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Carol Lockridge - You Make Me Blue

11 tracks

I’m sometimes apprehensive about listening to new music from folks I have not heard of. I’m also leery of self produced, self recorded, self promoted artist who have written all of their own material. Add to it that this artist is out of Fort Wayne Indiana! So, needless to say, I was hesitant to listen to You Make Me Blue by Carol Lockridge.

Ms Lockridge was born in Ypsilanti Michigan but raised in Detroit. She paid her dues in clubs, theaters, and stages in and around the Detroit area. She is first and foremost a vocalist. However, she is also a multi instrument musician and actress. From Detroit she moved on to Fort Wayne Indiana. For most artists that may seem to be the end to a promising career. But people there listen to music too. In Fort Wayne, she has worked with all of the top local musicians at popular clubs and has opened for Bobby Rush, Latimore, and Denise LaSalle. In 2006, as Carol Lockridge and Friends, she won the Indiana Blues Challenge and went on to Memphis to compete in the International Blues Challenge. In 2010, she was named the Indiana Blues Woman of the Year. Also in 2010, she released You Make Me Blue. It was an all out effort on her part. She wrote all of the songs, played keyboards on most of the tracks, plays guitar on some, sings lead vocals on all tracks. To keep it all in house, she owns all of the publishing rights through own publishing company. She then established her own record label, Soundin’ Good Record Company. Just to show that she can work with others, her daughter, Tiesha Smith, provides backup vocals on three tracks. Her other credited vocal partner is Maurice Turner.

There is a curious mixture of blues, soul, ballads, and gospel. It’s common practice for conflicted blues artists to add a gospel song at the end of a disc. This disc however, has a religious song near the beginning and an ode to a departed seven year old boy. To add these songs in the midst of soul, blues, and ballads was a bit confusing (and depressing). All of the songs are “blues” oriented, except the aforementioned, but the bluesiest is “Walking A Thin Line.” It has the tempo, beat, and music to match. It’s my favorite. “Single” is the most upbeat. I enjoyed the horn in “You Are My Miracle,” especially at the close of the track. I also enjoyed the “a cappella” version of “You’re So Special To Me” which includes a percussive beat with the vocal rhythm section.

The tracks are heavy on chorus but they do tell a story. The music is lyrical. Ms Lockridge proves that she is an accomplished instrumentalist as well as a savvy business woman. The CD is certainly not an amateur production. My apprehension was unnecessary.

Reviewer Sheralyn Graise graduated from the University of Akron a while back. A former Social Services professional, she is now pursuing other interests such as music history, writing, and photography. She has been a member of the Blues Foundation since 2001.

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