Reviews of Cathy Jean's CD, "Tear Me Apart"
Review Reprints:
"Give me a live recording, with studio talk, over a slick, produced specimen any day. 'Tear Me Apart' by Cathy Jean has just that right amount of ambient acoustics and chatter that implore me to listen, listen, listen. Add to that the sheer audacity to cover Muddy, James Cotton, and Bo Diddley on her first try, and the attraction factor multiplies tenfold. This CD was on my 'must hear' list immediately. I have to honestly say that on first hearing, by the time I reached the second tune, 'Hello Little Boy,' I was hooked. Pull the car over and collect yourself. This voice jumps right out at you. Take your pick... You can either jump around or just listen. This young woman has the voice that launched a thousand ships. She also did her homework. This second cut that took me by the throat is a fast jump blues with that 'shake rattle and roll' feel. It's a raucous twelve bar free for all that launches Cathy's vocal pyrotechnics on a three stage rocket, all the way through the entire CD. Her falsetto lilt and raspy bluesy phrasing pose a commanding presence. Her expressive teasing vibrato adds color to an already complicated but pleasant texture. 'Ain't That Lovin' You' has her swearing her undying love in a sometimes smooth as silk delivery that tears the heart out of every twisting, bending note of the chorus. She's got guts galore as she tackles an a cappella 'That's All Right.' This is a chancy, but successful, minimalist voyage that develops into an impromptu scatting exercise that wrings gobs of emotion out of every tortured phrase. J.B. Lenoir could not have imagined so fine an interpretation of 'Mama Talk To Your Daughter.' She changes the words to make the content more believable, and the song becomes her own. She does the same to Bo Diddley's 'I'm A Man.' The arrangement remains faithful to the original, but her good natured, sassy interpretation, never stops looking for new ways of expressing itself. Surely this performance was created on the spot. If not, good luck to any of you aspiring vocalists out there who attempt to copy the style and give up after a few attempts. 'Rock This House' is a jumping, boogie-woogie, rock and rolling bar blaster that would galvanize the most passive listeners. The almost laid back, jazzy guitar solo adds tension to an already racing vehicle about to lose control. Another Bo Diddley standard, 'Who Do You Love,' gets the same emotional, let-me-at-'em approach, that consistently defines this lady's approach. To be fair, a little more attention should have been paid to the production, but the raw energy compensates in a very acceptable way. 'Sweet Blood Call' is a dramatic staging of a scary but humorous scenario of a woman holding a cocked pistol in the mouth of her unfaithful lover. She's threatening to shoot his brains out as she taunts him with deliciously submissive Freudian overtones that exemplify the inner strength of this character who embodies all that is evil, and right, at the same time. Swooping, soaring falsetto turnarounds become part of her signature as she re-invents the blues. Another turn at mock violence surfaces in 'You The Kind Of Woman'--'You're the kind of man that makes me want to beat you to death.' She's only kidding, but are we sure? Menacing couldn't be sweeter."
--Ira Bolterman, Tri-State Blues Society
"Deep in the quagmire of mainstream pop culture, the blues continue to bubble, and it's purists such as vocalist Cathy Jean who keep the genre percolating. 'Tear Me Apart' is a solid mixture of melancholy melodies, balls-to-the-walls blues rockers, and impassioned ballads. Recorded in what sounds like totally live-in-the-studio fashion (very few overdubs are detectable), Cathy Jean's debut twists and turns through a 14-song mountain of blues standards that would make the Swiss Alps envious. And yet, no matter who she borrows from, her voice is a beautiful instrument that serves her needs perfectly--soulful and soaring, sultry and sexy, and subtly vulnerable at just the right moments. More importantly (and more thoroughly than anyone who comes immediately to mind), CJ inserts her personna and preoccupations into these cover versions; and her takes on classic tracks such as 'I'm A Man' (re-written from a female slant) and 'One Good Man' makes the former her own and gives new life to the tepid latter. She makes 'Who Do You Love' a moving, varied song, as opposed to the schlock electric blues George Thorogood squeezed a hit from. From the spirited, uptempo romp of 'Hello Little Boy' to the temperature-rising torch of 'Sweet Blood Call,' right on through the busy organ and big vocal pyrotechnics of 'Rollin' & Tumblin',' 'Tear Me Apart' does a marvelous job raising blood pressure. And on the swaying 'Baby Get Lost,' she piques the libido with, 'I got so many men they're standing in line.' Hmmmm... where do I take a number? On 'Tear Me Apart,' this lady doesn't just sing the blues, she feels 'em. And when that voice works each end of her angelic register (and every note in between), you can't help but feel 'em right along with her. That Cathy Jean has absorbed the obvious influences the blues has to offer while escaping their cliches already says a great deal about how tough this woman is."
--J. Doug Gill, Music Monthly Magazine
"On this self-released CD Cathy Jean demonstrates her unique vocal prowess and her love of, and feel for, the blues. Jean insisted on recording live in the studio with very few over dubs. As a result, 'Tear Me Apart' has a loose, spontaneous feel. At times, such as on 'Ain't That Livin' You,' Cathy Jean's vocals are reminiscent of the late, great Janis Joplin. On the a cappella 'That's All Right' you can hear the agility and accuracy of her voice. A little thin in the higher part of her register, she nevertheless puts a song across with soul and feeling. Her detectable influences include Ruth Brown and Dinah Washington. Jean can rock out, as evidenced on 'Rock This House' and 'Who Do You Love,' and be sweet and sensual on tunes such as 'Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me,' the classic Billie Holiday tune that she manages to make her own. A promising debut."
--Elena Skye, Blues Revue Magazine
"Listening to the album 'Tear Me Apart,' you become aware of one thing: Cathy Jean is a most versatile and inventive artist for a woman still on the right side of thirty. On this debut set she covers a wide range of songs and sounds, which each test her abilities in various styles of blues, jazz, and jump. This whole album is interesting and entertaining, and doesn't lose anything by repeated playing. Cathy Jean knows how to pace herself, be it over a 2 1/2 minute rockin' number, or a 5 1/2 minute blues cut about needing 'One Good Man.' Of all the fine material contained on the set, perhaps it's 'That's All Right,' a bare bones acapella number which best indicates the cloth she is cut from. This gal isn't afraid to go out there and lay it all on the line, and let the listeners decide. Others have compared her to Janis Joplin. There is indeed a similarity, Joplinesque phrasing does creep in, but this is no copyist. Just as her cover of the Billie Holiday classic 'Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me' is similar in approach to Lady Day's version, but by no means an impersonation. What we are hearing is the application of the best aspects of a past talent, put to good use by a new talent, and that's always been the case in most art forms. Cathy Jean is a real star in the waiting, very deserving of recognition and success. Equally important on this album are the fine musicians in the backing band. There are some wonderful solos and nice touches from all involved, never overshadowing but certainly enhancing the vocals. Recordings made 'live in the studio' appear to be in vogue at the moment. This album is such a collection, cut over a three day period in '95, but it works. The band comes together with each other and with Cathy Jean. Her comment, 'that was fine,' at the close of the first number, is a real understatement if ever there was one! Featuring little post-recording tampering, you get an amazingly fresh feel which draws you into it. You can't help but like this attractive blonde from Baltimore, who has and wears more rings than Ringo Starr!"
--Peter Butler, Munkebo, Denmark
"Cathy Jean is a major talent waiting to be discovered. She has a blues inflected voice reminiscent of Janis Joplin. She is also a strikingly beautiful woman and a seasoned performer. If that's not enough she's a superb songwriter with 15 self-penned tunes here which stretch her talent in a number of directions. On the title track her voice blends with Keith Stafford�s guitar and is reminiscent of Etta James at her best. But make no mistake Cathy Jean is an original talent. The plaintive blues ballad "4 in the morning" is followed by "Unfinished Business" in which she sounds like a female Delbert McClinton. In the Tina Turner-inspired "How Many" she laments the problems of love. Other songs honor the Stax-Volt sound, or shuffle along as Jon Carroll's organ blends with Cathy Jean's voice. Unrequited and lost loves dominate Cathy Jean's songwriting, and every song here is a masterpiece. Her band is superb with Stafford's guitar, Mike Crotty's saxophone, Benjie Porecki's piano and Steve Loecher'
s drums dominating the hotter tracks. Cathy Jean is a major talent who is destined for stardom."
--Howard A. DeWitt, Rock & Blues News
"Cathy Jean is a gifted singer with a breathy, cabaret-style voice that shifts between Aretha Franklin and Debbie Harry. Her well-produced cuts on I Want (Cathy Jean Productions 97982), for the most part, fantasize about getting revenge on men who've done her wrong, with lyrics such as "I want to see you suffer like you made me suffer/I want to see you broken" and "You a rotten bastard and everybody gonna know." Organist Benjie Poreckie and sax man Jerry Queen add lots of classy lines, dovetailed perfectly with guitarist Steve [sic: should be "Keith"--ed.] Stafford's tough blues work. Best Cut: Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano pens the melodic and catchy rock ballad "Why Don't You See Me."
--Blues Review, June 1999.
"Don't apply unless you can take the heat; Cathy Jean comes on pretty strong, from the steamy pictures on the cover to the rub-it-raw lyrics of many of the songs. But the band is good and the production equal to the task. Hang on--it's worth the ride"
--Blues Access Magazine
"You have to have a certain attitude to be a great blues singer. Depressed at life, upset with your woman (or man), and prepared for the bad luck that inevitably comes with every decision you make--these are the attributes you must possess to bring listeners into your sphere of misery. Not many female singers make the grade. They try for bold and brassy, but forget how to tone it down, resulting in a scream for help rather than a cry for mercy. The ones who do well understand that you must feel the blues, not merely vocalize. Cathy Jean relates well with the agony of defeat, otherwise known as the blues.
On "I Want", her second CD, she employs a lot of different styles to express her sadness with broken relationships, all of them effective. She starts off though with the rather deceptive "Be Glad". Set to a rousing jump-blues beat, Cathy Jean tells her ex-lover to be grateful she doesn't have a gun because he'd be six feet under otherwise. Great scat vocals and a bouncing blues harp underlie the humorous but sharp tone of the song. Very head-bopping music to begin the blues beguine.
Strong conviction in the vocals also power "Unfinished Business" where Cathy Jean threatens to punch the other woman's lights out. Mark Wenner from the Nighthawks on harmonica plus a strong backbeat via Bo Diddley also keep your feet agoin as well. It also has, as a musical in-joke, a snatch of "Who Do You Love?" thrown in for good measure.
In "
How Many?," Cathy Jean will get her revenge in a tit-for-tat way. Catching her man looking at everybody in a very loving way (including his mother- how sick!), she believes the only way to get back at him is to get ever-so-close with all his buddies. Very clever lyrics plus terrific sax keep you hoping he gets his just desserts.
The mood turns wistful in "Why Don't You See Me?" written by Johnette Napolitano from Concrete Blonde. Cathy Jean turns in a beguiling vocal to underplay the yearning inside her. Very contained sax keeps the proceedings relaxed and tranquil.
Other songs capture the various nuances of the blues from the Stonesy rocker "I'm Your Girl" to the two-part "Hate Chants" which pretty much lets loose every possible emotional rage you could feel towards a man who done you wrong.
But it takes the last song on the CD, 'Blues Psalm,' to convince you of Cathy Jean's talents. Simply sung to a lone saxophone, her plea to a higher being for the right to sing the blues conveys the power that this genre has to reach people. Her fervent prayer makes you care and hope that she is granted that request.
Hopefully, this wish will always be received so that Cathy Jean will continue to make excellent albums. She joins such luminaries as Bonnie Raitt, Marcia Ball, and Koko Taylor, to name a few, in keeping the flame alive for blues singers. After all, she knows it's not necessarily what you sing that's important, it's how you sing it. And that makes a loser in love a winner in the ears of the blues-loving listeners!
--Karen Liebowitz, Music Monthly Magazine
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