Bonnie Bramlett - I'm Still The Same

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:56
Size: 107,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:40)  1. Hurt
(3:26)  2. What If
(4:59)  3. No Man's Land
(3:56)  4. Made A Believer Out Of Me
(5:55)  5. Superstar
(4:22)  6. Give It Time
(4:41)  7. Closer To You
(4:31)  8. You Belong To Me
(2:57)  9. Sure Sign Of Something
(4:16) 10. Cry Me A River
(4:07) 11. I'm Still The Same

The most recent memory I have of Bonnie Bramlett dates to the summer of 1971, when Delaney and Bonnie's light-hearted "Never Ending Song of Love" was battling Carol King's "It's Too Late," James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend" and the Stones' "Brown Sugar" for airplay. Since then, Bramlett, whose deep jazz roots include youthful appearances alongside Stan Getz, Maynard Ferguson, Dexter Gordon and Miles Davis, has remained largely in the shadows, jamming occasionally with A-list pals like Eric Clapton and George Harrison, singing back-up for others, raising her kids and stepping briefly into the prime-time arena for a memorable series of guest spots on Roseanne. 

Now, after far too long a wait, Bramlett is back in the spotlight with the archly titled I'm Still the Same (Audium/Koch). While in absentia, her voice has matured magnificently, approximating the sandpaper sass of Elaine Stritch crossed with the self-assured growl of Tina Turner. Several years in the making, this musical autobiography traces four decades of hard knocks and heartache through a clever combination of covers and original compositions. The songs tend, it seems, to work in pairs. Bramlett's "Made a Believer Out of Me," a salty paean to survivalism is, for instance, balanced by an extraordinary version of Leon Russell's "Superstar" that lays bare the lyric's remorseful self-delusion better than any other rendition I've heard. Similarly, Bramlett explores the sweet fear that accompanies a promising but unproven romance in the cautiously cheerful "Give It Time," then abandons herself to the intense fires of desire in "Closer to You." Most satisfying of all is her jumpin' "Sure Sign of Something," a finger-poppin' dissertation on romantic suspicion that clearly owes a debt to "Hit the Road Jack," teamed with a refreshingly cynical treatment of "Cry Me a River" that sidesteps self-pity in favor of stirring self-empowerment. ~ Christopher Loudon  http://jazztimes.com/articles/13353-i-m-still-the-same-bonnie-bramlett

Personnel: Bonnie Bramlett (vocals, background vocals); Reggie Young , Tom Bukovac (guitar); The Nashville String Machine (strings); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Denis Solee, Bobby Keys (saxophone); Sam Lavine (soprano saxophone); Nashville Horns (horns); John Jonethis (piano); Clayton Ivey, Jon Jarvis, John Jarvis, Jason Webb (keyboards); Glenn Worf, Kevin Grantt, Don Barrett (electric bass); Elijah Holt, Randy Hardison, Eddie Bayers, Vince Barranco, Shannon Forrest (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Carolyn Corlew (background vocals).

I'm Still The Same

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Bonnie Bramlett - 2 albums: Roots, Blues & Jazz / Beautiful

Album: Roots, Blues & Jazz
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:59
Size: 116.7 MB
Styles: Blues/jazz vocals
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[4:58] 1. Love The One You're With
[2:51] 2. I Can Laugh About It Now
[3:20] 3. No Particular Place To Go
[3:27] 4. I'm Confessin'
[2:43] 5. Gotcha
[5:29] 6. That Lucky Old Sun
[3:43] 7. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
[5:22] 8. A Change Is Gonna Come
[4:35] 9. Carefree
[3:49] 10. Work Song
[4:50] 11. Love Hurts
[5:46] 12. Harlem Nocturne

No less than Ike Turner and Charlie Daniels have raving quotes in the packaging of the famed R&B/soul/jazz belter's rip-roaring, funky, and swinging mix of originals and standards from the worlds of rock and jazz -- but the former Ikette could have had numerous other legends chime in. She's worked with 'em all, singing with Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, George Harrison, Leon Russell, and Carly Simon and having tunes recorded by everyone from the Staple Singers to Hank Williams, Jr. Although she returned from a long musical hiatus with 2002's Nashville date I'm Still the Same, this collection signals her full-scale return to the soul sounds that inspired her jazz fame in St. Louis and rock notoriety in L.A. The way she bursts from the gate, rockin' on "Love the One You're With" and jamming on her edgy original blues number "I Can Laugh About It Now," the listener is prepared for a fiery party -- but then she pulls a low-key seductive jazz rabbit out of her hat. And not just on standards, either, though she pays homage to greats like Cannonball Adderley and classic dates like "Harlem Nocturne." She cleverly turns Chuck Berry's "No Particular Place to Go" into a cool, organic meditation, and lets "I'm Confessin'" simmer in a dreamy jazz blues stew. There's a sweet balance throughout between graceful reflections like "That Lucky Old Sun" and swinging barnburners like her own "Gotcha," with blistering twists on Sam Cooke and "Love Hurts" thrown in for good measure. Providing full support is her Nashville-based ensemble, Mr. Groove, which is more than up to every rhythmic and harmonic task her stylistic diversity demands. It's almost like she can't decide if she wants to be a jazz singer or a blues-rocker who loves R&B. So she does it all. ~Jonathan Widran

Roots, Blues & Jazz

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Album: Beautiful
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:28
Size: 94.9 MB
Styles: Blues/jazz vocals
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:07] 1. Sure Got A Way With My Heart
[3:54] 2. Witness For Love
[4:00] 3. Strongest Weakness
[3:44] 4. Beautiful
[4:09] 5. For What It's Worth
[3:57] 6. Some Of My Best Friends
[3:21] 7. I Do Believe
[3:48] 8. Shake Somethin' Loose
[3:56] 9. Bless 'em All
[4:21] 10. It's Gonna Rain
[3:06] 11. He'll Take Care Of You

Bonnie Bramlett looks you straight in the eye. Then she lays it out. "I don't do 'famous,'" she says, her voice as wise and true as a Saturday night slow-drag or a Sunday morning sermon. "I don't have an entourage. I don't ride in limos. I don't call cars. It takes a lot of work to be famous..." And here she leans back, her eyes dancing playfully. "...and I'm just a lazy girl." Laughter follows, as infectious and beckoning as the rhythm in her speech. Even so, it only hints at how Bramlett communicates through songs - and that case is made clear on Beautiful, the latest and certainly one of the greatest albums this peerless singer has ever tracked.

Bramlett has followed just about every path through the landscape of American music. Go back beyond her previous release, the title-says-it-all Roots, Blues & Jazz, back through the phenomenon of Delaney & Bonnie, whose electrifying shows inspired Eric Clapton to give up his superstar spotlight and woodshed as a member of their band, earlier even than her apprenticeship as the only white Ikette ever welcomed into the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, all the way to the days when she used to sneak as a teen from her steel-town neighborhood into black blues bars of St. Louis, to hear and then to sing with the likes of Little Milton and Albert King.

All of these experiences come together on Beautiful, an album that's elegant in its simplicity and profound in its depth. It was recorded with the best of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section joined by roots-rock veterans, members of Little Richard's and Delbert McClinton's bands, and others gathered by Johnny Sandlin, whose artist-centric productions defined the Southern rock movement and gave Bramlett the inspiration she needed to record two of her best solo albums, It's Time (1975) and Lady's Choice (1976).

Beautiful

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