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Little Red, the album by Susan Marshall will probably be considered a rock album. However, there is more than a little element of the blues in rock, and Little Red seeps with the blues from its opening track to the last tune. Marshall's voice is suited for this record because the Memphis native has distilled the blues and soul that came up from the Mississippi delta, as well as the country music that came over from east Tennessee and Arkansas. Marshall adds a smidgen of jazz that comes in handy as she sings behind the melody and stretches out her notes on "Even if it Takes a Lifetime," one of four remakes on Little Red.
Little Red, the album by Susan Marshall will probably be considered a rock album. However, there is more than a little element of the blues in rock, and Little Red seeps with the blues from its opening track to the last tune. Marshall's voice is suited for this record because the Memphis native has distilled the blues and soul that came up from the Mississippi delta, as well as the country music that came over from east Tennessee and Arkansas. Marshall adds a smidgen of jazz that comes in handy as she sings behind the melody and stretches out her notes on "Even if it Takes a Lifetime," one of four remakes on Little Red.
Marshall's voice is clearly the star of this album. Little Red's instrumentals are understated and nuanced in jazzy way in which the musicians pull back to shift the listener's attention to the vocalist. Marshall shows that she is more than ready to sing at varying tempos on tunes such as the mellow "Going to Town" and her steamy original title track. Rock steps to the forefront on the cover of The Beatles classic "Don't Let Me Down." Marshall's vocals infuse the song with the longing and desire for fulfillment that John Lennon and Paul McCartney had in mind when they wrote the tune.
Marshall also shows off her songwriting chops on tunes such as "Little Red," where she uses the Big Bad Wolf as a metaphor for a seducing man on the prowl. "Already Gone," another Marshall original, is a straight up blues song in which the singer wears the pain and confusion of unrequited love on her sleeve. The chorus, "It feels like you're already gone," conjures the image of a woman who knows that her man just isn't that into her.
The best of the originals, the mid-tempo soul jam "Back To You," is a throwback to the halcyon days of Memphis's Stax records. Little Red might be a little too soulful for a generation of ears that have grown accustomed to listening to smoothed out and synthed up pop, but for those of us who need a dose of bluesy rock, Little Red is the ticket. Recommended
Howard Dukes