Aural Doppleganger
Is it a burden or blessing to sing and sound like Janis Joplin? Cee Cee James has that startling replication, and it clearly isn’t an affectation – she has a naturally powerful and emotive voice delivering perfect blues, exemplified in the manifesto of sixth track I Got A Right To Sing The Blues on this latest album release. Many gutsy, gritty female vocalists get the Joplin comparison - as reference point and accolade - but if there is such a thing as an aural doppelganger, James occupies this role with I would suggest the blessing of an uncannily Joplinesque tone in addition to the requisite rasp and growl.
As the album title Blood
Red Blues indicates, the blues roots and infusion separate James from
Joplin in its singular focus. The self-penned songs, co-written with husband
and band lead guitarist Rob ‘Slideboy’ Andrews, are the consummate reflection
of over 20 years of performance and the musical learning curves and lifestyle
this presents. The sultry and the sassy get a reflective romp in 100 Ways To Make Love; the pain that
will intersperse those saucy times gets a mature review in the slow blues
lament of Wounds, and this ninth
track also features the resonant breadth of James’ vocal. But it’s the jaunt
and swagger of the livelier blues tracks on this album that reveal the
wonderful blessing of James’ singing, whatever its echoes.
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