Shemekia Copeland and Aretha Franklin HAD better watch out! Formerly playing and recording under the band name of Dana Lupinacci & The Jive Guys, Seattle-based Ms. Lupinacci, too, has steam-rollin� lung-power to spare! Although Dana�s natural tone and timbre are sweet and full (and able to span several octaves), she does occasionally inject a forced and fierce musicality that goes a bit �over the top� for me, although it certainly wouldn�t be out of place in Las Vegas � a long way from her native Connecticut!
Dana was nominated in the 2002 �Best Female Vocalist� category in the Washington Blues Society�s Best of the Blues (BB) Awards, a title that Patti Allen won that year. This recording may well give her the edge she needs to overcome the stiff competition. For that matter, this entire band is equally worthy of glitz and glamour! For this formation, Dana has borrowed Hudson Blues Band�s electric bassist Guy Quintino (Dana�s ex), drummer David Hudson and blues-harpist Michael Wilde (yes!), to complement guitarist Dan Baker (notably on �Straight to the Blues� and the subsequent �Evenin��), upright bassist Greg Roberts and special guests Eric �Two Scoops� Moore, on keyboarding fit for a king, and trombonist Randy Oxford, who creates an instrumental equivalency to Dana�s vocals, especially on the �heavy� title track (belying Dana�s own slight form)!
Other outstanding highlights of the CD are the excellent boogie-woogie piano noodling and rolling bass runs on �Love Me Daddy Like Ya Do�, the sexy slide guitar on �Caffeine Quest� and electric guitar on �Cry, Cry, Cry�, backed solidly by the soothing rhythm brushstrokes and subtle bass lines of David Hudson and Greg Roberts, respectively. This latter tune contains Dana�s best slow-blues vocal performance on the CD, but the overall instrumental showcase IS indeed �Watch Out�! This truly satisfying CD ends with a bang-up rocker called �Bad Case of Love�.
Retailers are counseled to file it under �BLUES�, but it�s equal parts blues, rock�n�roll and rhythm & blues! |
