Laura Cheadle - Where The Blues Hangs Out (2014)

2019-01-04T15:21:42Z

Laura Cheadle - Where The Blues Hangs Out (2014)


1.Where the Blues Hangs Out		2:44
2.This Love Looks Good on Me	4:19
3.As Long as You Love Me	3:44
4.Morning	3:45
5.Rock Me Baby		4:26
6.The Best That It Could Feel	5:04
7.Teach You to Love		2:41
8.Change (It's Alright)		7:15
9.Midst of Your Mystery		5:24
10.This Life Is Made to Dance	3:13
11.Summertime	6:32
12.Blue Sky		3:58
13.Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad) [Live]	4:19

Laura Cheadle - vocals, guitar
J.S. Cheadle - piano, organ, guitar, drums, bass and background vocals
Jim Lee Cheadle - electric guitar
Sue Cheadle, Madi Hart, Maddie Brewer - background vocals
B.W. Smith - drums
Mikey Jr., Steve Guyger - harp
Bobby Michaels - saxophone
Jeff “Blondie” Van Stenz - trumpet

As the nursery rhyme states, what are girls made of? “Sugar and spice and everything nice.” Contrast Mother Goose with horror god Stephen King, who characterized the blues as “mean music” in his 2014 novel Revival. Female blues vocalists typically fall into either the “sugar” camp (e.g. Dani Wilde and Claudia Carawan) or the “spice” camp (e.g. Janis Joplin, Etta James, and Nina Simone). The best chanteuses in this genre run the gamut of both, switching with ease, even within the same song. At one moment, they croon with unrequited love, and at the next, they wail in agony. It’s a daunting feat to accomplish. Only a handful can pull it off perfectly. New Jersey’s Laura Cheadle tries her best on Where the Blues Hangs Out, but she’s almost all sugar. On thirteen songs, ten originals and three covers, she warbles like a lark on mellow blues. The few times she does wail, a la Joplin, her pitch might be too high for some folks’ ears. Laura’s music is more suited for the piano bar than the traditional brash blues bars.

According to her website, “Laura Cheadle Family Blues Band have many accomplishments under their belt opening for: The Jonas Brothers, Sister Hazel, Spin Doctors, Ryan Cabrera, Kasim Sulton, Terrence Simien, Garland Jeffreys, John Oates/Hall and Oates, Average White Band, Clarence Clemons III for Bruce Springsteen’s After Party and Constantine Maraoulis of American Idol. These South Jersey Natives and current Philadelphia residents have toured nationally and internationally everywhere from the East Coast/West Coast to London. The Cheadle’s have appeared on 6ABC’s Tuned In as the very first viewers’ choice, The NBC 10 Show, the national reality show ‘Next Great Family Band” on NBC/Cosi TV. Laura Cheadle was named a “Super Woman” in South Jersey Magazine for her active charity work. A very recent accomplishment: Laura Cheadle Family Blues Band just recently won “Best Indie Jazz/Blues Band of The Year” 2014 at Tri State Indie Music Awards sponsored by WXPN.”

Laura’s artistic style is warm and good natured, but for heart-pumping, beer-drinking blues, listeners may look elsewhere. Perhaps next time, she and her family will try a darker tone and sharper edge, especially when they play covers such as “Stormy Monday” (featured on this album). Her voice is as sweet as candy, but if it were more like Red Hots instead of Pixy Stix, it might suit more people’s taste. ---Rainey Wetnight, bluesblastmagazine.com

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Laura Cheadle - I'll Have A Blues Christmas (2015)

2018-12-23T14:08:16Z

Laura Cheadle - I'll Have A Blues Christmas (2015)


1    Red Ain't Everything (The Rudolph Blues) 
2    Blue Christmas
3    Giving You Me For Christmas 
4    At Christmastime 
5    Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
6    Here Comes Santa Claus
7    Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
8    Silver Bells
9    Christmastime Can Set Us Free 
10    The First Noel

Laura Cheadle - Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, Acoustic Guitar,
James Cheadle - Keyboard, Harmonica, Bass, Drums, Organ, Piano , Guitar , Background vocals
Jimmy Lee Cheadle - Lead and slide guitar
Sue Cheadle - Background Vocals
Tina Young - Drums on ‘ At Christmastime’

Move over, “Santa Baby,” the song made famous by the late, great Eartha Kitt in which the singer hits on Santa Claus – you are not the sexiest Christmas song ever anymore. That title now belongs to Laura Cheadle‘s “Giving You Me For Christmas,” a driving blues with provocative lyrics about being ready to be unwrapped under the Christmas tree that is part of her self-released “I’ll Have a Blues Christmas,” and album that blends original tunes with Holiday classics like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “The First Noel.”

Other highlights of the disc include “Red Ain’t Everything,” which tells Rudolph’s story from his own point of view, and a live rendition of “Here Comes Santa Claus” (there is no information of where it was recorded, but the audience sounds responsive and enthusiastic). It is a strong disc thanks to the well-written arrangements and solid musical chemistry that Cheadle has with her family, who is present on every track.

Speaking of blues, I recently discovered Sheryl Crow’s own Christmas record “Home for Christmas” (A&M), which is highly influenced by the sounds of Memphis. Recorded in the same era as her “100 Miles from Memphis,” it contains mostly covers of classics like “White Christmas” and “O Holy Night” with a solid backing from a tight brass-heavy band featuring none other than Booker T (of the MGs), one of the key figures of the Memphis sound throughout the 1960s and 70s. I was surprised that I had never even heard about that disc for years – one of the last from her now-former label.

Among the best tracks are “The Christmas song,” played with a Jorge Benjor-like flavor. “Blue Christmas” has a nice backbeat focused on the rhythm section, great horn solos and of course Crow’s sultry voice. The inclusion of Crow’s “All Through the Night” (a track from ” 100 Miles from Memphis” ) seems a bit out of place on the collection, but it closes the album with a funky feel. ---Ernest Barteldes, musicwhatever.wordpress.com

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