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CANDYE KANE 'White Trash Girl' Ruf 1084 (2005)
'White Trash Girl' essentially brings together the tried and tested Candye Kane formula of mildly risqué humour, and solid boogie and blues from the larger than life, former porn star turned blues queen.
The difference between this her 7th album and her previous efforts lies in the fact Candye sets out her stall both personally and as a blues artist. Rather than releasing just another album she places herself squarely at the centre of what has been termed White Trash culture, with its underlying feel of disposability but conversely with a tendency to up front honesty about all things sexual and social.
There’s an undeniable feeling of self empowerment in both her lyrics and singing. The album also finds Candye in the very best musical company of Preston Hubbard on bass, Jeff Ross on guitar and Damian Llanes on drums, plus guests guitarists such as David Grissom who adds a lovely guitar line on the restrained 'What Happened To the Girl'.
However Candye’s colourful lifestyle aside, the album is crossover from blues to jazz, with good playing and of course a characteristically uncompromising batch of songs from the abrasive 'Estrogen Bomb', to the fun filled 'Work What You Got' and the plain honest 'Masturbation Blues'.
Probably the best track is the afore mentioned poppy ballad, the Grissom guitar led 'What Happened To The Girl' on which her double tracked vocals top a fine melody line.
All the above marks Candye out as a personality with a big P on the blues scene. But truth to tell her ordinary voice as evinced on the jazzy New Orleans feel of 'Misunderstood' and on the rest of her White Trash songs are closer to her UK equivalent Dana Gillespie than the raunchy blues feel of say Bessie Smith or Etta James. Nonetheless 'White Trash Girl' is a worth checking out and if nothing else brings a much needed left field influence on the blues scene.
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Review by Pete Feenstra
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