photo filled booklet. A fitting tribute to some of the honest to God pioneers of the Ameri- cana movement. . . The Lucky Losers, a duet based out of San Francisco and featuring Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz, are back with a third release that harbors a great retro soul vibe. Blind Spot (Dirty Cat Records) blends blues and soul into a totally unique and down right good sound. You’ve got to love writers who come up with titles like “Alli- gator Baptism” and “Bulldogs and Angels.” The songs look at life in this instant gratification, post electronic media blitz world in which we live. Good songs, good music, good message. A winner. . . Dana Fuchs (pronounced Fyooks),is back with her seventh album. Love Lives On (Get Along Records), finds the singer-song- writer returning to her roots, back to the sounds that made her what she is today. The whole Mem- phis soul, Stax R&B sound is perfect for the raspy voiced Dana. It’s as if Janis Joplin herself has been reincar- nated into the body of the New York based vocalist, working alongside veteran Memphis musicians like original Hi Records organist Charles Hodges, Stax staple Steve Potts on drums, keyboard man Glenn Patscha, and bassist Jack Daley, Dana rules the roost with her powerful voice, excellent songwriting, and rock star showmanship. Love Lives On is a treat from the get go. This is the good stuff. Fellow babies. . . It is truly the year of power- ful women, and Australian born, Los Angeles based singer Kara Grainger proves the fact with Living with Your Ghost (Station House), recorded in Austin, Texas and co-produced by Anders Osbourne, the album features Ivan
Neville on keyboards, The Texas Horns, J.J. Johnson on drums, and Dave Monsey on bass. The sound is incredible and varied - blues and soul based, with a voice out front that in 2012 toured Japan with none other than the Muscle Shoals Swampers and “Funky” Donnie Fritts – delivering her own infectious songwriting. If you have yet to ex- perience the music of Kara Grainger, do your- self a big ol’ favor and get this CD. The soul pours out of it like rain. Refreshing and stim- ulating. . . Memphis Rent Party (Fat Pos- sum) is a twelve track compilation produced by Grammy Winning producer, writer and filmmaker Robert Gor- den. The album was as- sembled as a companion piece for his excellent book of the same name (see review this issue.) Much like the book, the compilation displays the wide variety of sounds that have called Mem- phis, Tennessee home.
From Jerry Lee Lewis’ rocking take on “Har- bor Lights” to the 1960s living room record- ing of “Why Don’t You Come Home Blues” by the great Furry Lewis, the fun never stops. Hell, it never even lets up. Bohemian blues man Jim Dickinson’s “I’d Love to Be a Hip- pie” is classic, as is Jerry McGill’s cover of Guy Clark’s “Desperados Waiting for a Train.” With half of the album consisting of previ- ously unreleased tracks, Memphis Rent Party is a true treasure trove. With everything from the barrelhouse piano of Mose Vinison to the punk of Alex Chilton with the Randy Band, the music, just like Memphis itself, is all over the board, and all great. Junior Kimbrough, Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) and Sharde Thomas, and the one and only
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