23 May 2017

Bluesnews Norway toughest hard fist review “10,000 Feet Below”

“Check her out while she’s still “dangerous good” and unknown…
Eliza Neals hit us hard with both the toughest voice from a female blues / rock singer we had heard for a long time, and an attitude quite similar to a Beth Hart more than 10 years ago. She felt like a fist, and it’s relatively rare a female singer so that degrees are tougher than maybe even Iggy Pop.
Now the sequel to hard-wearing “Breaking And Entering” is here, and Eliza Neals consolidates her position as a lady who has the blues in her soul while rocking hard. When she lowers the guards for a moment and settles down with Johnny Winter‘s guitarist Paul Nelson on “Cold cold night“, there will be no trouble at all. Eliza’s piano-based album (she plays piano, Hammond, Rhodes and tambourines herself) may have more blue “songs” than last time, but her nerve rocks all the way to “The Crossroads” that she sings on with legend Billy Davis at the last album song. Billy Davis was a close friend of Jimi Hendrix, and Jimi should have been a big fan of the many popular songs he did with Hank Ballard & The Midnighters. Billy Davis is incorporated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Detroit legend Howard Glazer is important for this new founding blues based rock name, if we are allowed to call an unknown guitarist from the previously so lively “motor city blues” city for that. He has been involved with the MC5 manager John Sinclair, the scandal manager who the White House made a plan to take out of the American community around 1968 for fear of anarchist ideas seen as a danger to society. He has also played with “Honeyboy” Edwards, who knew Robert Johnson while he lived. Eliza has written four of the songs together with Glazer, and he plays the guitar on “Call me moonshine (feat. Howard Glazer)“.
If you like a fiery and strong female blues / rock voice and classical rocket rifle and dedicated blues jelly, you’ve come to the right train station with this lady. The surprise moment from the previous album, “Breaking And Entering”, is gone. We know she’s good and this album confirms it. And we believe in her. She writes all the songs herself, with the exception of Skip James “Hard Killing Floor”. Any modern blues / rock artist who chooses a Skip James song is already approved in my book.
Check her out while she’s still “dangerous good” and unknown! The latter may not be possible for a long time.”