From Ottawa, Canada, the blues singer, songwriter and guitar slinger Sue Foley has been a leading light in Texas’ rich blues scene for some thirty-odd years, even during the times when she moved back up north. Her impact on Texas blues hadn’t really wavered but her first solo album in twelve years The Ice Queen brought her a fresh set of praise and cemented her status as legend grade.
Now three years beyond that 2018 release, Foley does it again with an album that is as raw and unfiltered as anything she’s ever done in the confines of a recording studio.
Pinky’s Blues was recorded in a studio in San Marcos, Texas but it’s got all the grit of a bar gig a little ways up I-35 in downtown Austin. That’s intentional. The three-day sessions were recorded live, probably with little to no rehearsal or overdubs. Often, Sue Foley’s count-offs are heard at the start of the tune. It just doesn’t get more real than that. The Ice Queen isn’t a slick record by any means but seems almost downright polished next to Pinky’s Blues.
Joining Foley is a small but deadly effective rhythm section: Jon Penner on bass and Chris “Whipper” Layton on drums. Mike Flanigin’s B3 organ adds a subtle soul supplement to the tracks “Southern Men” and “Think It Over.”
Foley’s guitar playing is award-winning and she’s liable to earn more such accolades from the title track. “Pinky’s Blues” is a heaping helping of her down-and-dirty blues licks as Foley’s signature Fender Telecaster Pinky herself does all the talking on this song. “Dallas Man” (video above) is another of a handful of Foley originals here and it’s stellar. Charging out of the gate with a boss boogie, Foley’s sweet, twangy croon makes hat tips to all the great blues guitarists from the DFW area, from Blind Lemon Jefferson all the way to Doyle Bramhall II.
For “Two Bit Texas Town,” the guitar work is mighty tasty and that steady stomp can only come from someone of Whipper’s caliber. The slow burner “Say It’s Not So” is another cover of Angela Strehli — arguably an important forerunner to Sue Foley — where the Ice Queen makes her guitar moan and weep.
Foley only makes room for another guitar on “Hurricane Girl,” but that’s understandable since that second guitar is Texas blues legend Jimmie Vaughan, and he reminds you once again why he’s got that kind of status. “Boogie Real Low” is practically a Foley duet with Pinky, as her guitar finishes her own lyric lines.
“Okie Dokie Stomp” is just the Foley/Layton/Penner trio jamming out to Gatemouth Brown’s blues instrumental and the blues shuffle gets good representation with a rightful rendition of “Someday.” This record loses no steam at the end. Willie Dixon’s “Messin’ With the Kid” rewrite “When the Cat’s Gone the Mice Play” is a funky, butt-rockin’ little number with Foley’s chops sprinkled all over it.
Oftentimes, quickly knocking out a record translates into a low-quality product. For someone like Sue Foley, it just means she’s just doing what comes naturally, and this unnaturally talented veteran is a natural at Texas blues.
Pinky’s Blues is now out, from Stony Plain Records.
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