The write-ups for Ally Venable’s Money & Power, talk up it being about the self-empowerment of womenkind. She herself having declared: “All the songs on this album showcase the theme of what it truly means to be a force to be reckoned with. I want this record to wake people up.”
Well, there’s a bloody loud guitar throughout, I’ll give her that, while a random selection of tracks from her five previous albums show the Texan lady’s hardly ever been afraid about getting what’s ailing her off her chest.
With great wails of guitar ‘Brown Liquor’ kicks off proceedings, and while power chords continue to rage away it’s an overall roots rocking feel that prevails. Her voice as loud as her lead playing, Venable tells us that the man she’s been loving drives her to drink, but she’s apparently cool with that, at least for now. The actual guitar solo on this one’s apparently by Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram but the difference in player didn’t really register with me as a listener.
‘Maybe Some Day’ follows, and from it we can gather said lover didn’t work out, but may still get a second chance on this soulful slow swinging horned blues.
“‘Money & Power’ is a bold, uncompromising anthem that celebrates the rise of women in traditionally male-dominated realms,” said Venable about the title track when it was released as a single. Well, If The Colour Of Money was the blockbuster sequel to Paul Newman’s 1961 hit film The Hustler, then ‘Money & Power’ should at least be whispered the very much-love(d) child of the Steve Miller Band’s ‘Take The Money & Run’ with a bad-assed attitude – This here’s genuine classic rock strutting with a Texan shuffle slipped in the back packet; Venable tells it like it is with a finger-quashing wah-wah solo thrown in for good measure, proving she’s not afraid to play in the big boys’ dirt patch.
Next up, ‘Do You Cry’ is a rather haunting blues ballad, wherein heavenly backing repeats the chorus even as a lengthy guitar cries out soloing away. Later, ‘Stepping Stone’ is another ballad, come torch song in waiting if extended when performed live. Brash knockabout chords return with ‘Heal Me’ but they give way now and again to a more steady, hypnotic beat, Venable screaming away one minute, rasping deep the next with angelic sweetness thrown in the mix too on this near psych freakout blues racket.
On ‘Stopper Back Papa’ a rocking voice pours out over the kind of tight clipped reggae guitar volleys Tommy Bolin used to entertain fusion aficionados with back-in-the-day, strutting like a peahen there’s variety and charm here but I’ve no idea what it’s on about. Then, ‘Legends’ is kind of bluesy power pop; it’s bubbly and a little bit bouncy with an infectious singalong chorus.
‘Keep Me In Mind’ is contemplative country rock ballad, where she portrays herself as someone’s second choice, being seen as a friend not a lover. I must admit, I’m a bit of a sucker for this kind of stuff. Guitar notes are picked out implying the number’s emotional context before a word is spoken, and when she does Venable offers a honey-throated honest delivery in this tale of longing. The short-but-sweet guitar solo wears notes that count, continuing to express what words, and proves pretty cool.
“This beautiful love song captures the vulnerability and deep longing to be cherished and held in the mind of the one you care for,” said Venable. “The tender melody and emotive lyrics speak to the universal human experience of wanting to maintain that intimate connection, even when distance threatens to intervene. It’s a poignant and relatable track that will resonate with listeners.”
Sturdy with purpose, a strident blues riff is the framework whereupon rests ‘Unbreakable’, wherein Venable and second guest Shemekia Copeland duet unloading a series of setback stories and the resolutions made to rectify them.
The effects driven ‘Feel That Sting’ plays within a series of musical themes she’s applied previously across the album. There’s a slight country boogie, some oddish pop and a little psych crossover going on, and collectively it works. Whereas, the album ends heading towards newer musical territory as ‘Black Cat’ mixes things up nicely between jazzy modern R ‘n B grooves and harder rock pushes – It’s sexy, like a female empowered take on Albert King’s ‘The Hunter’ as she goes on the prowl. A good one to end on.
There’s a good variety of songs on offer Money & Power, on topics worth hearing about. Thus said, it’s in choosing to have her guitar turned up to 11, often raging away, expressing emotively where words can’t travel that immediately grabs this listener’s attention. She’s on tour in the UK later this year, with several dates moved to larger venues, so likely to prove an entertaining performer.
- Reviewed by Paul H Birch.
- Money & Power is released via Ruf Records and is available now.
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Track List:
- Brown Liquor
- Maybe Some Day
- Money & Power
- Do You Cry
- Heal Me
- Stopper Back Papa
- Legends
- Keep Me In Mind
- Unbreakable
- Stepping Stone
- Feel That Sting
- Black Cat
