Romi Mayes
Devil on Both Shoulders
Factor Records
Blues and Soul fans should make room for this in their collections
I loved Romi Maye’s 2011 last album Lucky Tonight and have been summarily saddened that she has gone off the grid until now.
Opening with the rather sultry title track Devil on Both Shoulders shimmers with cool guitar breaks shadowing Mayes lived-in but molasses sweet voice on a song that conjures up images of late Summer nights along the Mississippi Delta.
Romi’s gorgeous voice on the tender Gonna Miss Me isn’t will touch a million hearts as her plaintive cry at the tail end of a fractured relationship is as touching a Soulful Blues song I’ve heard since the 1960’s.
Grant Siemans plays guitar throughout; but on Bee Sting he surpasses himself; complimenting the sharp lyrics and sweaty Roadhouse Blues song with playing worthy of Tom Petty and even George Benson at their best.
Devil on Both Shoulders has heavy-duty songs oozing out of every groove, as the excellent Soul Stealer and Low Light Lady which would have been a hit for Tina Turner if she’d been 30 years younger both prove.
While I love the album; the two stand-out tracks are the Midnight mood music of Make Your Move and the piano lilt of Walk Away which closes the record as both are as cool as anything either Adele or Amy Winehouse ever recorded; and if I was her management that is the direction I would point Romi Mayes towards; as she is a perfect fit for what is a massive gap in the market place.
Whereas her previous album, Lucky Tonight was ‘Kick-Ass Blues,’ Devil on Both Shoulders is smouldering, sinful and Soulful Blues; and best played late at night as a seduction aid or for those tear filled evenings when the seduction didn’t work.
Released May 19th 2015
The Rocking Magpie 