve. “Yes I Am” follows, a raucous blues-rock protest anthem.

“Killycrum” closes the disc with a smooth, folky blues groove, and it’s on slower songs like this one, when the music is less dense, that the well-placed, effective cracks in Gráinne’s vox are at their most effective and apparent.

And with that, after just nine songs, it’s over. Beginning to end, Dirt Woman Blues is a great disc. On it, singer-axeslinger Gráinne Duffy again solidifies the expectation that a well-deserved coronation as blues royalty draws ever closer. And if you don’t yet know her music, this is your chance. You’re in for a rare treat! And it makes me jealous because you only ever get one first listen to Gráinne Duffy.

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

Looking Ahead

To find out where Gráinne is performing, follow her Facebook page. Via that, you’ll discover info about two upcoming shows in Northern Ireland: a Saturday, October 14th show at the Braid Arts Centre in Ballymena and a Friday, November 24th show at The Court House in Bangor.

image courtesy of Frank Roszak Promotions

Album Review of Gráinne Duffy: Voodoo Blues

Voodoo Blues is a collection gritty, energetic, good-time blues and blues-based rock ‘n roll that’ll grab you by the throat at song number one and won’t let go. Gráinne Duffy‘s voice reminds me a lot of blues-based hard rocker Joanna Dean, whose solo release Misbehavin’ – with its moderate hit “Kiss This” – and subsequent album Code of Honor with her band Bad Romance back in the late ’80s and early ’90s were a couple of my favorite hard rock albums during the tail end of the so-called “hair metal” melodic hard rock era. Code of Honor, in particular, leaned heavily toward the “blues” end of blues-based hard rock. Voodoo Blues is similarly positioned, though it may be just on the blues side of that line, at the rock end of hard rockin’ blues. Anyway, for me, “reminds me of Joanna Dean” is the equivalent of “must own this disc,” but I’ll dig into Voodoo Blues with a bit more detail.

The album kicks off with “Voodoo Blues,” an expansive, hot, hot desert-flavored opening that turns into a jangly rockin’ blues number, with wailing blues-rock guitar accompanying Gráinne’s rockin’, growlin’, oh-so-tuneful bluesy rock vocal howl. “Mercy,” next, accompanies that howl, guitar, and beat with some filthy, back alley blues-joint organ in ample support.

Pardon me, but doesn’t the opening guitar-driven rhythm of “Blue Skies” doesn’t have a hint of a country flavor to it? Or perhaps that line’s just been blurred by Shania Twain, who could also sing the hell out of this song with its big vocals and sass. Regardless of the comparison, Gráinne delivers it with a little more gravelly growl. Then, on “Shine It On Me,” Gráinne adds a little bit of a funky rhythm to the blues, as both guitar and organ drive this big-stage number.

Things slow down with “Don’t You Cry For Me,” an old-school, screaming, swaying, lay-it-out-there, preach-the-blues number. “Roll It” brings back the energy before “Wreck It” cranks it up to a full-on wail again; it’s a song with kind of a Fabulous Thunderbirds tempo, a hint of a wry Sheryl Crow-like hip coolness in the vocal delivery, and a George Thorogood-like pace on the guitar line.

Gráinne mellows things out with the smoother “No Matter What I Do,” a song whose tempo allows you to lean back, close your eyes, and sway. Kumbaya, rockin’ blues ballad style.

“Tick Tock,” the penultimate track, is a grimier number sung with serious attitude. And the disc closes with “Hard Rain,” a thumping, plodding, persistent, uncompromising, rockin’ blues tour de force that, I’m sure, fills the room with sound when performed live. And just like that, crash, the album’s over.

Speaking of catching a live show – and I’m just imagining here – if you’re around Boston, you’d hope to hear her in a premier blues listening room like 9 Wallis – a spot I love… and would love a lot more if it weren’t on the exact opposite side of the city from me. Of course, with her big sound and even bigger talent, she could just as easily be playing a large theater.

Anyway, I’ve been looking forward to sharing Gráinne Duffy’s music with you for a few months now. She’s one of those singers you know is special within the first five seconds. So, you know, give her five seconds to prove me right.

Looking Ahead

When she performs live, you’ll be able to find Gráinne’s performances listed on the “Events” tab of her Facebook page.