2. Review Reprints:
"This ultra-sexy blues diva scores again with another incredible CD that is
chock full of 15 self-penned songs with assistance from a stellar team of
musicians. Judging the sexy cover shot on the CD may prejudice you from
checking out the music inside. You can't judge the music by the hot and
steamy pin-up poses alone. The music speaks volumes all by itself. Cathy
Jean sings 'the blues' with a 'take-no-prisoners' attitude, singing of
loves lost and loves found, life's hits and misses, not afraid to stomp on
those that get in her way or taking on those who have done her wrong. A
powerful collection that is simply smokin'!!
"Cathy Jean is a singer/songwriter out of Baltimore, Maryland. This is her
second CD, which is co-produced by four time Grammy nominee Bob Dawson. Her
sound has moved towards a sophisticated blues and rock, with some
contemporary influences. She has a voice that is well suited to this
eclectic approach, capable of crooning in one song, and belting out a hard
shuffle in the next.
"Cathy Jean sings with an expressive, very melodic and powerful voice, more
in common with Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin, or Aretha Franklin. Her vocal
range is almost limitless--whether she is singing an all-out rocker like
'I'm Your Girl,' the jump blues of 'Be Glad,' or songs influenced by the
soulfulness of Tina Turner and the incomparable Memphis Stax-Volt sounds,
she has the power to draw you into each song and to have you, the listener,
identify with and to feel all of the emotions being generated there. Her
performance is a major tour-de-force!
"Along for support are the talents of Jon Carroll and Bengie Porecki on
organ; Jerry Queen on sax; and Keith Stafford's ballsy guitar work. Quite
an extraordinary team! Nighthawks Mark Wenner contributes his own special
blues harp on the punches flying, foot stompin' cut, 'Unfinished Business.'
"Tracks to watch out for: 'Why Don't You See Me,' a touching and quite
catchy tune penned by Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano; and, the last
song on the CD, the hauntingly beautiful 'Blues Psalm' which finds Cathy
soulfully and reverently singing to a lonely saxophone. There is an
emotional fervor with which she sings the prayer-like tune that cuts deep
into your soul.
"With music this good it is hard to fathom why Cathy Jean and her bandmates
aren't headlining more festivals or bombarding more clubs with greater
frequency. This is extremely short-sighted on many peoples parts. 'I Want'
has an enormous amount of depth, heart, and a blistering sense of attitude.
The music jumps from start to finish. Check-out Cathy Jean at your earliest
opportunity. Take her home and relish the experience!!!"
--John Muller, Blues Power Blues Society/New York Blues Society -
Manhattan
"I'd seen this CD in the American blues mags. The bar stool pose by Cathy
Jean oozes sex, so I cynically assumed that looks were making up for a
lack of talent. Well, I can report that there's no lack in the talent
department--I'm unable at this distance to assess the former any better!
"This is high energy modern blues. It draws on rock and other influences
and has a modern sound in the drum department. Some of the guitar tones
have a rock edge, too. So, for some of you, this album is starting to
sound really good. Let me add that Cathy's vocal style has lots of the
snarl and attack of Janis Joplin, too.
"Some of the cuts aren't blues--'**4 in the morning**' is about
unfaithfulness but with lots of non-blues textures, classical guitar and
(soprano?) sax. Cathy calls it the 1990's arrangement.
"'Unfinished Business' has a Bo Diddley riff and overdriven harp--well
played by Mark Wenner.
"'Leave Me Alone' has the band in a horn-led, soul mood while 'Why Don't
You See Me' (with the talented Benjie Porecki on organ) has breathy
sax to the fore. 'Tallow Shuffle' is just that, well, a shuffle. Keith
Stafford gets a chance to knock out some good blues chops laced with
tremolo (Lesley effect?).
"It's a relief to get to cut 9 and pick up an acoustic track. Here
Cathy sounds at her most Janis-like. On 'Blues Singin' Alcoholic,'
again acoustic, the feel is folky...
"Cathy Jean and her band should be touring and working hard, sex appeal
and energy make for success in gigs."
--Mike Garner, editor, "The Bluesletter,"
Volume 2, Number 32, New Zealand Blues Society, April 2000
"Cathy Jean is a major talent waiting to be discovered. She has a blues
inflected voice reminiscent of Janis Joplin. She is also a strikingly
beautiful woman and a seasoned performer. If that’s not enough she’s a
superb songwriter with 15 self-penned tunes here which stretch her talent
in a number of directions. On the title track her voice blends with Keith
Stafford’s guitar and is reminiscent of Etta James at her best. But make no
mistake Cathy Jean is an original talent. The plaintive blues ballad '4 in
the morning' is followed by 'Unfinished Business' in which she sounds like
a female Delbert McClinton. In the Tina Turner-inspired 'How Many' she
laments the problems of love. Other songs honor the Stax-Volt sound, or
shuffle along as Jon Carroll’s organ blends with Cathy Jean’s voice.
Unrequited and lost loves dominate Cathy Jean’s songwriting, and every song
here is a masterpiece. Her band is superb with Stafford’s guitar, Mike
Crotty’s saxophone, Benjie Porecki’s piano and Steve Loecher’s drums
dominating the hotter tracks. Cathy Jean is a major talent who is destined
for stardom."
--Howard A. DeWitt, Rock & Blues News
"Cathy Jean is a gifted singer with a breathy, cabaret-style voice that
shifts between Aretha Franklin and Debbie Harry. Her well-produced cuts on
I Want (Cathy Jean Productions 97982), for the most part, fantasize about
getting revenge on men who’ve done her wrong, with lyrics such as 'I want
to see you suffer like you made me suffer/I want to see you broken' and
'You a rotten bastard and everybody gonna know.' Organist Benjie Poreckie
and sax man Jerry Queen add lots of classy lines, dovetailed perfectly with
guitarist Steve [sic: should be 'Keith'--ed.] Stafford’s tough blues work.
Best Cut: Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano pens the melodic and catchy
rock ballad 'Why Don’t You See Me.'"
--Blues Review, June 1999.
"Don’t apply unless you can take the heat; Cathy Jean comes on pretty
strong, from the steamy pictures on the cover to the rub-it-raw lyrics of
many of the songs. But the band is good and the production equal to the
task. Hang on--it’s worth the ride"
--Blues Access Magazine
"You have to have a certain attitude to be a great blues singer. Depressed
at life, upset with your woman (or man), and prepared for the bad luck that
inevitably comes with every decision you make--these are the attributes you
must possess to bring listeners into your sphere of misery. Not many
female singers make the grade. They try for bold and brassy, but forget
how to tone it down, resulting in a scream for help rather than a cry for
mercy. The ones who do well understand that you must feel the blues, not
merely vocalize. Cathy Jean relates well with the agony of defeat,
otherwise known as the blues.
"On 'I Want,' her second CD, she employs a lot of different styles to
express her sadness with broken relationships, all of them effective. She
starts off though with the rather deceptive 'Be Glad.' Set to a rousing
jump-blues beat, Cathy Jean tells her ex-lover to be grateful she doesn’t
have a gun because he’d be six feet under otherwise. Great scat vocals and
a bouncing blues harp underlie the humorous but sharp tone of the song.
Very head-bopping music to begin the blues beguine.
"Strong conviction in the vocals also power 'Unfinished Business' where
Cathy Jean threatens to punch the other woman’s lights out. Mark Wenner
from the Nighthawks on harmonica plus a strong backbeat via Bo Diddley also
keep your feet a’goin as well. It also has, as a musical in-joke, a snatch
of 'Who Do You Love?' thrown in for good measure.
"In 'How Many?,' Cathy Jean will get her revenge in a tit-for-tat way.
Catching her man looking at everybody in a very loving way (including his
mother--how sick!), she believes the only way to get back at him is to get
ever-so-close with all his buddies. Very clever lyrics plus terrific sax
keep you hoping he gets his just desserts.
"The mood turns wistful in 'Why Don’t You See Me?' written by Johnette
Napolitano from Concrete Blonde. Cathy Jean turns in a beguiling vocal to
underplay the yearning inside her. Very contained sax keeps the
proceedings relaxed and tranquil.
"Other songs capture the various nuances of the blues from the Stonesy
rocker 'I’m Your Girl' to the two-part 'Hate Chants' which pretty much lets
loose every possible emotional rage you could feel towards a man who done
you wrong.
"But it takes the last song on the CD, 'Blues Psalm,' to convince you of
Cathy Jean’s talents. Simply sung to a lone saxophone, her plea to a
higher being for the right to sing the blues conveys the power that this
genre has to reach people. Her fervent prayer makes you care and hope that
she is granted that request.
"Hopefully, this wish will always be received so that Cathy Jean will
continue to make excellent albums. She joins such luminaries as Bonnie
Raitt, Marcia Ball, and Koko Taylor, to name a few, in keeping the flame
alive for blues singers. After all, she knows it’s not necessarily what
you sing that’s important, it’s how you sing it. And that makes a loser in
love a winner in the ears of the blues-loving listeners!"
--Karen Liebowitz, Music Monthly Magazine
"The music kicks off with 'Be Glad,' a hard shuffle, followed by the title
track, a crisp blues rocker. Cathy and band then move into some jazzy funk
in '**4 in the Morning**,' a little of the Bo Diddley beat in 'Unfinished
Business,' then back into the funk with 'How Many.'
"'Leave Me Alone' is a rocker with a definite soul feel, which gives way
to 'Why Don’t You See Me,' a jazzy ballad. The band then cranks out a sharp
shuffle, that recalls the 70’s Albert Collins sound, followed by 'Please
Stop Seeing That Girl,' a funky acoustic blues that showcases yet another
facet of Cathy Jean’s voice.
"Dancers in the crowd are served next with the catchy rocking blues, 'I’m
Your Girl,' then comes the sultry 'See You Tomorrow,' and the acoustic
country-blues of 'Blues Singin’ Alcoholic.' Next up is the New Orleans
style rocker, 'I Want Your Mother To Know/Rotten B.' which Cathy belts out
with authority.
"This CD closes with a nice slow blues and a gospelish blues that is a
inventive synthesis of genres.
"SUMMARY: Cathy Jean has come up with an energetic set of blues, jazz and
contemporary-blues that fits the 90’s to a T. She has real fire in her
voice, and all of the music here is driven by a genuine sense of passion
that makes the songs literally jump out at you from the speakers. A great
mix of sophistication and downhome grease."
--Al Handa, Delta Snake Daily Blues