1. Brand New Day	3:00 	
2. Love Like a Fire (feat. Kid Andersen)	3:45 		
3. Used to These Blues (feat. Tommy Castro)	5:38 	
4. Sink or Swim		4:54 	
5. Shoot to Kill (feat. Ron Thompson)	8:03 	
6. When Bad Luck Looks Good (feat. Tommy Castro)	3:57 	
7. Gimme a Penny (feat. David Maxwell & Paul Oscher)		6:04 	
8. I Got It (feat. Pierre Le Corre)		3:11 	
9. I'm Not the Woman I Used to Be (feat. Pierre Le Corre)	5:24	
10. Stay (feat. Pierre Le Corre)	4:41 	
11. Get This Thing Off a My Back (feat. Kid Andersen)	5:40 	
12. Move On (feat. Pierre Le Corre)	6:06 	

Cathy Lemons – lead vocals, background vocals
Johnny Ace – bass, raps, vocals
Pierre Le Corre – guitar
Kid Andersen – guitar, organ
Tommy Castro – guitar
David Maxwell – piano
Paul Oscher – harp
Ron Thompson – slide guitar
Artie Stix Chavez – drums

Ace finally met his match: Texas born blues singer Cathy Lemons. I think how tragic it would be if somehow they never met. Cathy has the great voice and clever lyrical mind and Ace has the grooves and the feels, and you put those elements together and it makes great songs. Cathy and Johnny have a unique and rare chemistry like Louis Prima and Keeley Smith, Delaney and Bonnie or Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. I don't think they realize just how much they complement each other....This is a strong and soulful effort...I am honored to have been asked to play on this record. – Tommy Castro, cdbaby.com

This CD ... is hard and deep and rich...Johnny Ace plays the bass like it amplifies his heartbeat ... Cathy Lemons is one of those women singers who can sing anything and make it compelling...I remember the first time I heard the Butterfield Blues band as if it was just yesterday. Those guys knew the formula--they had listened to and played with everybody who was anybody in Chicago--and they brought the music to rich throbbing LIFE. It was new and yet it wasn't, and they didn't give a damn if you liked it or if you didn't. Well, this CD captures a bunch of that same feel. It's hard and deep and rich..--- Bruce Edwards, SUNDAY NIGHT BLUES PROJECT, 2010

Even though veteran West Coast bassist Johnny Ace contributed to Cathy Lemons' 1997 solo release and the two have been frequent collaborators for some time, this is the first album where they share co-billing. Ace, not to be confused with the '50s R&B star, has supported dozens of classic blues and R&B musicians through the years to little acclaim, but has found a perfect partner with husky, sassy vocalist Lemons. The duo's debut effort is a rousing, rollicking affair that shifts from gutsy garage rocking to rugged, torchy blues. Even more impressive is the material -- all but two tracks are originals, many based on driving bass licks such as the raw funk of "I Got It" and the opening double-time soul blast of "Brand New Day." Lemons naturally takes most of the leads but Ace is a constant presence, delivering meaty basslines and the occasional duet or front vocal. It's a combustive combination that explodes early on with "Love Like a Fire," a punky soul jam with a propulsive joint vocal that's as fiery and live-sounding as a studio track can get. Guitarist Kid Andersen, who co-produces, contributes to a handful of songs, but most of the six-string work is handled by Pierre Le Corre. His taut, jagged solos mesh perfectly with the front couple, filling in the spaces but seldom hogging the spotlight. Ace is prone to telling somewhat rambling stories as on "Sink or Swim" and the closing "Move On," an acquired taste that might work live, but is less intriguing on an album meant to be replayed. Lemons is a tough, soulful vocalist bearing some similarities to Bonnie Raitt, but with a plucky strut and delivery that are both playful and powerful. When she lets loose on the slow blues of "I'm Not the Woman I Used to Be" and "Gimme a Penny," she builds an intensity and momentum that are as impressive as the female blues greats who have influenced her, such as Big Mama Thornton, who previously recorded the latter tune. Lemonace might be the first album from both Ace and Lemons as partners, but the decades of hard work that preceded it are evident in every blistering moment. One hopes this is the beginning of a fresh and fruitful career for this synergetic and searing partnership. --- Hal Horowitz, Rovi

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[4:17] 1. Rolling And Tumbling (Feat. Steve Freund)
[3:45] 2. Hard Headed Man (Feat. Rusty Zinn)
[4:01] 3. Dirty Man (Feat. Steve Freund)
[4:37] 4. Let Me Be Good (Feat. Tommy Castro)
[5:22] 5. Worry Worry (Feat. David Maxwell)
[3:04] 6. Sayin' It Plain (Feat. Steve Freund)
[5:51] 7. Good Morning Little Schoolboy (Feat. Steve Freund)
[6:05] 8. Dark Road (Feat. Steve Freund)
[3:23] 9. Lonesome Whistle Blues (Feat. Steve Freund)
[5:54] 10. Takin' A Train (Feat. Tommy Castro)
[3:44] 11. I Need You So Bad (Feat. David Maxwell)
[3:42] 12. Just Got To Know
[4:14] 13. Little By Little (Feat. Rusty Zinn)
[4:07] 14. You Belong To Me

Cathy Lemons – vocals
Tommy Castro, Steve Freund, Rusty Zinn – guitar
David Maxwell – piano

Cathy Lemons' critically acclaimed CD "Dark Road" has won her some hard fought for recognition both as a songwriter and as soulful and expressive blues talent. BLUES REVUE hailed "Dark Road" as "a burnished, scintillating disc and certainly one of the finest debuts from a contemporary female blues singer this year." VINTAGE GUITAR says this of Lemons' vocal style: "She presents an almost classical quality to her voice. A dangerous approach to a tradition? You bet! But Lemons makes it work. The more you listen to this self-produced effort, the more you realize that it is a very individualistic emotional approach." And LIVING BLUES calls Lemons "a skillful and expressive singer" delivering blues "in a wide range of styles" from "dance-floor soul grooves" to "the occasional ballad."

The quality of this CD is strengthened by an all-star line up. TOMMY CASTRO delivers his own fiery brand of guitar licks on the Lemons penned funk "Let Me Be Good," and his wailing solo work on the slow blues "Takin' a Train" (another original) can only be described as electrifying.

RUSTY ZINN plays some raw Elmore James-style licks on another Lemons original "Hard Headed Man" and his "nasty tone and wild note bending" guitar work on the Junior Wells classic "Little By Little" leaves the listener wondering if this young "golden boy" might be from another generation of players.

But is it STEVE FREUND who is the guitar star on this CD. Kisliuk writes that Freund "fills in the edges around the snowmelt slow 'Dirty Man' with restraint and aching beauty." DH of Vintage Guitar says that Freund's "Lockwood-style finesse in tone and articulation work perfectly" with Lemons' "delicate style." Freund plays with beauty and intensity on the title cut "Dark Road," creating a melancholic undertone, which builds as the song progresses. Freund's 30 years in the blues business has indeed made him an exquisite accompanist.

DAVID MAXWELL is the pleasant surprise of this CD. His brilliant, jazz-influenced riffs on the Magic Sam classic "I Need You So Bad" create a richly textured rhythmic flow and his sinuous, Spann-like scales during his solo on the haunting "Worry, Worry" are rendered with magnificent feeling and precision.

JOHNNY ACE, Lemons' partner and session leader, makes contributions with both bass and back up vocals. Ace's style is simple and direct. He has an uncanny ability to follow Lemons in all her subtlety and zone in on just the right bass line to create a sexy, low-down groove. Ace becomes the very pulse, the very heart beat of the music. Nobody can play blues bass better than Johnny Ace.

So, as Mark A. Cole says of "Dark Road" in his Big City Blues review, "This is an excellent CD in that it combines Texas-rhythm influences with Chicago lead configurations. Lemons vocal work is top of the line ... Definitely a winner! This CD has more talent and depth than you can imagine!"

CATHY LEMONS is a blues-singing legend who has performed regularly in the Bay Area for 25 years. She has been described as “the finest light-skinned female blues vocalist in the U.S.” (Real Blues, 2010) with a “velvety and hypnotic voice resonant of a female Howlin’ Wolf” (Fulltimeblues, 2010). Hailing from Dallas, Cathy honed her chops with Anson Funderburgh, performed with Stevie Ray Vaughan, and has worked with some of the greatest names in blues, including John Lee Hooker (she toured as his send-off singer in 1987), Tommy Castro, and Ron Thompson. She has 3 CD's to her own credit, 2 of which were released on Vizztone. Her latest from 2014, “Black Crow,” received national attention and was a DownBeat magazine “Winners' Pick.” ---cdbaby.com

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