January 2000

CATHY LEMONS BLUES BAND

Dark Road

The Saloon Recordings SR1997CD

Vocalist Cathy Lemons squeezes some fine work out of a stellar group of San Francisco Bay Area musicians including guitar stars Rusty Zinn, Tommy Castro, Steve Freund and exuberant pianist David Maxwell. Though those guys sit on top of the local heap in the Bay Area, they can't outshine Lemons soulful, knowing vocals on "Dark Road."  

Lemons worked with Anson Funderburgh and Stevie Ray Vaughan during her Texas days and has done opening sets for John Lee hooker out on the Coast. She's clearly learned from her experiences in developing a passionate yet easy rolling style that glides along over the fine accompaniment provided by bass player/partner Johnny Ace, drummer Kevin Coggins and their all-star guests. 

Zinn's Nasty tone and wild note bending spice up Jr. Well's funky "Little By Little," Castro displays his ability to build an inferno from just a few licks of flame, and Freund fills in the edges around the snow melt slow "Dirty Man:" with restraint and aching beauty.

Lemons' version of "Good Morning Little Schoolboy" and B.B. King's "Worry, Worry" successfully reinvent the familiar, altering tempo or mood in a pleasing way, and she really pours her heart and adds some high end vocal acrobatics into the introspective title cut.

--Bill Kisliuk