Customer Reviews

Where Blue Begins

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Deborah Coleman just may be the hottest thing going in the blues world today. Her first Blind Pig CD, I Can't Lose, was chock full of refined guitarwork, emotional vocals, and well-crafted songs written by Coleman herself. Where Blue Begins is more of a good thing. On this new CD, Coleman is backed by the James Solberg Band, Luther Allison's former U.S. touring and recording group. As might be expected, Coleman's sound on this disc is thus even rougher and tougher, streaked with a rock'n'roll edge. Joanna Connor adds her typical brand of raucous slide guitar on one cut. The majority of the cuts here are Coleman originals, and these songs shine above the handful of covers. Coleman can craft a fine blues tune---and then back it up with sweet guitar playing. Crown her the new queen of the blues.

I have all of Deborah Coleman's CD's and have had the pleasure of seeing her live. This release is arguably her best. Where Blue Begins is perhaps slightly less funky than her first release, I Can't Loose, and slightly blusier than her latest, Soft Place To Fall. Her vocals are strong and her guitar playing impeccable as always.I believe she was nominated for a W.C. Handy award for this release. I would say buy them all, but if you can only have one - this is it.

Deborah Coleman's WHERE BLUE BEGINS is an excellent CD featuring blues and rocking R&B. Her voice can be sexy, sassy, and downright sarcastic, but she brings a sad edge to the tunes that need that mournful sound. The lady also plays a great lead and slide guitar. WHERE BLUE BEGINS offers up a range of great music for the blues enthusiast, and if Deborah Coleman's music is an unfamiliar thing, this CD is a treat and showcases some of this wonderful blues singer's best.

WHERE BLUE BEGINS is Deborah Coleman's third album and her second for Blind Pig Records. New Moon released her first album, TAKIN' A STAND, followed by Blind Pig's release of I CAN'T LOSE. Blind Pig has also released SOFT PLACE TO FALL and LIVIN' ON LOVE (Coleman's latest release). Coming from a musically inclined family, Coleman took a temporary reprieve from her future in music by becoming an electrician and raising her daughter. Then, in 1993, Coleman put a three-piece band together that included her brother and a friend, and traveled to South Carolina's Charleston Blue Festival's National Amatuer Talent Search. She won first place and re-started the music career she'd temporarily stepped away from. The music contracts and success swiftly followed.

Seven of the eleven songs on the CD were written by Deborah Coleman, proving her skills as a songsmith as well. "Love Moves Me" is a bluesy feel-good piece that rocks the listener into a ready-for-anything mood. Stepping up the tempo, "Goodbye Misery" gets the blood going and brings about a lust for freedom. "Hain't It Funny" is one of the covers Coleman does on the CD but she showcases her guitar licks, and her voice turns sweet and sultry, hinting at the pain she is capable of projecting. Coleman gets back to some serious rocking in her cover of "Travelin' South", layering in some serious head-bobbing funk for the listener. "The Dream" brings the listening experience back down to something slow and mellow, and Coleman's voice aches with the heaviness of emotion, a true blues number. In "Walk Your Walk", Coleman once again leans on her guitar work and delivers an R&B piece that would fit perfectly in a small bar filled with a blue haze of cigarette smoke and dark shadows. She covers "They Raided The Joint" in a rollicking display of guitar licks and swing-style blues. "Do You Want My Love" has a slow delivery but displays the intensity Coleman can put into her music with her voice, backed by her guitar. "On The Hunt" picks up the tempo again and brings back the sheer fun Coleman brings to several of her songs. "Beside Myself" is a solid bluesy rocker. Closing the CD with "Nobody To Blame", Coleman slows the tempo down again, but delivers a strong blues cover of the song that has involved listeners singing the chorus with her.

WHERE BLUE BEGINS is recommended to blues listeners who like Bonnie Raitt and Delbert McClinton. Joanna Connor, another lady who sings the blues, lends her slide guitar work on "Nobody To Blame".

from the opening riff of "i cant lose" to "brick" this cd rocks with the best of any cd male or female. a great live performer debbies style of playing is a cross between stevie ray vaughan and hednrix

Deborah Coleman just may be the hottest thing going in the blues world today. Her first Blind Pig CD, I Can't Lose, was chock full of refined guitarwork, emotional vocals, and well-crafted songs written by Coleman herself. Where Blue Begins is more of a good thing. On this new CD, Coleman is backed by the James Solberg Band, Luther Allison's former U.S. touring and recording group. As might be expected, Coleman's sound on this disc is thus even rougher and tougher, streaked with a rock'n'roll edge. Joanna Connor adds her typical brand of raucous slide guitar on one cut. The majority of the cuts here are Coleman originals, and these songs shine above the handful of covers. Coleman can craft a fine blues tune---and then back it up with sweet guitar playing. Crown her the new queen of the blues.

I saw Deborah at a local Blues Festival in Aug/99. The weather was bad, but she was great. Her sidemen were seasoned veterans and that enhanced her performance, especially the rythmn gitarist, who did a solo as well. Great album recreated that day.

Deborah Coleman's Where Blue Begins is a great blues album by one of the new young (in her 40's)women of the blues. She is exciting, has a smooth,beautiful voice and knows how to rock.

Ms Coleman has good songwriting skills. She wrote most of the tunes on the cd. She also does a pretty cool cover version of Louis Jordan's "They raided the joint." I can picture her hiding under the table.

Keep them coming, I'll be listening

...it's that good. Straight, no chaser, electric blues. She's got a great voice and the chops to boot. Not a dud on the whole disc.

I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Deborah after her gig at the Colne R&B Blues Festival in Lancashire, England. It was her first outing to the UK and said she was so knocked out by the reception she got that she was sure to come back to these waters again. I love her music. Come back soon.....

As one who truly loves the blues and blues guitar, I find this to be uninspired, full of cliches, and barely competent - both in terms of vocals and guitar playing. Do yourself a favor, avoid this and listen to some of the real talents out there today. Why is this woman winning awards for this kind of absolutely plain-vanilla effort?