Artist: Connie Rae
Title: Sister Garden
Website http://www.connieraemusic.com
Style: Soul/ Funk/ Blues
Rating: 8.6 out of 10
By C.W. Ross
Since her start in 2002 Connie Rae’s music has been receiving a lot of recognition, having been both nominated for and having won several music related awards. She’s also had the opportunity to open for major music acts like, Eddie Money, Dave Mason, John Waite, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds to name just a couple of them.
On this release Rae has surrounded herself with an all-star cast of musicians that I would be reminisced if I didn’t mention them.
Here’s the list:
Elliot Easton (lead guitarist for The Cars on guitar)
Mike Thompson- Keyboardist for Don Henley and The Eagles
Oscar Seaton- Drummer for George Benson, Lionel Richie, Ramsey Lewis, Grover Washington Jr., David Sanborn
Bucket Baker- Percussionist with Macy Gray, Kenny Loggins
Andre’ Carter- Featured with The Counting Crows on trumpet
Joe Robb- from The Robb’s on saxophone
Bruce Robb- from The Robb’s on B3 organ
Mahlon Hawk- Formally of Joshua on bass
The Water Sister’s- Who have graced every album from The Stones to Willy Nelson on background vocals
Some singers might have been intimidated by working with such a stellar cast of musicians but Rae has the chops to pull it off making the vocals the star of the show.
Sister Garden features ten songs that have every style from, blues, soul, rock, jazz, and funk, to even touches of country found on them. A lot of the songs deal with issues related to love and relationships and have a very noticeable undertone of a, bubbling sultriness, found on them.
“Naked Truth,” get things started. This rhythmic song is about people who are obsessed with having to wear the latest and greatest designer fashions. The song talks about relaxing and not being so worried about what other people are thinking about you and enjoying life more. The song also gives the first taste of the great horn work, especially the sax parts, that lay ahead on this release.
Track-2, “Man Enough,” is about an older woman and a younger guy, who’s either a virgin or very inexperienced and the taboo that comes along with that type of relationship. And all of the people in the woman’s life telling her not to do it.
Track-3, “Sister Garden,” is the title track. This track has a running time of 5:48; making it the second longest song on the release. The song is a melodic tune that brings in an organ part and female backing singers that give it almost a gospel vibe.
Track-4, “Getting Over You,” has a bit of a funky edge found on it. The song deals with a broken relationship where the one person comes back trying to get things restarted but the other person knows that it won’t work out.
Track-5, “Message of Hope,” Is the longest track found on the release with a running time of 7:04. The song was also one of my favorite with its soulful blues/rock sound. The song features some nice organ, and sax parts along with a nice guitar solo.
Track-6, “I Thought You Should Know,” is an up tempo song featuring nice horn work as it deals with finding that perfect person for yourself.
Track-7, “Don’t Say It’s Forever,” is a melodic track with a nice trumpet solo and keys that deals with an end of a relationship that you know just isn’t going to work out.
Track-8, “Sweet Love Power,” is an upbeat funky track that’s about sexual desires.
Track-9, “Walking in Circles,” is another blues/rock track that I really enjoyed. The song features nice saxophone work and guitar solo, along with nice backing vocals. The song is about a relationship that’s going nowhere and making the decision that it’s time for you to move on instead of being trapped in a relationship that’s just going in circles instead of moving forward.
Track-10, “Goddess of Mine,” put the musical bow on this release. The song is about trusting in your heart and going after what you believe. This song has a twinge of a country sound thanks to some steel pedal guitar that’s lurking around in the background on it.
As you can see from my review, Connie Rae’s music offers up a lot of variety on Sister Garden, that should help in making it appeal to a wide range of listeners.
