Blues Music Magazine
Gravity
Screaming Lizard Records
CD Review by Pete Sardon
April 2018, Issue 17
Triple threat Laurie Morvan (singer/songwriter/guitarist) sings the line in "Money Talks": "Money talks but mine says 'bye-bye'!" I guarantee you with the purchase of this CD your money will say "Thank you!" Her sixth recording reveals why the Blues Foundation nominated her thrice and had her win once for Best Self-Produced CD.
She does it all. Her sultry voice is strong and engaging and, for those who have had the pleasure to see her live, the command of her Fender custom shop '56 reissue Stratocaster would make most guitarists envious. Her playing can be assertive, delicate, bluesy, and most importantly, eminently listenable.
She complements the recording with five back up singers and assembles blues musicians such as Mike Finnegan, Jim Pugh, and Barry Goldberg on organ and piano, Bob Glaub on bass, and producer Tony Braunagel on drums who help layer her sound. She wrote the dozen songs and includes a fold-out with her lyrics. Opening with "My Moderation", Morvan draws the listener in immediately with the strength of her playing and craft of the band. For those who enjoy the sounds of a slow powerful blues, her "Stay With Me" fills that bill and then some. The most poignant song is "THe Man Who Left Me" and it's not what you would think, as it is a characterization of her father. Pugh's haunting B-3 organ and multiple background vocals add to this heart wrenching song. She answers this event in "Gotta Dig Deep": "When life gets hard, you gotta dig deep...gotta dig deep to make the pain go."
It is most apropos that the cover shows the trim and muscular Morvan holding her Strat with a background of the universe. Besides being an outstanding musician, she is also a pilot, is in her university's atheletic hall of fame, and has a Master's degree in applied mathematics. Please try to catch her live when you can as she has the passion, drive and talent to excel in everthing she does. Thankfully her sights are fully focused on her blues music.
- Pete Sardon |
