2024 – E.H. Records
By Phillip Smith; May 25, 2024
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
Detroit blues-rocker Eliza
Neals is an artist who has secured a spot among my favorites. She pours an
abundant amount of talent and creativity into her performances and songwriting,
cultivating lasting, memorable songs. Her latest album Colorcrimes has
swept me off my feet with its nine all-original tracks. With Neals on
lead vocals and piano, Michael Puwal returns as lead guitarist for the
brunt of the album.
The record leads off with a delicious serving of swampy slide guitar on “Heal This Land”. The song hearkens back to southern spirituals and delivers a much-needed message for the world today. I absolutely love that Neals turned what started out as a sour note at a show in Michigan into the riveting hit of a song “Banned in Jackson”. Mark “Muggy Do” Leach (Buddy Miles) guests on B3 giving the song a gorgeous full sound. I can feel the emotion pouring out of Neals as she belts out the title-track “Colorcrimes”, a beautiful song of unity. The wailing guitar performance from Puwal brilliantly joins Neals as a second vocal. It’s an amazing listen. Guitarist Brian Lord (Mitch Ryder) joins in on the infectious fun of “Love Dr. Love”. This cooking track takes a small break for a New Orleans-style, horn-fueled second-line to honor the late, great Barrett Strong Jr. (Feb. 5, 1941 – Jan. 28, 2023) who cowrote this and two other songs on this album with Neals. “Sugar Daddy” is a blast to hear as it takes a dive into the world of Motown and Phil Spector’s early girl-group years. Topped off with the sounds of sax from Tyrone Smith and a psychedelic-laced dose of guitar from King Solomon Hicks, this track is a sure-fire winner. I’m very happy to see “Candy Store”, the 2023 single which lit up blues radio last year, land on this release. It’s a fun-as-hell listen filled with confectionery double entendres.
From my first listen to Colorcrimes, I knew it would be an album I will have on heavy-rotation for a long while. It’s one of those records that demands to be heard.
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For more information about Eliza
Neals, visit her website at https://www.elizaneals.com
Follow the link below for
more PhillyCheeze reviews featuring Eliza Neals:
https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=eliza+neals
Eliza Neals’ Colorcrimes is also available on Bandcamp
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