My Turn
The first thing you’re likely to notice on this album—even before you are struck by Lisa Cee’s vocals—is just how well the fine guitar work provided by BR Mallon complements Cee’s voice. Mallon covers the waterfront of blues and rock styles on this 14-song disc, and he’s got all those licks down cold. He doesn’t overshadow Cee’s talents, but he sure does make a strong claim for his own highly developed skills on tracks like “Fire,” or on the old Staples Singers soul/funk standard “I’ll Take You There.” On “White Rabbit,” Cee and Mallon team up to revisit mid-’60s Jefferson Airplane psychedelia, though it’s not the best cut here, nor does it really measure up to the original. But perfect albums are rare, and I can probably count on my fingers the number of albums I’ve heard over the years on which every single track is a winner. About 10 of the songs on My Turn are pretty damn good, and a couple of them—“Cold Hearted Woman,” and “Fire in the Sky”—are likely to make you sit up and take notice. That’s a high percentage of good stuff by any measure, making it worth taking your turn at giving it a listen.