Sari Schorr A Force Of Nature cd review.

Once in a while a new name appears from what we believe to be no where and blows your socks clean off.

Sari Schorr and her studio band of Nani Conde (bass), Jose Mena (drums), Julián Maeso (keyboards) and Engine Room band mate Innes Sibun (guitar)(formerly with Robert Plant) along with special guests Oli Brown and Walter Trout have produced an album of breath taking music built in the blues but oh so much more.

12 tracks 57 minutes that go from a whisper and taken right up to a scream with Sari's vocals a mix of Janis Joplin/Tina Turner and Elkie Brooks with power,soul,melody,passion and a tone to die for.

I love the way they have moulded her vocals alongside the always melodic guitar melodies and stylings especially with Innes Sibun who is a simply incredible.

First track Ain't Got No Money sees us straight into a mid paced number with Innes guitar soloing in the intro and in the chorus and wherever he feels the need to add lib with a melodic brief and when Sari really lets rip vocally in the chorus the guitar goes up a notch too.
A song all about wealth addiction and Sari means every word and towards the end of the song her voice gets a real breathlessness to it as the guitar soloing just keeps on coming.
What an opening number and would love to see it live too.

Aunt Hazel has a deep bluesy groove which picks up pace around the chorus with Sari baring her soul with a vocal that you can imagine her vocal chords being red raw as she puts so much power into and more stunning band interplay mid song and Innes again excelling with his soloing.

Damn The Reason sees Sari singing about domestic violence on a song that sees a vocal with such feeling you can hear it in every note.Oli Brown takes lead guitar on this number and his playing is in keeping with Sari's vocal as he hits the heights with a passion and feel and intensity that is jaw dropping.More band interplay of the highest quality with Hammond organ giving the song a real depth.Quite superb.

Cat And Mouse sees a drop in pace but no less quality with a funky little number that would go down a storm in a smoky club with Sari's vocal lines having that smoky feel to them too.

Black Betty is a cover of the Lead Belly classic with a version that her and Innes did for a live show at Carnegie Hall which she sees as the song being about a slave, a rape and the cracking of a whip.The vocal is part soul part slave chant on the intro and chorus and sees the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention.Another Innes master class on the guitar solo matching Sari's vocal and when you think Sari can put no more in hear her howl just before the outro to an inch of the last breath she will draw.
Now that is the way to take a classic tear it apart and put it back together being respectful with the original but putting your own stamp of originality to it.

Work No More is a Walter Trout penned number with Walter showing off his soloing prowess alongside Sari's bluesy vocal and underpinned by the band and Hammond detail too.

Demolition Man is a slower paced six string blues slide infused number with Sari again putting her heart and soul into a number that means a great deal to her with her hearing that Amnesty International had passed a resolution to support the decriminalization of sex work.

Oklahoma has a smooth as silk jazz groove with Sari and Oli Brown in restrained mode with lots of Hammond parts and Oli letting go in the last minute with a wonderful guitar solo.

Letting Go is a slow ballad with a quite sensational vocal from Sari which again you can see her playing live as she bares her soul.She ebbs and flows like a river with a tone and a note she holds at the end of the song should be watched the world over.She hangs on and then goes again with an incredible power.

Kiss Me ups the rock ante with a stop start guitar riff alongside a bobbing bass and drum rhythm.The band know when to take it down with no loss of power and feel and then build it all back up again with Sari just wanting to be kissed.

Stop In The Name Of Love is a remake and rearrangement of The Supremes classic that Sari and the band make their own with at times a struggle to remember the original.
Sari's vocal owns a song so recognisable as she takes her soul and bares it to all with a vocal that is world class.Innes's guitar soloing is again filling any gaps and backing vocals too make it a total vocal and band tour de force.Wow.

The piano led Ordinary Life is a gentle end with Sari's vocal simply breath taking.

A Force Of Nature is the perfect title for a cd that could describe that voice that power within as Sari Schorr is A Force Of Nature.

Simply superb and yours to own on September the 2nd.