Those of a nervous disposition should make sure they are fully awake before hitting the play button. Lady Bianca jumps straight at you with the opening note of "I Got The Blues," letting you know that she has a big, powerful voice. She is also a talented pianist, which she repeatedly demonstrates throughout the album. It is worth noting that this is piano blues only, so anyone expecting the rest of the band to join in after the first few bars will have a long wait.

The vocals are a bit more restrained for "Man From New Orleans," which leaves you with the feeling that she really wants to cut loose. This song includes the first of several hints at a New Orleans influence in Lady Bianca's piano work. Whilst this one is also uptempo, Lady Bianca is equally at home on slower numbers where she moves into more of a story-telling mode, relating the problems of men and their women (and vice versa!).

Whilst superficially, at least, "All The Blues Clubs Are Closed" sounds like it might be about the state of the listener's favorite music, do not be fooled by the title. In reality it is another blues tale of love, and how her man is not home, even though all the blues clubs have closed up for the night. Lady Bianca backs this one up with some rocking piano on "Teach Me How To Boogie Like You," with its shades of "Whole Lotta Shakin'." The album also rounds off in a more uptempo fashion with the title track. It starts with a spoken rant at her man, which sounds like it might be a Louis Jordan style story, but like all the others here, it is a Lady Bianca original.

"All By Myself" shows Lady Bianca to be a gifted vocalist and pianist. There are few blues artists playing in this style these days, so it is something of a welcome change, and worth chasing down for that reason alone. All of the songs work pretty well using this simple arrangement, but you can easily imagine some of them working better with a full band, where Lady B. can really let rip on the vocals.

www.LadyBianca.com

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