CD Review - Marcia Ball - Roadside Attractions

Pianist and singer Marcia Ball has an impressive resume. Nominated for four Grammies, spanning an impressively consistent ten year period and the possessor of eight blues Music Awards, including four wins in the last five years for best piano player, she featured in Clint Eastwood’s fantastic piano blues documentary and has played with BB King at such venues as the White House. Yet in spite of this pedigree, which is in clear evidence throughout, I have to admit this album ultimately left me feeling a bit disappointed.

From start to finish it is clear that Marcia Ball knows her craft. The songs, all originals, are well put together and the piano playing, as proficient as would be expected, takes the lead throughout the album. Her experience is also apparent in the vocals, as although she doesn’t have the strongest voice in the world she makes up for this with phrasing that brings a lot of character to her delivery.
There is also a pleasing mix of styles, with some funky driving rhythms giving way to slower blues and softer ballads. Of these, We Fell Hard and The Party’s Still Going On are the standouts of the faster songs, whilst I Heard it All is notable for the way it spins a story and conjures a mood and This Used to be Paradise is equally impressive as a heartfelt reminiscence of times gone by.

Yet at the same time I couldn’t help but feel that Marcia and the band were going through the motions for much of the time with parts of the album feeling like pastiches of standard ideas and sounds that didn’t really offer anything new and which felt a little too safe.
As such this is a good solid album but not one I would rush to recommend. If you are a fan of Marcia Ball’s and of the traditional New Orleans sound then I imagine you will not be relatively satisfied but if you are looking for something with that extra spark I think you might find that for all its promise Roadside Attractions is something of a pit-stop.

Joe Druce