Alligator Records
2008
Peace, Love & Bbq
About This Album
Like other artists on the Alligator label, it can be tough to distinguish one Marcia Ball album from the next. Lots of upbeat party tunes, a few peppy Cajun and Zydeco inflected zingers, some ballads, and a couple of love songs all delivered with Ball's husky, soulful voice and driven by her nimble boogie-woogie piano describes this album as well as her older ones. But that's not necessarily a problem since she is such a classy, demanding, and talented musician it just means her quality control is high enough so there aren't any clunkers. Still, she has defined her niche through the decades and mines it on her first studio release in five years and tenth overall. There are a larger percentage of originals here -- eight of the 13 tunes are either written or co-written by the lanky pianist/singer, and all are up to her usual standards. Horns -- some arranged by the legendary Wardell Quezergue, who has worked with Fats Domino and Professor Longhair -- punctuate five tracks and add even more hot sauce to the proceedings. Stephen Bruton's nimble production keeps the sound open and spacious by highlighting Ball's voice in the mix. Tracy Nelson returns from the album she, Irma Thomas, and Ball jointly released to provide duet vocals on the melancholy "Where Do You Go?," a moving ballad they co-wrote.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,5,6,8,9,10 and 11)

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