Marcia Ball – Let Me Play With Your Poodle Dog
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Posted On November 1, 1997
She’s a little bit country. But only a little. Mostly, she’s…well, it’s hard to say just what Marcia Ball is: a little rock, a lot of roll; a pinch of rhythm, a handful of blues; a Cajun Texan with a sultry voice and a talent for tickling the ebonies and ivories; a gorgeous female Jerry Lee Lewis leaving, wherever she goes, a whole lotta shakin’ in her wake. One critic even called her “the love child of Miss Manners and Little Richard.”
But however you label her, Ball’s live shows are unforgettable and her CDs consistently engaging. And her latest recording, Let Me Play With Your Poodle Dog, is one of her best. The fun kicks off with the fast-tempo, double entendre-laden romp of the title track and continues, more or less unabated, through to the beautiful, bluesy closing cover of Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927”. In between are 11 swampy rocking Cajun twang songs that evoke performers and performances from various genres and generations, yet are still Marcia Ball to their steamy core.
As a lyricist/storyteller, Ball is no Springsteen, Dylan or Van Zandt, but her songs are always musical treats. Her raspy, experience-stained vocals fit well with the lyrics she writes and even better with the material she chooses to cover. High points abound, but this disc is probably most memorable for its fine mix of instruments, most notably Ball’s piano and the soaring, swooping sax work of Paul Klemperer (throughout) and Mark Kazanoff (on “How Big a Fool”).
Ball, a transplant from Louisiana to Austin, brings a little bayou to every record she makes. There are countless Louisiana allusions (musical and lyrical) here, including “Crawfishin'”, a dance-inducing number with a jazzy, big-band sound and a liberal dose of Cajun country spice, stride piano style, of course. But while a party atmosphere predominates, one of Ball’s most heartfelt numbers is hidden midway through Poodle. “I Still Love You”, six-plus minutes of slow, soulful vocals and heart-wrenching tenor sax, is reason enough alone to give this Poodle a play.
