Jill Newman - Little Bit of Luck (2025)

Jill Newman grew up in Vancouver, started playing guitar in her teens and once played in an all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band! Now based in the Pacific North West, Jill and her band play around Seattle and up into Canada, the recent release show for this CD being in Vancouver. This is Jill’s third album and it includes nine originals and one cover. The musicians are, one assumes, Jill’s regular band: Scott Smith on guitar, Patrick McDanel on bass, Kelly Van Camp on drums and harmonica. In addition Annie Jantzer adds backing vocals to five tracks, Peggy Lee cello to one track and keys are added to seven by Joe Doria or Chris Gestrin. Jill herself handles lead vocals and lead, rhythm and slide guitar, even giving a credit to her dog Lucy who lay by her side as she composed the songs!

The title track opens the album with a steady rhythm and Kelly’s harp the main featured instrument, the song reflecting a thought that we have all had at one time or another: “I don’t need a pocket full of money, all I need is for you to stand with me, all we need is a Little Bit Of Luck”. Acoustic guitar and slide mesh with Jill’s guitar on the melodic and catchy “Lost Without You”, Annie’s harmony vocals working well before the jagged rhythms of “Lay My Worries Down” which has the first appearance of organ on the record, Jill also adding some good lead lines. “Making Up For Lost Time” is a slower tune with some aching lead lines from Jill, a song about regret: “All those questions turning round in my head makes me realize what didn’t get said”. Jill rocks things up a little more on “Not Gonna Change My Mind”, playing all the guitar parts, fuzzed-up rhythm guitar and harp overlaid with a fine slide solo on another song about moving on from a failed relationship.

Cello adds a mournful feel to “Someone Like You”, a tender ballad with acoustic guitar and piano that seems to celebrate a new person in the author’s life whereas “Crying Out Loud” carries on that gentle musical style but is about leaving, “Got my suitcase in the hallway, car keys in my hand, I don’t really want to stay; I know you love me but you couldn’t come around, there’s nothing left to say”. “I’ve Had Enough” is a fun trio performance which opens with a great upright bass line and again features Kelly’s harp work and incisive guitar work from Jill. The instrumental “Yellow Dog Shuffle” (presumably a reference to Lucy the labrador) carries on in similar fashion with Jill playing some funky lead lines over the band’s steady groove, aided by the organ. The album closes with the sole cover, “Love Has No Pride”, a song covered over the years by Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt, amongst others; Jill plays it pretty straight and the harmonies with Annie work well on the familiar chorus.

Jill’s vocals are clear throughout and she avoids any of the histrionics to which some singers resort, making this a pleasant listen. There are some blues influences here but the music is probably more in the Americana field.