Finding her own voice

by Jim Trageser
This review first appeared in the March 28, 1997 issue of the North County Times.

Although she studied at the feet of the late blues legend Albert Collins, guitarist Debbie Davies is much closer to Bonnie Raitt in sound and style. Which is hardly a bad thing – it's just that sometimes you wonder where Davies' own musical voice is.

To be fair, if Davies' vocals are nearly identical to Raitt's, her guitar has a lot more bite to it. She's a front-line blues guitarist, on a par with most anyone out there.

Her latest release has more of a blue-eyed soul feel to it than her previous albums, which were hard-core electric blues. Here, covers of songs by other composers (none famous; all good) give Davies much more of an opportunity to stretch out as a singer than on earlier recordings.

Fellow guitarists Coco Montoya and Tab Benoit both make guest appearances and trade solos with Davies – good stuff that warms the heart.