CD -"What Love Will Do" - Janiva Magness
Alligator Records
The quality of this recording was the first thing to get my attention. Around the middle of the first song, I realized that I could understand every word. Every instrument was sharp and clear. It was as if I was listening with seventeen-year-old ears instead of the worn out ones that I have. (It’s a guy thing.) The credit for this must go to Janiva, who always produces. On this CD she co-produced with Dave Darling. I wish more producers and artists would put the time and effort into their projects as these two have.
This CD is a collection of thirteen songs that are all based firmly in the Blues with short side trips into R&B, Funk, Soul, Rock and Gospel. With so many musicians, (twenty), four on guitar, including Junior Watson, you would think that the CD might be a little uneven. With Janiva’s compelling and powerful vocals as the central focus, all else falls neatly into place. She is first and foremost a vocalist, as good (if not better) on stage as in the studio. There is no need for gimmicks or frills. She once said, “The audience deserves the truth, and I know what my job is.” She seems at peace with herself and it shows, not cocky or arrogant but confident. She brings to mind other greats: Billie Holiday, Etta James and Janis Joplin. Just as they could, she breathes life into a song.
This is her finest effort and her first on Alligator Records. Bruce, at Alligator, has a tendency to allow artists to stretch their creative legs (Roy Buchanan and Johnny Winter) and that may be the case here. With all her talent she deserves a creative outlet. All this and I have not even mentioned that there is not a woman alive who oozes sensuality from the stage like this lady. She won “Female Blues Artist of the Year”…twice…nuff said.
- Jim Weber
P.S. Interesting liner notes credit “Justin Guarini for Jive Choir”…I should have quit.
The quality of this recording was the first thing to get my attention. Around the middle of the first song, I realized that I could understand every word. Every instrument was sharp and clear. It was as if I was listening with seventeen-year-old ears instead of the worn out ones that I have. (It’s a guy thing.) The credit for this must go to Janiva, who always produces. On this CD she co-produced with Dave Darling. I wish more producers and artists would put the time and effort into their projects as these two have.
This CD is a collection of thirteen songs that are all based firmly in the Blues with short side trips into R&B, Funk, Soul, Rock and Gospel. With so many musicians, (twenty), four on guitar, including Junior Watson, you would think that the CD might be a little uneven. With Janiva’s compelling and powerful vocals as the central focus, all else falls neatly into place. She is first and foremost a vocalist, as good (if not better) on stage as in the studio. There is no need for gimmicks or frills. She once said, “The audience deserves the truth, and I know what my job is.” She seems at peace with herself and it shows, not cocky or arrogant but confident. She brings to mind other greats: Billie Holiday, Etta James and Janis Joplin. Just as they could, she breathes life into a song.This is her finest effort and her first on Alligator Records. Bruce, at Alligator, has a tendency to allow artists to stretch their creative legs (Roy Buchanan and Johnny Winter) and that may be the case here. With all her talent she deserves a creative outlet. All this and I have not even mentioned that there is not a woman alive who oozes sensuality from the stage like this lady. She won “Female Blues Artist of the Year”…twice…nuff said.
- Jim Weber
P.S. Interesting liner notes credit “Justin Guarini for Jive Choir”…I should have quit.
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