The Vicki
Stevens Band - Ms. Vicki’s In Town (Independent)
The Vicki Stevens Band is an Oregon-based, classic
RnB band. The talented quintet feature the titular Ms. Vicki Stevens, a
powerhouse, award-winning vocalist, with a voice custom-tuned to sing the
blues, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bill ‘Froggy’ Hyland and guitar
whizz Dennis Monroe. Bassist Jim Badalich and drummer Ron Rocci complete the
line-up. They’ve been gigging since 2008 and this is their debut album, an eleven-track
feast of rockin’, soulful, hard-as-nails blues and traditional American rock.
The majority of the material they present for our
delectation was penned by Hyland, and he’s got a great feel for his chosen
genre. It’s done justice by the band who rip through his songs of cheating and
lies, violence and retribution. Especially agreeable is the tandem pleasures of Ms.
Vicki’s soul-flecked vocal and Monroe’s blazing guitar.
There are plenty of highlights to talk about. The
title track’s a huge statement of intent with the whole band stepping up to the
mark and making their presence felt. Monroe’s “Crazy 'bout My Baby” allows Ms
Vicki free rein to express her womanly desires, while the guitarist gets to
play slow and stealthy, and then there’s the seven-plus minutes “Tell Me the
Truth”. It’s about a woman wronged and the murderous things she’s prepared to
do to hear the truth. I may the finest advert for honesty ever set to music.
Rob F.
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