Sue Foley
Love Comin’ Down
Shanachie
Arthur C. Clarke once said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The same can be said for art as well, and a case to prove this point would be Sue Foley’s sixth release, Love Comin’ Down. Armed with a voice that haunts and guitar skills that scare, Foley stakes her claim as perhaps the best female blues artist around, and one of the genre’s ablest songwriters. From the opener “Two Trains” to the fiercely independent “Let Me Drive,” she sings and plays like a gunslinger marching across the village square, armed and ready. Her guitar harkens back to the greats such as Freddie King (“You’re Barking Up The Wrong Tree”) and a touch of the Vaughn brothers, but she does it so well and uniquely that the end result is a truly personal tone. Adept at both electric and acoustic moods, she even tackles a flamenco flourish on “Mediterranean Breakfast.” At moments her voice reminds one of Lucinda Williams (who harmonizes on “Empty Cup”), but in the end, Foley and her talent stand alone. This is the way the blues should be done.
Shanachie Records, 13 Laight St., New York, NY 10013; http://www.shanachie.com; http:// www.suefoley.com
