Suzie Vinnick - Live At Bluesville

Self Release

Time-27:32

www.suzievinnick.com

Canadian roots-music singer extraordinaire Suzie Vinnick offers a brief glimpse into her mesmerizing vocal skills with this solo “live in the studio” recording, accompanied only by her acoustic guitar “Mabel”. This set was recorded without an audience for B.B. King’s Bluesville show at Sirius/XM Radio. As the recipient of the 2012 CBC Saturday Blues Great Canadian Blues Award she must be doing something right. The first exposure I had to her was on fellow Canadian Steve Strongman’s “A Natural Fact” CD, were they performed a duet. Her voice doesn’t have quite as much of the gritty and throaty quality here, but it is quite an instrument as it is crystal clear one minute, then gritty as it pierces the air. Her guitar style is mostly rhythmic, but manages the occasional solo. The program features five cover songs and three originals.

On a song from Howlin’ Wolf’s repertoire penned by the great Willie Dixon, “You’ll Be Mine”, her voice swoops from sweetness to rough-edged, effortlessly transforming it into a funky and sexy workout. The original “Looking For A Kiss” is delivered in the folkie melody-less style, but her voice transcends the predicament. Three songs, including the public domain with some changes “All Night, All Day” are in a gospel mold. Another in a similar vein is a cover of Kevin Welch’s “Everybody’s Gotta Walk”; were Suzie’s pipes are used to the hilt. Steve Winwood’s “Can’t Find My Home” from his days with Blind Faith is delivered in a pretty much faithful fashion. “Calling Out Your Name” benefits from her strong rhythmic guitar, as well as a nicely done short solo. An old-timey thirties-like feel is achieved on “How’d You Know I Missed You”, were I could hear a clarinet in my head. It surely sounds like you’ve heard it before. This would translate nicely to a band-backed studio rendition.

The only downside here is the brevity of the recording. Like “they” say it’s about quality, not quantity. The sound is studio perfect, picking up every nuance in her voice. It would be nice to hear her backed by a band, but for now she sounds just fine in a stripped down setting. An energetic atmosphere is created as voice and guitar are combined to produce a joyful noise.