Ruf Records [Release date: 24.03.23]
When we reviewed the previous Ally Venable album we suggested that whilst the young guitar slinger/singer/songwriter had made great progress the perfectly formed finish was yet to come. ‘Real Gone’ takes things a step further and shows a growing confidence certainly in the vocal department and perhaps less of a reliance on her main influence Stevie Ray Vaughan.
We saw Ally during the Blues Caravan tour in the UK not long before Lockdown when she also was part of a more integrated band whilst having her own solo showcase. She’s touring in Europe this year, again with Blues Caravan.
There’s no doubt that Ally is visually and aurally appealing to those of a certain age and I can’t help wonder whether she will stray off the blues circuit and ultimately crossover to a wider (younger) rock audience. At least she is then more likely to attract fans (both male and female) nearer her own age. On this latest release only ‘Hold My Ground’ really has this crossover potential.
In spite of their early blues roots her contemporaries such as Erja Lyytinen, Eliana Cargnelutti and even Joanne Shaw Taylor have slipped into a more “mainstream” offering in recent years.
For the moment this is solid southern blues rock from start to finish. The faster paced tunes are punctuated by Venable’s gritty guitar whilst several slower pieces introduce variety with a brass section for ‘Any Fool Should Know’. She’s actually at her most convincing on the more upbeat stuff such as the title track and ‘Kiss Your Ass’ whilst ‘Don’t Lose Me’ introduces a welcome element of southern funk and a brass section.
But it’s on ‘Gone So Long’ that Venable shows a direction that could be further explored, significantly without a modicum of the blues that otherwise permeates the album. Over far too quickly, it should have been expanded with a killer guitar coda. As it is, still a standout.
Production this time is from Tom Hambridge (who also plays drums and co-wrote several tracks) and the perhaps inevitable A-List guest appearances from Joe Bonamassa and Buddy Guy (both of whom have worked with the producer previously).
If anything it’s only the songs and the format’s predictability that might now hold Ally back but ‘Real Gone’ marks a further step in her musical maturity (she is still only 23!) and presages the inevitable arrival of Kevin Shirley. ***1/2
Review by David Randall
Album review (Heart Of Fire, 2021)
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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024
In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections
Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024
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