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Blues Revue Magazine - CD Review

 

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"Cures What Ails Ya" CD Review

Blues Revue Magazine - Aug/Sept 2007
by Thomas J. Cullen III
   
Blues Revue CD review

Laurie Morvan is a Stevie Ray Vaughan devotee based in Southern California. When she isn't performing, she works as a college math instructor. For her third album, a self-produced collection of 12 blues-rock originals with pop and folk flourishes, Morvan dispersed her regular touring band (exept for bassist Pat Morvan and backing vocalists Lisa (Grubbs) Morvan and Carolyn Kelley) in favor os seasoned players with connections: B-3 organist Sammy Avila (Walter Trout), drummer Tony Braunagel (Taj Mahal), bassist James "Hutch" Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt), and well-traveled pianists Doña Oxford and George Duke.

This polished set offers few surprises for those familiar with the work of artists such as Debbie Davies, Deborah Coleman, Michelle Malone, and Ana Popovic. But Morvan's lyrics deserve scrutiny - especially the poignant "Family Line," which includes lines such as "I've got my mother's eyes/They're my little piece of home/I always thought I would give them/To a child of my own." The strikingly autobiographical dirge is Morvan's mea culpa to her mother for not producing grandchildren.

In contrast to that tune's stabbing melancholy, Morvan rocks hard on strident anthems "Kickin' Down Doors" and "Where Are the Girls With Guitars." She proves adept at tough shuffles on "My Baby Says" and "A Long Time Ago," then switches to slide for the swampy pep talk of "Don't Give It Up." The disc's lone instrumental, the wah-wah-infused "Wiggle Room," directly recalls Vaughan. Morvan's sweet, soaring voice will draw comparisons to Raitt, and her wiry, fiery solos demonstrate that she's in full command of her Stratocaster. For fans of any of the aforementioned artists, Laurie Morvan's most personal album to date is a fitting introduction to an artist who deserves recognintion beyond the West Coast.

 
 
 
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