9816 - SUE FOLEY - BIG CITY BLUES )(1995)

SUE FOLEY
''BIG CITY BLUES''
1995
39:15

1 Big City Blues (Sue Foley) 03:32
2 Howlin' For My Darlin'(Chester Burnett, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf) 03:35
3 To Be Alone With You (Bob Dylan) 04:12
4 One Hundred Dollar Bill (Buddy Guy) 02:19
5 Ain't Gonna Worry No More (Elbert Giles, Wayne Hancock) 02:33
6 This Time (Sue Foley) 03:42
7 As Long As I Have You (Willie Dixon) 04:13
8 Highway Bound (Sue Foley) 04:00
9 If You Gotta Go (Bob Dylan) 03:46
10 My Baby's Sweeter (Willie Dixon, Little Walter) 04:17
11 Girl's Night Out (Jeffrey Hawthorne Bullock, Sue Foley, Brent Maher) 03:00

Stephen Bruton/Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Tremolo), Mandolin, Producer, Vocals
Carlos Campos/Vocals (Background)
Sue Foley/Guitar, Vocals
Chris Maresh/Bass (Upright)
Amber July Morton/Vocals (Background)
Riley Osbourne/Piano
Donna Pearl/Vocals (Background)
John Penner/Bass Guitar
Toni Price/Guest Artist, Vocals (Background)
Ted Roddy/Harmonica
Craig Simechek/Organ (Hammond), Piano
Freddie Walden/Drums

BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Bill Dahl

This highly touted vocalist/guitarist originally hails from Ottawa, Canada, although her home base shifted to Austin, TX, when she signed with Antone's Records and cut her debut set, Young Girl Blues, in 1992 (an encore, Without a Warning, quickly followed). Foley's wicked lead guitar makes her a rarity among blueswomen.
When she was a child in Ottawa, Foley listened to rock & roll and blues-rock groups like the Rolling Stones. Although these bands sowed the seeds of her affection for the blues, her love for the music didn't blossom until she witnessed James Cotton in concert when she was 15 years old. Cotton inspired Foley to pick up the electric guitar. During her late teens and early twenties, she jammed with local Ottawa bar bands. She didn't form her own group until she moved to Vancouver in the mid-'80s.

Foley sent a demo tape of herself to Antone's Records in 1990. Impressed, the label arranged an audition for the guitarist. Sue moved to Austin and soon signed a recording contract with Antone's. In 1992, her debut album, Young Girl Blues, was released. It was acclaimed by a number of blues publications. Two years later she released her second album, Without a Warning. It was followed by Big City Blues in 1995. Subsequent efforts include 1996's A Walk in the Sun, 1998's Ten Days in November, and 2000's Love Comin' Down and Back to the Blues. Where the Action Is appeared in 2002 on Shanachie Records. Foley then switched to Ruf Records for her next two albums, 2004's Change and 2006's New Used Car. In 2007 Foley released Time Bomb, a collaborative effort with fellow Ruf labelmates Deborah Coleman and Roxanne Potvin.

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1092 - PETER KARP & SUE FOLEY - Beyond the Crossroads (2012)

PETER KARP AND SUE FOLEY
''BEYOND THE CROSSROADS''
2012
BLIND PIG
41:32
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1/We're Gonna Make It/Foley, Karp/2:33
2/Analyze'n Blues/Foley, Karp/4:39
3/Beyond the Crossroads/Karp/4:27
4/Fine Love/Karp/2:59
5/At the Same Time/Karp/3:38
6/Take Your Time/Foley/3:44
7/More Than I Bargained For/Foley, Karp/3:58
8/Blowin'/Karp/4:14
9/Resistance/Foley/3:09
10/Chance of Rain/Karp/3:35
11/Plank Spank/Foley/1:47
12/You've Got a Problem/Karp/2:49

James Alexander/Vocals
Rosalind Brown/Vocals
Paul Carlon/Arranger, Sax (Tenor)
Mike Catapano/Drums, Vocals (Background)
Charity Dawson/Vocals
John Di Santo/Sax (Baritone)
Sue Foley/Fender Telecaster, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Nylon String), Producer, Vocals
Carlos Francis/Trumpet
Peter Karp/Drums (Snare), Guitar, Korg Synthesizer, National Steel Guitar, Percussion, Producer, Soloist, Vocals, Yamaha Keyboards
Ken McMahon/Drums, Vocals (Background)
Mark Miller/Trombone
Swingadelic Horns/Horn
Niles Terrat/Bass, Vocals (Background)
Mike Turenne/Bass, Vocals (Background)

REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz/ALLMUSIC
There aren't many -- there may not be any -- contemporary male/female co-billed couples who both sing and contribute original songs, thus making the partnership an equal dynamic. Roots musicians Peter Karp and Sue Foley released their successful He Said, She Said song cycle in 2010, a challenging conceptual piece that examined, sometimes with excruciating intimacy, the beginnings of their professional and personal relationship in songs derived from written correspondence they sent each other over a several-years-long courtship. It was an audacious start to the duo's joint recorded career and one that set the bar pretty high. Two years and thousands of road miles later, it's encouraging to find that the couple has not only withstood the pressures of romantically linked touring musicians but has thrived creatively. Removed from the formulaic story constraint corner they painted themselves into with the previous disc, this one is both looser and more natural sounding. Karp and Foley play on the original tunes, and sing --sometimes trading verses -- on all but one instrumental. The opening upbeat shuffle "We're Gonna Make It" (not the Little Milton hit) adds a four-piece horn section and sounds as joyous as its somewhat clichéd title implies. But it sets the stage for the next 35 minutes of sharply written, energized, soul- and blues-influenced rock performed by two talents that truly complement each other. Karp's keyboards, slide guitar, and gruff yet friendly vocals power the gospel-styled title track but the twosome work best when they trade leads, singing on selections such as the swampy "Fine Love," the slow New Orleans march-inflected "At the Same Time," and the classic easy grooving R&B of "More Than I Bargained For," the latter a highlight of this terrific effort. Even the downbeat sentiments of "Blowin'" ("Lord I feel so weary/I'm ready to go down") seem downright uplifting when sung over a melody that captures a contagious, toe-tapping vibe. Karp displays his impressive boogie-woogie piano chops on the swinging, humorous, self-deprecating "You've Got a Problem" ("and it's me!" closes the chorus) and they take it down a notch on the acoustic folk-blues of "Chance of Rain." Foley's nasal yet emotive voice and Karp's raspier edge would seem to be unlikely companions but the contrasts work and even balance each other out. It helps makes this a logical, perhaps less ambitious but ultimately more organic follow-up to their revealing debut and indicates that for these two, in life and music, perhaps the best is yet to come.