Barn Owl Blues Netherlands absolute must “10,000 Feet Below”

“In her hometown of Detroit Eliza Neals is a singer to be reckoned with. Equipped with a voice that the young Tina Turner would envy has been on ‘The Detroit Diva’ as she is called, several prizes to win more. Her previous album “Breaking And Entering” gained worldwide appreciation and Eliza delivered two Detroit Music Awards.

On “10,000 Feet Below” Eliza has gathered the cream of the crop of Detroit musicians around her. Her partner, master guitarist Howard Glazer, is only one of them. Ten of the eleven songs are written by herself, whether or with a colleague. The CD begins calm with the country blues “Cleotus” with only hand slap and Glazer’s slide guitar as accompaniment. But from the second song “Another Lifetime” the tranquility is over. In addition to being a great singer she also knows how to strike the keys and this is best expressed in “Cold Cold Night” and Skip James cover “Hard Killing Floor”. My favorite songs are the hearty blues “You Ain’t My Dog No More” with vicious slide by Glazer, and the already mentioned “Cold Cold Night” by the lovely interaction between acoustic guitar by Paul Nelson and Eliza’s piano.

For fans of well-crafted blues this album is an absolute must.”