When guitar goddess Kelly Richey goes overseas to embark on a short European stint in a month or two, she might be given a heroes welcome and demands can be so great, that Europe might grant her an extensive touring itinerary.
And why not? One listen to "Live...As It Should Be" testifies that Richey is a guitar tornado who can rip it up with the best of them. Her trio format allows her boundless freedom to weave fretboard wizardry challenging anyone wishing to dual with her. Blues purists beware! This lady like Jimmy Thackery and Walter Trout attacks her instrument and makes initiates wonder why she isn't a major name on the blues rock circuit. She turns Neil Young's "Down By The River" into a Roy Buchanan barrage of screeching runs and licks leaving listeners awe-struck. "Just A Thing" is a hot instrumental slightly recalling Stevie Ray Vaughan but still maintaining Kelly Richey's tattoo over thick power chords and sweaty leads. The vocals are a crossbred of Melissa
Etheridge and Chrissy Hynde. Even a Billie Holiday impersonation makes a visit in the very slow tempoed "Trouble In Mind." With the recent passing of jazz great Nina Simone, "Nobody's Fault" seems even more melancholic.
Ballads are very few on this double disk. Richey prefers to work at a fast pace and does not wait for time to stand still. "Mean Old World" and "CrossRoads" turn into boisterous guitar workouts with Kelly bending strings and stomping pedals to work Strat Magik and lovingly kick some ass at the same time. Kelly reminds all of us that "The Blues Don't Lie" as she caresses the fretboard then singes the eardrums with high notes that could make dogs stand on their hind legs. "My Baby's Gone Crazy" incorporates John Lee Hooker chords behind a Jimi Hendrix lockbox.
And the rest of the tunes are more or less the same way. "Hey Joe" turns into serious shredding with Kelly burning her axe like a demon picking a fight with Beelzebub. Joe Walsh's "Turn To Stone" is fitting for a 21st century America in a disheveled state as only Kelly can prove when she replicates this anthem in psychedelic tones and wonder.
While this isn't a cd for those seeking a total blues refuges, it is a tasty appetizer for those who like their blues coated and sugared in classic rock. Not that this is some retro work. Far from it. Richey like her other comrades in arms moves towards the horizon, Strat in hand, keeping an eye open that blues must move forward and not be restrained by ignorant values and old hat ethics.
P.O. Box 20084
Cincinnati, OH 45220
KRB Hotline - (513)-736-1800
Official Web Site: http://www.kellyrichey.com
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