CD Review and Interview
Glamour Puss
Wire & Wood
(NorthernBlues Music, 2003 NBM0018)
by Gordon Baxter
Review date: March 2004
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"Keeping the Blues Alive Award"
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It is now six years since Canada's Glamour Puss emerged onto the musical
scene with their eponymous debut album. Their goal when starting out was to
cover songs that they liked and add in some of their own original tunes.
"Wire & Wood," their fourth album, and their debut for the Northern Blues
label, sees them continuing to develop and focus more on their own original
compositions.
Glamour Puss are renowned for being purveyors of good time music, ranging
from blues-rock through to zydeco. "Wire & Woods" opening track, "Kitty
Kitty," sees them start off in a funky vein, with a tune that is a bit
reminiscent of Johnny Guitar Watson's "You've Got A Thang For Me." Then,
just to prove the point, they pitch into a down in the alley rocking groove
for "Hollow Man" which features some decidedly menacing guitar work, before
moving into blues-rock territory on "Don't You Worry."
There is no danger of the band being pigeonholed into any one style.
Throughout the rest of the album they also showcase some nice N'Awleans
style piano on "You're Rich I'm Poor", turn to zydeco for "Maman Don't Play
No Zydeco" which features both accordion and fiddle, before tackling
acoustic rockabilly ("Wire & Wood"), blues such as "If You Miss Me", and
even some more jazzy stuff on "Swingin' Cin," one of two covers.
Although the range of styles may be rather disparate, Glamour Puss easily
hold it all together, which is testament to the quality of the band and
their mission to play music that they like. Listening to the closing
sequence of tracks provides further evidence of this. After the horns swing
out on "Six Foot Down," they positively smoulder on the slow burning blues
of "Million-Air," before stripping everything right back for some quality
fingerpicking on "Blues For Sheila" before rounding off with "Maman Connait
Pas Le Zydeco" (the French version of "Maman Don't Play No Zydeco").
"Wire & Wood" is a good time album from a good time band. Glamour Puss
sound like they put on a great live show that must set joints a-jumping.
Until they hit your town, the next best thing is to pick up a copy of "Wire
& Wood," and get practising those dance steps!
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