Zora Young, Tore Up from the Floor Up (Delmark)


This one already has my vote for blues CD title of the year! A Chicago artist, Young might best be compared to Koko Taylor. She doesn’t have Taylor’s vocal strength, but her voice possess a wistfulness that sells a song just the same. Fronting a four-piece ensemble, Young covers a lot of ground here — pop, swing, blues and deep soul, and her own compositions are damn clever. The title track is stomping hoot that you’ll hear covered a bunch of times in the future. “Til The Fat Lady Sings” — with fatback horns overdubbed — sounds like a mid-’60s Stax 45, and “Slowly” and “Toxic” are well paced slow blues with compelling vocals. Young’s tribute to O.V. Wright — “Ace of Spades” — has merit, but her reading of “Rainy Night In Georgia” is nondescript. “Since I Fell For You/Silhouettes” doesn’t do much either, but, her recycling of Muddy Waters’ “Two Trains Running” makes up for the occasional lapse of taste. There’s plenty to like on this outing.