Wanna Feel Somethin’
Mary Bridget Davies
Cleveland native Mary Bridget Davies has returned to the Cleveland area to star in the Cleveland Play House’s production of “One Night With Janis Joplin,” (get tix here) but she made good use of her years in Kansas City, where her new CD was recorded with her band.
Wanna Feel Somthin’ was tracked at West End Studios in Kansas City with her full band: Dave Hayes on guitar, Gary Robers on bass, Chris Hazelton on organ, Joe Voye on drums, plus Pete Carroll on trumpet, Nick Rowland on Sax and Aaron Thomas on tambourine. All but Thomas also handle background vocals.
Kicking off with the Roberts’ original Your Kinda Love, the classic Muddy Waters “Mannish Boy” and Bo Diddley “I’m A Man” riff is the framework for Davies’ clear, solid and eloquent vocal, soaring above blues guitar leads and swirling organ accents. Won’t Pay You Mind picks up the pace with a fast blues shuffle for another original by Davies, Hayes, Roberts & Voye, this time featuring a cool muted trumpet by Carroll and soulful sax by Rowland.
Though she won’t admit it, Davies’ experiences in her tough young life have informed her soulful vocals. Have a listen yourself, but to these ears, there’s no way that Same Ol’ Blues would jump out of your speakers the same way if Davies wasn’t living the pain her voice is singing.
The masterful funk masterpiece Wanna Feel Somethin’, which in a better world would lead off the 2nd side of the vinyl version, is the best example of what is missing from most contemporary Blues releases: a solid original that stays firmly within the venerable Blues tradition while creating a new vernacular: in this case, Blues Funk. The band is especially confident on this track, stretching out in the studio to match Davies’ ethereal vocal workout.
As hearfelt as the originals on this release sound, it’s probably the surprising covers on side two that will raise the most eyebrows. Following the theory that you shouldn’t bother covering a track unless you can either bring it up to date, or bring your own interpretation to it, Davies and the guys take on the British anthem Wonderwall by Oasis, something we can be sure no English artist would dare. A song that in the US is considered a watered down George Harrison wannabe is turned around by Davies and transformed into a loungy, late night blues sizzler. We challenge you to go back to the original and hear it the same way again after hearing Davies’ version.
Likewise, the Eagles’ bombastic country-rock waltz Take It To The Limit is twisted inside out to the point of unrecognition, to the relief of many, no doubt. The gospel-inspired starts and stops and breakdowns reward the Ziggy Stardust monicker: To Be Played At Maximum Volume. Anyone within earshot will thank you.
The set closes with Chi Coltrane’s Thunder and Lightnin’, and is probably closest of all the covers to the original, but Davies’ gritty vocals and funky horn riffs set it apart. There is a wide-open confidence in her voice and in the band’s solid playing, enhanced by the clean and expansive recording. No producer is credited, but engineer Brendan McReynolds deserves kudos for setting the microphones in just the right place to capture this exciting and blood-pumping collection of classics.
Reviews online include “Hottdamn,” “Smart, well-crafted blues,” and “You won’t forget her,” Indeed, they’re all right. And so is Mary Bridget Davies.
BTW, Davies is nominated for two awards in the 2012 Blues Blast Music Awards: Best New Artist Debut CD, and the Sean Costello Rising Star Award. You can vote for her here: http://thebluesblast.com/bbma/2012/12bbmavote.php
Listen here:
Get the CD here: http://marybridgetdavies.com/music
See Mary Bridget Davies in “One Night With Janis Joplin” at the Cleveland Play House. Info here.
Watch the Cool Cleveland video interview with Mary Bridget Davies here:
One Response to “REVIEW: Wanna Feel Somethin’ by Mary Bridget Davies”
Bill Rucki
I saw Mary Bridget at Playhouse last week and she was phenomenal. Even though Janis has been dead for almost 42 years I’m convinced I saw Janis in concert just last week.