Album review: SUSAN CATTANEO – The Hammer & The Heart

July 6th, 2017 by GRTR! HQ

SUSAN CATTANEO - The Hammer & The Heart

Jersey Girl Music [Release date 25.08.17]

Now that’s something you don’t see many of these days – a double album! Although, in truth The Hammer and The Heart (the two ‘albums’) would have fitted on a single CD!!

Cattaneo’s fifth album, The Hammer & The Heart covers a number of bases – self writes, co-writes, and covers – intriguingly, for an Americana / Country release, including David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’.

According to Cattaneo, the album is the story of she went ‘from almost giving up, to rediscovering the joy of making music’. It’s a journey that sees her accompanied by 40 stalwarts from the Americana/Roots rock scene and covering everything from rock, to ballads, to rockabilly, with The Hammer being an ‘electric’ record and The Heart acoustic based. Different versions of ‘Work Harder Love Harder’ open each set and most tracks ‘feature’ a different artist.

The Hammer opens with two contemporary radio friendly ‘country’ rockers – ‘Work Harder Love Harder’ and ‘The River Always Wins’, although the rockabilly ‘In The Grooves’ and the country ‘crooner’ duet ‘When Love Goes Right’ with Bill Kirchen may not appeal to broader churches. ‘Dry’ – a shimmering broody duet with Dennis Brennan transcends genres and is a highlight. ‘Does My Ring Burn Your Finger’ is another moody, slow burning ‘stomp’ and ‘Back Door Slam’ has an enticing blues, rock groove.

The Heart gives ‘Work Harder Love Harder’ an almost unrecognisable, and to my ears more accessible, acoustic based country work out. But the record is by no means purely acoustic and ‘Ordinary Magic’ and ‘Carried And Smoke’ (the latter featuring Jennifer Kimball) would not be out of place in a Karen Carpenter set.

‘Field Of Stone’ is a classic Americana ‘black top’ tale, and ‘Everybody Cryin’ Mercy’ a laid back blues piece. But while ‘Space Oddit’y featuring Amy Fairchild and Todd Thibaud is sympathetic to the original, it adds nothing of note to it, and you have to ask ‘why?’

Beautifully produced by Cattaneo, there’s something for everyone here. But like most double albums, it would probably distil down to a cracking single disc. ***1/2

Review by Pete Whalley

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)