Blues/Rock vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer Karen Lawrence has just knocked an album out of the stadium. The Blues Is Back displays Ms. Lawrence’s multiple skill set in full force. 

Karen Lawrence has a considerable track record, live and recorded, and deserves much more notoriety in the blues scene than she has been afforded. Her singing is impeccable—right up there in the raucous upper echelons of Tina Turner, Susan Tedeschi, Janis Joplin and Pat Benatar. With her voice, in combination with her writing and production skills she should already be a household name. She sang a lead vocal track on Jeff Beck’s Beckology album, she sings background vocals on Aerosmith’s “Get It Up” and has toured opening for Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Ted Nugent, and others with her then band 1994. The band was signed to A&M Records and produced by the legendary Jack Douglas.

Lawrence wrote and co-produced the entire album (with Fred Hostetler as co-writer on track #3 “True Love”) plays guitar, piano and organ, and sings lead and background vocals throughout. The album opens with “Made To Move” with a riff reminiscent of a faster meaner and more inside-out riff for “I’m A Man (Mannish Boy)” by Muddy Waters—and the listener knows immediately they are in for a hair-raising ride to a roadhouse session. Lawrence’s voice takes command of a field of rough-house blues musicians well-equipped to deal with either a barroom fight or a pool table brawl. The slow descending chords of “Die Blue” are supported by Lawrence’s background vocals emphasizing the sadness of the theme and some nice lead guitar octave-wah moments by multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Tony Saracene.

“Take Away” is a perfect mid-tempo song nestled immediately between a classic ’60s soul single and the modern slide guitar signature accompaniment of the Tedeschi Trucks Band. “Heaven’s Masterpiece” is a nice contrast to the rest of album featuring acoustic instrumentation, with an acoustic bass introduction, the unamplified background clears the air for Lawrence’s lead and background vocals to vault over the band into the clear blue sky. “Way Way Down” features a menacing organ and rhythm guitar foundation for Lawrence to claim as her own—this could have a track from an unreleased Derek and the Dominos session. “I’m Coming Home” is as close to an Allman Brothers track without actually having the Allman Brothers play and sing it—with a perfect tempo and groove, guitars and organ.

The Blues Is Back was produced by Karen Lawrence, Dan Potruch and Tony Saracene. The album was recorded, engineered and mixed at The Psychedelic Studio, Los Angeles, by Chris Wonzer, and at Aransas Music Emporium in Aransas Pass, Texas. Besides Lawrence’s vocals, guitars, piano and organ contributions, the musicians featured on the album are: Thomas Southworth (drums), Dale Parker (bass), Bobby Donaho (drums), Sam Stephens (bass), Ted Chaat (drums), Sam Stephens (bass), Dan Potruch (drums), Ron Battle (bass), Celso Salim (guitar), Max Butler (organ), Tony Saracene (lead, slide, steel, and rhythm guitars, upright bass, drum program, organ—and all the Instruments on “True Love”)

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