Album Spotlight: Sari Schorr - Never Say Never

Sari Schorr's 2018 release Never Say Never is the kind of blues-infused hard rock that I love. Schorrr's raspy, powerful, badass vocals are definitely the star. But if you've been reading my blog at all, you know it's all about the music first.

Never Say Never reminds me most of an album that not many have heard: When The Blackbird Sings by Saraya. That is a compliment.

Schorr evokes the best of the 80s. Reminiscent of Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Nicks and bluesy hard rock, in the best way. It also has a 70s vibe to it.

Forget what you've heard about rock being dead. It's just being repackaged.

Here's a live clip of "Valentina". Enjoy.

New(ish) Video: DIAMANTE - Coming in Hot

Chicks are rocking it. DIAMANTE proves it.

Working Women's Wednesday: Lzzy Hale

I originally had this one pegged for Metal Monday, but then dropped the ball on getting it posted. But it works here. The new Halestorm song "Apocalyptic".

Working Women's Wednesday: Pat Benatar, Rock Icon

Pat Benatar is one of the iconic female voices of our time in rock music. The diminutive vocalist with the huge
voice faced a lot of adversity and broke a lot of barriers en route to becoming a sensation in the '80's. Sure, she was fortuitous to come along at the perfect time, but that doesn't diminish anything she has accomplished.

Getting pushback from traditional rock radio, Benatar benefited heavily from the first global "radio" station, MTV. The fledgling television station that played nothing but music videos (some of you may be too young to remember, but that was actually what MTV was in its inception) needed content and Benatar was perfect for the format. Of course, there were many artists in the beginning days of MTV that didn't stay around for longer than a fleeting moment, but the one's with talent stuck around.

Along with guitarist turned husband Neil Giraldo, Benatar rocked to her way to classic status, epitomized by this 1982 release from the Get Nervous album, "Shadows of the Night".

Chicks That Rock the Blues: Samantha Fish

I'll be honest, I'd never heard of Samantha Fish before yesterday. I was doing some searching on youtube for a version of the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" and came across hers. I liked it, so naturally, I had to investigate further.

Hailing from Kansas City, Samantha is more blues than rock, but more rock than just blues. She also dabbles in country-tinged songs as well. At least that is what I gathered from a couple of listens to her 2013 album Black Wind Howlin', released last September.

There is a lot of stuff to like on this album, whether you are a fan of blues, rock, country or Americana. She delivers it all. Known as a blues artist, she is. But not purely. There is enough blues on the record to satisfy all but the purists, including a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talking." That is the only cover on the album, although there is a song called "Heartbreaker" which I almost expected to be a Led Zeppelin cover, which could have been very interesting.

The songs are minimal in instrumentation, mostly just guitar, bass and drums with not a lot of overdubs. A classic three piece setup. There is some harp and fiddle on a couple of songs.

At times, Samantha's vocals remind me a bit of Bonnie Raitt, which is a good thing, but she also has her own style. Her guitar work is good, but she's no Stevie Ray (but then again, who is?).

For the rockers, there are tracks like "Miles to Go", "Heartbreaker" and "Lay it Down". For a bit of Louisiana country with hints of zydeco, check out "Last September". And then there is plenty of blues throughout.

This is the video for "Lay it Down".

I just can't believe I've never heard of her before. Enjoy.

Samantha Fish on Amazon.

TheCheapSeats on twitter.

Chicks That Rock: HAIM,Live Is Better

I'm a big proponent of live music. I love going to shows. Rarely have I been disappointed. While it may not be perfect, there is just something special about seeing a band perform their songs in a live setting.

Some bands pull it off better than others.

And right here, we veer off onto a rabbit trail. I'm talking about bands or artists with real backing bands who actually play the music they perform. Not lip synced, not sung to a backing track (although enhancements are forgiven for some stuff), but actual musicians playing actual music.

Conversely, on very few occasions, there are artists who have a live show that totally blows away what they did in the studio. Don't misunderstand. There are a ton of artists who put on a great live show that is better than their studio work. But I'm talking about something that makes the studio offerings pointless.

I found one. HAM. A band that takes their name from the surname of the three sisters in the band.

I caught some of their set on AXStv from Coachella. They rocked. Smoking guitar licks. Rhythmically interesting. And Este's "bass faces". I was excited to check out more from them.

Upon listening to the studio stuff, I was more than disappointed. It was nothing like the live show. Subdued, overproduced, uninspired shclock. But unleashed on stage, they come alive.

I realize this is personal taste, but I will give you the following examples. I also would go see them live.

But would not purchase the album.

Chicks That Rock: Lita Ford

Lita Ford was a member of the iconic all-girl band The Runaways along with Joan Jett and Cherie Currie.. She enjoyed a fair amount of success in the Hair Band era with moderate hits "Kiss Me Deadly" and "Shot of Poison" and here career was bolstered by "Close Your Eyes Forever", a duet with Ozzy Osbourne.

I've always felt Lita was underrated as a vocalist and not given anywhere near the credit she deserves as a guitarist. Always over shadowed by Joan Jett, Lita managed to carve out a very nice career.

Lita definitely knew how to play up the glam fantasy as the following video will attest. That may have led somewhat to her being overlooked as a serious guitarist/musician.




But you can't deny the heartfelt passion is this next song, released in 2013. There's a backstory there, but I won't go into it. If you're here, you know how to run the google machine.

Chicks That Rock: Lizzy Hale, Halestorm

With "Chicks That Rock" we've covered old school with Heart, middle school with Grace Pottter, so now it's time to go new school.

I present Lizzy Hale and Halestorm.  Along with brother Arejay Hale on drums, Joe Hottinger on guitar and Josh Smith on bass, Halestorm's 2nd full length album The Strange Case of..... is probably the most listenable hard rock albums from start to finish since Appetite for Destruction.

It runs the gamut form full throttle rockers like "Freak Like Me" to tender ballads like "Break In". But throughout it all, Lzzy Hale's voice shines.

Chicks That Rock: Grace Potter

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have been around for a decade. But I just recently found them, so I'm a little late to the game.

A bit eclectic in the catalog, but the rockers are there and they so do rock.

And, she's an accomplished guitarist and keyboard player as well.

Enjoy.

Chicks that Rock

Everyday is a different hashtag on twitter and instagram. I get it, but I'm not cool like that. I'm also too old for that crap.

Wednesdays are #wcw. Woman crush Wednesday. (I'm hip enough to at least know what that means.)

Here, I'm going to do women that rock Wednesdays.

For the first one I debated. Would it be the Wilson sisters and Heart? How about Pat Benatar? Maybe Stevie Nicks? Can't go wrong with any of three. But for the inaugural post I'm going with Heart and the Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy.

No doubt, not even a discussion, Heart, led by the sisters Wilson, were and are a great band. Ann's voice gets most of the attention, rightly so, but Nancy's guitar work is highly underrated. Nancy, in my opinion, is one of the original "Chicks that Rock".

Here's a little taste of Heart doing Crazy on You live: