E.C. Scott - Hard Act To Follow (1998)

Soul singer extraordinaire E.C. Scott comes back from her 1995 debut with perhaps even a stronger album the second time at bat. Ten of the 11 tunes on here emanate from her prolific pen (the only cover is her interpretation of the Eurythmics' "Missionary Man"), and her earthy, engaging style is heard to great effect on the opener, "Steppin' Out on a Saturday Night," the bouncy shuffle "Don't Touch Me," the slow blues "Lyin' and Cheatin'" and the title track. Her time is impeccable, her phrasing straight and true, and every vocal on here is chock full of deep feeling; as a modern-day example of a soul-blues album, this one's about as good as the form gets.


Tracks:

01. Steppin' Out On A Saturday Night (3:05)
02. Tell Me About It (3:11)
03. Don't Touch Me (4:11)
04. Queensize Bed (4:37)
05. Lyin' And Cheatin' (4:39)
06. Hard Act To Follow (3:03)
07. Men Gossip Too (2:35)
08. Sweet Man Of Mine (3:28)
09. Another Night In Paradise (3:00)
10. If You're A Good Woman (4:07)
11. Missionary Man (3:45)

Personnel:

E. C. Scott - Vocals
Curtis Nutall - Drums
Early Times, Tim Landis, Yasutaka Nakajima - Guitar
Jay Goudeau, Keni Williams - Bass
Backing Vocals – Larry Batiste (tracks: 2, 6), Lissa Patterson-Byrd
David Halliday, Vince Lars - Saxophone
Tim Hyland - Trumpet
Larry Batiste - Trombone on 1,2,11 and background vocals on 2,6
Lissa Patterson-Byrd - background vocals on 2,6