Jackie Scott & The Housewreckers - Going To The Westside

Self Released

www.jackiescottandthehousewreckers.com

10 tracks

Jackie Scott is a hard working woman whose music career also revolves around her day job. She does not tour as much due to this and her fame is perhaps being held back by this. She is an outstanding vocalist and songwriter who emotes both with her exemplary performances and her well-used pen. If you have not listened to this woman and her band yet, you are missing out on some great stuff.

I first heard Jackie at last year's Blues Blast awards and after listening to her first album I was entranced with her music. A great first album is also a tough act to follow, but Ms. Scott's sophomore release is more than up to the task. Joined on three tracks by the great Eddie Shaw, what really amazed me is that I preferred to listen to Jackie on her own. Sure, Eddie's sax and vocals add greatly to the mix but I found myself even more enamored with the songs he wasn't on. She was a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition for "Mississippi Hook", where Shaw does backing vocals, and has a track written by Shaw ("Chicken House Shorty"), but the standout tracks here for me are the opening track "Broke as Dick's Hatband" and the soulfully stirring "I'm Tired". She performed the former at last years' Blues Blast Awards show and I was and remain impressed. (Editors Note:  Jackie Scott won the Blues Blast Award last year for Best New Artist Debut Recording: with her CD, How Much Woman Can You Stand?.)

Jackie sings and talks to us about the plight of poverty in a truly bluesy way. "I'm Tired". shows us some really expressive talents and speaks volumes about her emotions and relationships; it was certainly and easily my favorite and the best track on the disc (despite the renowned Mr. Shaw not being on it).

Shaw also appears on the title track and "Smooth Taste revisited" and his presence is of course huge. Scott dedicates the CD to him. But Jackie really doesn't need help; she wrote eight of the songs, which range from amusing ("Pink Cadillac", a sappy yet fun song about her dream car) to the gut wrenching (as noted above). She can get down and dirty, be uplifting, soulful, playful or whatever she needs to be. There are many female vocalists out there who can carry a tune or sing the blues with great pride. What Jackie does is even more impressive- her performances are at a level above most others. Couple that with the ability to write super songs that are in all of her wheelhouses and we have a talent the the blues world needs to learn more of.

Her band is solid behind her. Tommie Fisher's key board work is well done, Mark Hopkins is admirable on guitar, Avelino Pitts on sax is powerful and the back line of Dave Holland and Darren Simons on bass and drums are excellent. Eddie Shaw is notable in his performances as are the folks who join him. But the talent I wanted to listen to here was Jackie- she is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of the blues. Run out and buy this and her earlier CD "How Much Woman Can You Stand" if you want to hear what the future of female blues vocalists should and will sound like!!

Reviewer Steve Jones is secretary of the Crossroads Blues Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In addition to working in his civilian career, he writes for and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival and work with their Blues In The Schools program.