2016 – Sweet Lucy Records
By Phillip Smith; Mar 13, 2016
There’s a whole lot of shakin’
going on in Cincinnati rocker Kelly
Richey’s latest and sixteenth album, Shakedown
Soul. This ten song collection of original
no holds-barred rock and roll packs a hell of a mean punch. Richey
handles the guitar and mic, while Rikk
Manning plays bass, and producer/mixer Tobe
Donohue covers drums, synth, and sequencing. Five of the ten songs were recorded earlier and
feature additional musicians, drummer Robby
Cosenza, keyboardist Lee Carroll,
and bassist Blake Cox.
“Fading” is quick to capture
my attention with its funky rhythm and edgy INXS-like guitar riffs. Richey can surely shred. I like the trippy intro leading into “You
Wanna Rock”. Richey attacks this one
head-on with heavy licks and her trademark powerful raspy vocals. This is a track best served loud. A really nice groove takes over on “Lies”. This is the one that gets stuck my head. “Just Like a River” is fantastic and has a Seventies
pre-punk Lou Reed vibe to it. Richey’s “I
Want to Run” is another terrific track with a solid rock melody and stellar
guitar.
Richey scores huge with “Shakedown
Soul”. This is one big ball of rock and
roll fun.
