Album Review, Rootstime Magazine, Belgium
Google Translation - Dutch review below.
Zoë Schwarz is a British singer-songwriter who has worked as a Blue Commotion with guitarist / songwriter Rob Koral since 2012. Both had worked together for some time but this project was born out of their common interests, in which musical freedom of all members is of paramount importance. Some compare Zoe o.w.v. her versatility with a chameleon, where parts of Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone unite as an amalgam. Furthermore, Blue Commotion consists of drummer Paul Robinson (no bassist!) And keyboardist Pete Whittaker. On the British BC 2017, the band reached the final and they also received two Blues Award 2018 nominations (“Best Female Vocalist” & “Album Of The Year”).
The Blues and I Should Have A Party, an album released in 2018, was (in six years) the fifth studio album by Blue Commotion. The sequel that appeared earlier this year in April is called 'Chameleon' and contains twelve Songs. Eleven are written by both and "Tell Me" by Sue Hawker & Rob Koral. "Chameleon" was recorded by Andy Banfield at the famous Superfly Studios. Wayne Proctor did the mix and finish.
The album opens cheerfully with the telling "Life Goes On". Saxophonist Ian Ellis and trombonist Patrick Hayes add some “extra” to this catchy, radio-friendly song. With “Better Days” the tempo drops and the riffs get heavier. Whittaker carries the melody here on Hammond and the wind players again provide the dynamics, which here are very much in line with the drama that Zoë breathes in her vocals. Koral impresses here with his solo, where the wah-wahs are certainly not lacking. In “If Only I Could Be With You” the band then opts for a Latin rhythm. This rumba is started by drummer Paul Robinson, tapping the cowbell in the intro. Some will link Koral's melodic solo to Santana. Then follows the beautiful, epic ballad “Hello My Old Friend”, in which especially Zoë shines with her singing. She starts, accompanied by Whittaker at Hammond, restrained and very nuanced, but both pull towards the end, open all registers. “Give Me the Key to Your Heart” is a swinging shuffle and “I'll Be Here for You” is the next ballad, in which Zoë responds very well and together with Koral on guitar to the feelings. The rocker “I Hope I See the Day” has a reggae undertone and Whittaker is now soloing after Koral on his Wurlitzer piano. Zoë shines again in the sultry blues song “When the Blues Come a Knocking”, in which the band accompanies her staccato. “Amazon Woman” is a tribute to a heroine and in “I Cry Just to Think of It” Zoë sounds very sultry. With "Tell Me" "Chameleon" looks like one of the dreamy ballads. It is the only song that Rob Koral wrote not with Zoë, but with Sue Hawker. The solo where Koral presents with this is certainly the most melodic and sensitive on the album. In the closing song, which lasts almost ten minutes, Zoë sings lasciviously and willingly that “her body glows and that you don't lie next to her…”. Does the last blues shuffle “Come and Lay with Me” still cause chunks? Maybe, because after four minutes the song suddenly ends. After a while the music resumes with a “hidden song”, “Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)”. It is a lascivious and jazzy song that James O. Davis wrote and that Billie Holiday also covered on her 1982 album of the same name. How Zoë (and the band!) Brings it very well here, is very close to the version by Billie Holiday. What a finale!
words by: Eric Schuurmans
