CD Review: Right Track – Lauren Zoeller & BluZe Lightning
13 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on CD Review: Right Track – Lauren Zoeller & BluZe Lightning
Right Track – Lauren Zoeller & BluZe Lightning (T2 Music, 2012)
Nashville truly is Music City, housing incredible talents skilled in every genre of music imaginable. A brand new addition to the town’s thriving blues scene is Lauren Zoeller & BluZe Lightning. They introduce themselves to the world with debut release Right Track.
Fronted by Zoeller, a recent Bellarmine University Vocal Performance graduate, BluZe Lightning includes Stephen Abernathy (drums), Tim Turner (guitar), Ernie Arroyo (bass), and Dusty Knapp (keys).
Right Track, a collection of eleven songs, shows off Zoeller’s striking vocals along with some marvelous musicianship. The album stays respectful of the genre but adds enough of its own spin to keep things interesting throughout. The thoughtful production creates a live show sound lifted straight from a blues club stage.
The album opens softly with the melancholy of ‘Pocket Full of Blues.’ On several tracks the music is allowed center-stage as on the harmonica-laced kiss-off ‘Wake Up’ with long musical interludes, and story-song ‘Jamie.’ Zoeller plays with her voice on piano ballad ‘Blissful Thinking’ and closer ‘Right Track,’ which opens despondently: ‘I’m on the right track/so I guess you must be on the wrong train.’ The tempo goes up on blues rock tune ‘Long Gone’ and swing-dancer ‘Baby of Mine.’
Along with original material, Right Track also includes several ambitious covers. Zoeller more than holds her own on the Melissa Etheridge song ‘I’m the Only One,’ the always beautiful John Prine composition ‘Angel from Montgomery,’ and the Mike Reid-Allen Shamblin masterpiece made famous by Bonnie Raitt, ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me.’
With this promising debut release, Lauren Zoeller & BluZe Lightning start off strong. Right Track is an exciting calling card for Nashville’s newest blues band.
For more information on Lauren Zoeller & BluZe Lightning, please visit bluzelightning.com
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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