Rosie Flores’ ‘Simple Case of the Blues’ Showcases Depth of Playing and Influences

Rosie Flores is one the top ten guitarists playing today, and on her new album she displays her versatility and her pure, clear, always-on-the-note playing. Produced by Charlie Sexton, Kenny Vaughan, and Dave Roe — all of whom also play on the album — Simple Case of the Blues illustrates Flores’ ability to play across every musical style from soul to jump blues to swing to gospel-inflected scorchers.

The slow-burning “Mercy Fell Like Rain” showcases Flores’ crisp, never-waste-a-note lead guitar work. The opening bars of the song cut right to the heart. Mike Flanigin’s B3 reverberates underneath Flores’ tender, pleading vocals, as the background vocals float ethereally on the chorus, transporting us for a moment. Flores’ crystalline lead solo on the bridge may be worth the price of the entire album, and it illustrates her nimble ability to bend and elide one note into another without sacrificing the clarity of the phrasing. The jump blues “I Want to Do More” features T. Jarrod Bonta’s stride piano playing call and response with Williams’ sax, and the title track is a minor-chord blues that shakes, rattles, and rolls down the blues highway with a few Peter Green-like licks thrown in on the bridge. The juke joint house burner “Drive Drive Drive” propulsively marches down the road, fueled by driving guitars and Flores’ commanding vocals.

Flores’ version of “If There Ever Was a Way” could easily become a soul classic with its shimmering horns, its Sam Cooke-like opening chords, its swaying guitars, and Flores’ emotionally captivating vocals. The album closes with the old Solomon Burke chestnut “If You Need Me.” Flores wrings every hurting moment out this can’t-believe-you-left-me-but-you’ll-be-back-someday song. She and Kenny Vaughan trade dueling lead licks on the bridge, mimicking the lovers’ back-and-forth. Greg Williams’ sax weaves its tendrils around Flores’ guitar and her soul-stirring vocals.

Rosie Flores is in top form on Simple Case of the Blues as a blues shouter, a soul singer, and riveting guitarist who can put her own stamp on a song. Simple Case of the Blues brings beauty out of the shadows, dances joyously across every musical terrain, and delivers some of the most soulful music released so far this year.