Customer Reviews

Matriarch of the Blues

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Etta albums can be uneven affairs, and this one is no exception. But overall this album will be tough to take out of the Discman. Not only does she belt out some classic blues, but she covers a few unlikely songs in the most interesting ways. Check out her cover of Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" and the Stones' "Miss You." She also does something wonderful with "Hound Dog." For those who love the straight-ahead blues, your life will never be complete until you've heard Etta belt out Otis Redding's "Hawg for Ya." Not every song on this disc is a gem, but most of them are. So pick it up and get down with Etta, who is truly the matriarch of the blues.

Until buying this CD I rated Live in San Francisco as easily her best but this, Praise the Lord!!, is a total mindf*#k. This is righteous powerful stuff: funk in overdrive--turbocharged blues--funkified rock!!

The sound alone grabs you and slams you against your living room feature wall if you play it loud which I believe you must. It's clean and strong and goes right through you. (Even on my little NHT superzero speakers which aren't supposed to have any bass response - so where did all that incredibly powerful tight bass come from ??) It sounds more live than a "live" album.

Etta puts all of her personality into each song expressing more power and authority than I've ever heard from her. Fantastic!

At the House of Blues,the legendary diva of soul Etta James introduces for the first time her cover of the Stones ''Miss You '' to a capacity crowd! This is the way it should be sung and so is the other cover tunes that Miss James interpets in this stunning collection of song!Ranging from the bawdy ''Hawg for You'' snorting and carrying on like the Queen herself, to the broken hearted tear jerker ''Baby come Back''. Etta reigns supreme in her torch scorching, blues in the basement,come hither style that sends chills through your spine!No other female or male singer of this new century can come close to the vocal intensity and raw power that is Etta James.Her rendition of ''Hound Dog''has made Big Mama Thornton dancing in the heavens and proud to do her song justice!With the help of her sons Sametto and Donto, producing and playing along side there Mother,the legacy continues and only gets better!

For the people who ... their only perception of singers are teenage girls with lollipops hanging out their mouth,overweight and 63-years old Etta James must seems like insult.For us who are real believers in good music,her return to blues (after several surprisingly uninspired albums of jazz covers) is a welcome change and hope that she would follow her intuition next time around.From the first few seconds is audible that her heart is in blues and she is in total control of wide range of emotions on the album,spreading them around like a magiacian.While Aretha half-heartedly grooves with new R&B sound,Etta is doing what she is doing best and makes this old songs sounds like new.How many 63-year old singers can you name,who will turn Rolling Stones disco into slow,sexy blues or squeeze gentle bossa nova "Let's straighten this out" between gospel Dylan and rocking John Fogerty,sing heartbreaking blues "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" or cover of Al Green song AND end it all with a joyful,happy "Hound Dog" in which she is actually barking (you can imagine her in studio!)? Not just because of her famous past,but because her present is so decidedly uncompromising,I love and respect Etta James.(Please stop this "diva" thing - its overused expression,reserved for a every new big-haired top-charter and the word does not describe Etta James who is recording since 1955.)

I am an avid fan of Etta James and find this CD to be one of her better efforts in the past 10 years but I also find some of her other albums to be preferable such as "Life, Love and the Blues" and "Live from San Fransisco". This CD certainly has some good stuff. The beginning Bob Dylan tune "Gotta Serve Somebody" is a good version as was the Elvis classic "Hound Dog" and the Stones' "Miss You". I really like Dylan's version ("...Serve Somebody") as much as Etta's, but her version is Etta at her purest. "Hound Dog" I like Etta's offering more than Elvis' mainly because it is more of a blues shuffle rather than a frantic 50's. Some of the tunes on this CD are pretty standard blues fare such as "Hawg..." and her version of Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness" is fine but doesn't have quite the climax I expected. A nice change on the CD is the tune "Let's Straighten It Out". It's more of a classical/latin blues style. It reminds me of her early years. "Born On the Bayou" (CCR) is not for the blues light fan...she really belts it out as she does on "Hawg for you Baby". This is a good CD with mostly good stuff but not one I would consider her best effort. Still, a good buy especially if you like Etta James.

Opening strong with killer version of Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody", clearly legendary diva Etta James is in peak form in a sublime musical setting lead by her two very capable boys Donto & Sametto who are stellar musicians...it is clear where all this wondrous talent & energy come from.
Original "Queen Of Soul" Etta James has been a powerful force in the industry since the fifties and seeing this legendary wonder in concert has long been a thrilling experience...sold-out 2007 LA concert showed this amazing lady the ultimate survivor and no doubt Etta is once again in greater than ever form! Bob Dylan still must be going back like I have since the release of "Matriarch" to experience his masterwork given what is clearly a definitive sublime and oh so funky reading of "Gotta Serve Somebody" that could only come from Etta! "Don't Let My Baby Ride" is a funky masterwork with a nice edgy quality that simmers & cooks with horns & guitars that perfectly frame a masterful vocal that is loose and gritty. Al Green songs are always inspired and hard to top in Etta's hands and "Rhymes" is no exception as this is a exceptional mega-treat from start to finish...Otis & Etta always have been a winning combo and "Try A Little Tenderness" is deep & supremely soulful...Jagger/Richards "Missing You" is definitive and the composers must have been blown away by this wildly funky & thrilling version that is one to play over and over being completely over the top great! Another Otis classic "Hawg For Ya" is a soul-deep performance that would have made Otis proud as Etta has the special ability to bring depth to the late & great Otis compositions in a way nobody else comes close to and it would be a treat for Etta to do a tribute collection honoring this legendary master. Deep blues starts with two magnificent stunners and "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" & "Walking The Back Streets" are two of the greatest blues performances recorded & captured in a studio recording in recent years...everything is perfection about these two great tracks and get the repeat mode ready as there is nothing that compares to these awesome performances for lovers of classic blues as Etta "nails" each great song and burns the tracks till they smoke...BRAVO ETTA & CO.!!! "Walking The Back Streets" is a blues anthem that has got to be one of the greatest ever blues performances...BRAVO ETTA for this awesome performance and to Donto & Sametto for amazing support that you both give mom...blues anthems are intense & inspired!
Etta continues with great performances and "Let's Straighten It Out" is loose & funky in a way that only Etta could achieve...legendary artist at the top of her game & Fogerty must have been jazzed when he heard this swampy classic version of "Born On The Bayou"...Uncle Ray had to be thrilled when he heard this cooker version of "Come Back Baby" and the legendary Leiber/Stoller duo must have been thrilled with Etta's very authentic sounding "Hound Dog".
Nobody has come close over the past fifty years to what this legend has accomplished in concerts & recordings and from all true music lovers over the years a big THANK YOU ETTA JAMES and keep on rocking!!!

I disagreed about some reviewers that elected Etta James a Blues Diva.She's a Diva of the blues,but she's not alone!We can't forget KoKo Taylor,Deborah Coleman,Shemekia Copeland,Susan Tedeschi,Bonnie Raitt....the list is greater,so greater... What we can say ,is that Etta James is among the best of them!!! I've enjoyed so much other works,specially "Life,Love & the Blues",but this one is not so far from that!!!The songs are rare moments of romantic covers from that great musicians,such Stones,Elvis,Big Mamma T.,.... No deceptions,what we could expected from this new cd,was so much spices and seasonings...The cover design and all of the production are marvellous!!!

This is Etta James at her best. If you like the blues, you will love this CD.

Etta James continúa sorprendiéndome, este trabajo es magnífico en su totalidad: Excelente la producción, el arte de tapa es brillante, en las fotografías Etta luce fabulosa y la selección de los temas es por demás acertada y nunca podría elegir uno de ellos como mi favorito, tal vez prefiera "Miss you" o "Come back baby" o "Hawg for ya", realmente es muy difícil. Si alguien se encuentra en duda acerca de comprar este CD, que lo haga directamente, es una joya. Oíd mortales, Miss Peaches está aquí para quedarse.¡Larga vida a la Reina del Blues!

It's time for Etta to hang it up. Period.

This CD is painfully embarassing. The voice done gone.

I had looked forward to hearing the several notable covers, but Etta doesn't appear to have looked forward to singing them. Most are marked by minimal effort. Uncreative, uninvolved, uninspired ... Etta uncharacteristically limps through the tunes, as if someone off-mike was forcing her through them.

I consider this purchase a complete waste of money, and listening to it an equally complete waste of time.