Cathy Ponton King - The Crux (2012)

Tracklist

01. Sugarface (feat. Jimmy Thackery)
02. I'm Just a Woman (Pours Her Heart Out Way Too Much) (feat. Jimmy Thackery)
03. Cerulean Blues (feat. Ronnie Earl)
04. Blues Companion (feat. Ronnie Earl)
05. Tattoo On My Heart (feat. Dan Hovey)
06. I Want You to Be Happy (feat. Tom Corradino)
07. Sweet Change to My Heart (feat. Butch Warren & Ronnie Earl)
08. Little House in the Country (feat. Ronnie Earl & Ron Holloway)
09. Bridges That You Burned (feat. Dan Hovey & Ron Holloway)
10. I'm Suffering (feat. Jimmy Thackery)

Surely Cathy Ponton King has heard the whispers of the blues purists: she’s a jack-of-all-trades, but a master at none. Just because the singer’s affinity for Memphis soul, New Orleans jazz and old-fashioned balladry outweighs her enthusiasm for the standard-issue I-IV-V blues leitmotif is no reason to hate on her. Especially when King’s latest disc, The Crux, impresses so thoroughly with its dazzling array of guitar sounds, vigorous horn breaks and King’s own high quivering vocal soprano - it’s bound to leave purists clucking their tongues.

The lush sound-scape emanates from the line-up of “trophy friends” she’s called in to provide the album with its sheen of sound. The well-sought-after rhythm section includes (at times) legendary bassist, Butch Warren, and features guitar luminaries Ronnie Earl and James Thackery. They infuse each track with a modicum of compressed energy – the kind formed by holding back rather than cutting loose. But cut loose, they do.

Clearly, The Crux deserves to be applauded as much for its emotional resonance as its stellar musicianship. The effort King has put forth stands on its own merit as a living, breathing entity. The only “crux” involved in the matter is the concept of a blues album built on pure expression of feeling rather than a fusillade of fast wrist-work. And that’s something to cluck over.

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