Amy Black
Memphis
Ruben Records
Every now and again it is time for admitting when you made an error in your judgment, and now is the time for me. A number of years ago I heard Amy Black singing some songs that were more or less folky and Americana, and to say I wasn’t knocked out about covers it. Oh the voice was good, however there was not the depth or feeling to her songs, and her voice lacked that necessary emotional honesty, one of the essential ingredients that is a must have to sell the song. There are no reviews from this section of the Peanut Gallery for discs that don’t have the emotional honesty ‘thing’. Well, damn it, the last couple of discs show how much growth there has been and what a mistake I made. She has that feeling in spades now, and it is probably the change in material that brings forth the passion and honesty of the songs she is tackling, plus finding her passion in the material she is singing now, and then there is that thing called maturity. This gem by Amy comes out on June 2.
On Memphis she wrote seven of the ten songs with two being co-writes, one with Karen Leipziger, and the other Samuel Smith; the other three songs are covers of tunes you will probably recognize. One odd thing is Amy was born within spitting distance from Memphis, started her musical career for the most part in the Boston area as Folk/Americana singer, but a few years ago she decided to do an EP in Memphis of Memphis music with Spooner Oldham, one of the original Swampers, at the helm. This rather quickly turned into a full length disc because she was hooked on the sound and she knew her voice had found that home it had been searching for. She was in her element and comfort zone. It was evident to all what had happened and it was like discovering what real love is all about.
Whatever else about Amy this is a woman who has learned to listen to those inner feelings. Whether it is choosing her musicians; she realized she did a great job with the Hi rhythm section and the musicians who recorded with Willie Mitchell, and there is the love for the Muscle Shoals horns, and she has opened up to artists like O.V. Wright and Ann Peebles, and she still loves the Staples Singers and Mavis’ solo work. She is now sold on her new sound, as well she should be, as it shows her to be a woman with real passions and depth of feeling. When you bump into her now here is the woman who always had been slightly out of kilter but full of potential, now she has discovered what the treasure is that is called love. Three Cheers for you Amy.
by bob gottlieb
