Reviews

Review from French Blues Magazine 'Blues Alive'

It is in a register Soul / Rhythm’n’Blues that the Australian singer (who has already represented his country at the IBC of Memphis twice), presents us this album with 11 titles, including 2 covers of Aretha Franklin and Marva Whitney. It is in the well-earned titles that I prefer because it reminds me Sharon Jones for its energy and aggressiveness. Behind her, it groove and it sends severe, it feels like back to the golden age of Motown and Stax! An album without weakness that will wake you up, make you stomp, or make you want to jiggle!

Blues Alive
bluesalive76.blogspot.com
June 2018

Review from Spain | ANDREA MARR | Natural | Only Blues Music

Andrea Marr is an superb singer who faithfully displays the sound and voices of legendary Stax and Motown, as well as the atmosphere created by those incredible singers like James Brown, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Etta James or Sharon Jones. From them Andrea has assimilated different chromatic nuances, flavours and colours she adds to her music with a clever elegance and good taste that become a distinctive stamp to the way she sings funk and soul. Born in Sri Lanka, she has developed his career in Australia where she has been recognized with countless awards for her magnificent work by Australian blues scene. She has also participated a couple of times representing her country at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis that every year is organized by The Blues Foundation. This is her seventh work, where she has included eleven songs, nine of them own compositions. Andrea Marr feels really comfortable in soul music, providing fresh air and young blood to a genre where it is not easy to find new values who are able to perform it with taste, elegance, skill and feeling enough to convince listeners. But this woman together with her eight musicians band The Funky Hitmen, have managed to successfully fit in their repertoire all the just mentioned music values and qualities. GREAT.

LA HORA DEL BLUES
Spain
February 2018

the-rocker.co.uk | ANDREA MARR | Natural | Only Blues Music

Do you like good music? That sweet soul music? Well get yer arse in gear and give this a listen. Now!

Because it’s old fashioned soul music that Ms Marr is serving up. None of the 21st century so-called nu-soul nonsense that is remarkable only in it’s lack of soul. This is the real as the sound of a classic soul revue comes powering out od the speakers. It’s the sound of Stax, all hot and sweaty. And it come from a Sri Lankan born Australian! Now some of my mothers best friends were called Jaywardene but I don’t remember them as soul boys and girls.

Even more impressive is the fact that most of the material is original. You’d never guess. Ms Marr has a great soul voice and with both bands hitting all the right notes. Songs like “Real Good Man” and “Force of Nature” and others can stand up in the company of the classic with no sense of shame. A real treat.

the-rocker.co.uk
February 2018

Blues Bytes

Sri-Lankan-born, Australian based-singer Andrea Marr has certainly earned her share of accolades since forming her own blues band in 1999. She was Australian Female Blues Artist of the Year in 2009, and was twice awarded the Blues Performer of the Year (2005, 2012), while representing Australia at the I.B.C. two times. Though she’s enjoyed much success in the blues world, Marr’s always had a serious jones for soul music……the Motown/Stax/James Brown/Aretha Franklin/Otis Redding/Sharon Jones variety.

Natural is the singer’s first completely soul-based effort, and she’s backed by her 8-piece soul band, The Funky Hitmen. The new album is actually an expansion of the five-song EP, Sass and Brass, released in 2013 on the Blue Skunk Music label, with an additional six songs recently completed. The eleven tracks include nine originals authored or co-authored by Marr with two dynamite covers.

Stax Records fans will love the rousing opener, “Force of Nature,” with Marr’s testifying backed by a powerhouse horn section. If that doesn’t folks moving, the deep earthy funk from her cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady” should do the trick. “Mama Got It Wrong Sometimes Too” is a fast-moving tribute to Marr’s mother, who passed away several years ago, and the sweet R&B tune “Grateful” finds the singer imploring others to take nothing for granted. “That’s Where Love Ends” is a slow burner that blends soul and blues effectively, and Marr gives it one of her best vocal performances on the disc.

“Let’s Take It To The Bedroom” is a sweaty and salacious soul blues, and the fast-paced “Credit” will put people in motion. Marva Whitney’s late 60’s classic “What Do I Have To Do” soars into James Brown territory (with a monster trumpet solo by Hitman Sean Rankin), and the funky “Snakes” may remind listeners of the early 70’s O’Jays sides with its warning about liars and cheaters. “Real Good Man” finds Marr paying tribute to her significant other, and the soulful closer “Sticks And Stones” deftly mixes jazz with R&B>

Marr’s vocals prove her undying love to this style of music. She displays amazing range and power throughout, and hopefully, she will revisit the genre soon. Though the sessions for Natural were about five years apart with a few cast changes among The Funky Hitmen, the disc comes together perfectly and will seem like nectar from the gods for fans of old school soul and R&B from the 60’s and 70’s.

Graham Clarke
Friday Blues Fix Blog
Blues Bytes
January 2018

Rhythms Magazine Australia | NATURAL | Only Blues Music | SOUL/R&B

On this full blown extension of her 2013 EP Sass & Brass dynamic Melbourne soul blues diva Andrea Marr and her red hot septet The Funky Hitmen deliver an incendiary 48 minute set of 11 classic soul songs that harken the glory days of Stax and Motown. Marr penned or co-penned all but two of the tracks and produced the album herself. The CD repackages the Sass & Brass tracks and introduces a half dozen new songs including powerhouse takes on Aretha Franklin’s ‘Rock Steady’ and Marva Whitney’s ‘What do I have to do’.

Despite personnel changes within the band since the 2013 sessions, it’s sound hasn’t changed. The full toned mix of Marr’s gospel tinged voice, her high energy rhythm section hard hitting horn charts and soaring background vocal arrangements rival anything you’ll hear on Daptone or Hi record labels. Since the late nineties Marr has made a deep imprint on the Aussie R&B scene. Joyous and uplifting Natural is the realisation of her creative and soul/funk artistry.

AL HENSLEY.
Rhythms Magazine Australia
January 2018

Stack Magazine Australia | Natural, the new album from Andrea Marr, opens with a track titled Force Of Nature.

The horns are blazing, the drums are pounding, and Marr’s vocal is soaring – “I can’t hide these feelings racing inside of me, a hurricane of emotion.” Nine of the eleven cuts here are originals, and Marr brings plenty of sass to her covers of Aretha’s Rock Steady and Marva “Soul Sister #1” Whitney’s What Do I Have To Do.

The gospel gem Grateful shows serious songwriting smarts. And props to Marr’s eight-piece band, The Funky Hitmen. Melbourne’s soul scene is surging, and Natural shows that Andrea Marr is at the forefront.

Stack Magazine Australia
January 2018

Forte Magazine

Known as one of Australia’s finest blues vocalists, Andrea Marr also dips into the wider roots repository of jazz, gospel, funk and soul.

Natural includes five Marr originals from 2012 EP Sass & Brass; ‘That’s Where Love Ends’ co-written with keyboardist Cam Scott. Scott and sax player Stuart Byrne share horn arrangement credits on newer tracks. Backed by two line-ups of Funky Hitmen, Marr seasons the rhythms as righteously here as on stage.

Opening track ‘Force of Nature’ offers the widest appeal but there’s plenty to come for the serious connoisseur. Aretha’s call-to-groove ‘Rock Steady’ is covered with due respect. Marva Whitney’s ‘What Do I Have To Do’ features Sean Rankin’s trumpet mastery bringing N’awlins-style chops into the Melbourne studio.

‘Sticks & Stones’ could be a soulful late night meeting of Gladys Knight with The Family Stone.

Given a time machine, this sassy front-woman would be claimed by Stax or Motown in a syncopated heartbeat.

4 Stars
Only Blues Music

Chris Lambie
Forte Magazine Australia
December 2017

Belgium Review

Sri-Lanka-born soul and blues singer Andrea Marr has been living in Melbourne, Australia since she was fourteen. She has been musically active since 1999. She sings with power and brings high energy funk, soul, blues and groove. She has won dozens of Australian awards in the past and has been televised twice (in 2005 and 2012) to represent Australia at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. ‘Natural’ is her fifth album, but her first complete soul album. With her band ‘The Funky Hitmen’ she recorded eleven songs of which nine original songs and two covers, all in the spirit of James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Stax records.

The album opens with ‘Force Of Nature’, a powersoul that she wrote with keyboardist, arranger and musical director Cam Scott. That is serious entry, you are almost blown away by the power. The blazers are indeed brilliantly surprising and exciting arranged. We left for 11 songs driven soul. You have to dare, but she succeeds. Andrea covers very meritorious Aretha Franklin’s ‘Rock Steady’. Slightly less funky but slightly more groovy is the fiery “Mama Got It Wrong Sometimes Too” winking to James Brown. With ‘Grateful’ she takes back some gas. It resembles the gospel inspired songs by The Staple Singers. ‘That’s Where Love Ends’ is a typical Stax-like ballad, with a great sax solo by Andy O’Connell. After this resting point Andrea goes back to the bluesoul ‘Let’s Take It To The Bedroom’ with the golden soulstrot. Andrea sounds like she is already overheated in bed. After that she shoots out of the starting blocks with ‘Credit’ that is bad again, and that means positive, smells like Stax records. Sitting still or standing is impossible. The dance floor has meanwhile become quite crowded. Also in the pure seventies funk ‘What Do I Have To Do’ Andrea feels like a fish in the water. The song reminds me of the late Sharon Jones. ‘Snakes’ continues that funk party even further when James Brown and The Dap-Kings come around the corner again. Slightly less funky, but with more groove, is ‘Real Good Man’. With the subdued ‘Sticks And Stones’ driven by the bass guitar she finishes this fantastic album. I hope that at least one organizer will make the effort to bring this woman to the Benelux. He or she will not complain!

Andrea – Belgium
November 2017

UK Review today | Andrea Marr – "Natural" (Own label)

The opening track of this set is called, appropriately enough, ‘Force Of Nature’. It is a pounding soul number, full horns and guitar over a driving rhythm section backing Andrea’s vocal, worthy of Tina Turner herself. Next Andrea turns her attention to Aretha’s Franklin’s ‘Rock Steady’, with a fine funky edge, and it becomes difficult to believe Andrea was born in Sri Lanka and moved to Australia at the age of 14, forming her own blues band in 1999. This is, somewhat remarkably, her seventh album but her first soul effort as opposed to blues, and as you might have gathered, I rate it very highly! ‘Grateful’ is a slower-paced ballad, demonstrating that Andrea can be just as effective on this southern soul tinged offering, an impression compounded by the Otis Redding flavour of ‘That’s Where Love Ends’. The direct ‘Let’s Take It To the Bedroom’ has something of the Malaco sound, and ‘Credit’ takes it back to the Memphis sound of the 60s, whilst ‘Snakes’ is bluesy funk and ‘Real Good Man’ is what used to be called “blue-soul”, a fine sassy vocal and some excellent guitar playing form Dave Reynolds. ‘Sticks And Stones’ makes for a nicely controlled ending to this very fine set, recommended to all lovers of good soul music. If you need further evidence, well, there aren’t many around who can turn in such a fine performance of a Marva Whitney number as Andrea does here with ‘What Do I Have To Do’.

Norman Darwen UK
www.bluesinthesouth.com
November 2017

BLUES MATTERS

Marr comes to the table with her seventh album, an Ozzie with an evident love of Memphis soul, Stax and northern Motown-infused blues music. And though this is billed as Marr’s first ‘full length soul’ album, it belies the simple fact that Marr herself has been working that genre consistently for many years, picking up awards back home in Australia, including Female Blues Artist of the Year in 2009, and twice lifting the trophy for Blues Performer of the Year in both 2005 and 2012. In addition, Marr has represented Australia twice at the annual Memphis IBC award challenge. Ten of the eleven tracks feature Marr’s writing input while she adds a deftly-drawn cover of Aretha Franklin’s Rock Steady to the mix. Supported by her usual eight-piece band, the Funky Hitmen, this is an album that has its genesis back around 2013, when the band first formed and recorded an EP, Sass and Brass for Chicago’s Blue Skunk label. Drawing on this previous experience, Marr delivers a refreshingly strong release that touches most of the soulful bases while being always underpinned by a blues-voice that is driving and delicious by turns. Another one those albums that so many pump out but few genuinely deliver as striking or distinctive, Natural, from Andrea Marr succeeds where countless others often fail, keeping the interest and attention right to last drop

BLUES MATTERS UK
November 2017

NATURAL Andrea Marr (Only Blues Music) ***½

Soul music is kissing cousins with the blues, and soul is what Andrea Marr’s new and 7^th album is all about. Blessed with a sultry, expressive voice, Natural captures Andrea in her- ahem- ‘natural’ habitat.

Natural is a high energy, horn laden ride into the music that Ms. Marr loves the most; the sound of Stax, Motown, James Brown, Otis Redding and Etta James. It’s a mix of 9 originals and 2 covers, including Aretha Franklin’s Rock Steady. And no, she’s not actually from Detroit- Andrea Marr was born in Sri Lanka then immigrated to Australia. She’s a formidable songwriter, and when you throw this on you’ll find out she’s a passionate singer too. Down under she’s won several blues awards, and this album features her 8 piece band, “The Funky Hitmen”, who earn their name here. The horn section in particular makes this disc almost feel like a James Brown album.

In the liner notes, Andrea says that “Natural is an album several years on the making. It contains my personal favorite songs”, and I can understand why. She really gets to flex her gifts over a range of moods, from the uptown funk of a track like Mama Got It Wrong Sometimes Too to the slinky groove of Sticks & Stones that ends off the disc, to a ballad like That’s Where Love Ends. Ultimately Natural is all about the ups and downs of relationships, and who can’t relate to that?

Great songs, sassy vocals and a band with tight grooviness make Andrea Marr’s Natural a tough one to resist, so don’t resist- throw this on and let the good times roll.

KEY CUTS: That’s Where Love Ends, What Do I Have To Do, Sticks & Stones

Hotwax Album Reviews Cananda
November 2017

Don and Sheryl's Blues Blog

The first thing you are going to notice when you listen to Andrea Marr is that hugely-soulful voice. She’s another “world-travelin” blues woman, having represented her home country (since the age of 14) of Australia twice in Memphis for the IBC’s. She has a passion for the music of Motown, Stax, Etta, Aretha, Sharon Jones, and JB, and she’s got the chops to pull it off. Her full-length debut started as an EP back in 2013, featuring her tight-as-a-rib-tip 8-piece backing unit, The Funky Hitmen, and evolved into the nine originals and two covers that comprise “Natural.”

Folks, Andrea “don’t hold nothin’ back” and it’s refreshing to hear a singer just turn it a loose and have fun with this material. She busts outta the gate with a strong tale of a “hurricane of emotion,” comparing her feelings for a lover to a “Force Of Nature.” She reminds us all to be “Grateful” for “every day that I’m breathing,” a song with a powerful gospel feel. She likes to get her love groove on, too, thru danceable cuts such as “Credit,” her ode to that “Real Good Man,” who’ll “never let this woman down,” as well as knowin’ when the time is right to say, “Let’s Take It To The Bedroom.”

We had three favorites, too. Andrea turns in perhaps the most bluesy cut on the set with the horn-and-piano-driven sweetness of “That’s Where Love Ends.” She shouts out to her mom and the life lessons passed down to her, altho, admittedly, “Mama Got It Wrong Sometimes Too.” And, no album of this stature would be complete without a nod to The Godfather. Andrea and The Hitmen get it tight, right, and outta sight on a blistering read of the ultra-funky, “What Do I Have To Do to prove my love to you?”

Fans, since the untimely passing of Sharon Jones, someone has to step up and carry the soul torch forward. Why not Andrea Marr? She’s sho’ nuff a “Natural!” Until next time … Sheryl and Don Crow.

Sheryl and Don Crow
Don and Sheryl’s Blues Blog
November 2017

Caesar - Blues Again

Let things be clear, nothing new, but a job done with 4C. Heart, Chorus, Brass and Class. If you like Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Tina Turner know that you are knocking on the right door and that the recovery of the late Sharon Jones is assured. Like these women, Andrea Marr, Sri Lankan emigrated to Melbourne where she opened a school of singing, has all the assets to interpret R & B, soul and blues. The feeling, the power, the charisma and orchestra provided to accompany it inevitably, besides a bass / drums / guitar as a locomotive, a brass section made to swing, roll and groove with an organ to bind all that. Eleven titles on this seventh album, six recorded in 2017 and five in 2012 which all have in common the word dynamism except the last ‘Sticks & Stones’ which brings out the sensual side of the singer. Otherwise we are in full celebration of the glorious days of Stax and Motown together. The machine is lapped and leaves like an arrow with ‘Force Of Nature’. Everyone is obliged to follow the frantic pace imposed by the snare drum, and it relaxes. ‘Rock Steady’ and ‘Mama Got It Wrong Sometimes Too’ come next and we can say that it’s James Brown’s feminine. She calms down a bit with ‘Grateful’ who offers us her Motown side and starts ‘That’s Where Love Ends’ where we can imagine herself standing right next to the piano that starts the song, soon joined by horns in gentleness, all soon helped by the organ to arrive at the sax solo; nice piece a little jazzy as this title. There is also ‘Credit’ that could have been in the soundtrack of a Blues Brothers movie, too good! Come on, it’s decided, I pack my bags and I’m going to take lessons with Andrea Marr so she can sing me ‘Real Good Man’, another funk song from this album.

Caesar – FRANCE
www.bluesagain.com
November 2017

REVIEW FROM ROOTSVILLE GERMANY

With Andrea Marr’s new album you bring a natural exciting and floorfillin’ soul explosion into your life…

When I listened to the new albums sent by promoter Frank Roszak this ‘Natural’ from Andrea Marr, this immediately gave me a smile on my face from here to down below. Not only because the new material was forwarded by Frank, but first because this gracious Andrea Marr born in Sri Lanka is the owner of an undisturbed soul voice. The other reason why I drove a nearly hilarious laughing noise is that we always hear that there is little news under the sun. This, despite the fact that we get so good and say, super stuff sent by people like Frank Roszak. I even begin to get the courage to lose weight when we immediately inform the clubs and festivals in ‘new releases’ that they will be determined to stay stuck in the usual habit of … I do not know. So here with this Andrea Marr the next wake-up call …

Together with her parents and two older brothers, there was no future for them in the poor neighborhood of Colombo (Sri Lanka), so the family moved to Australia. Because Andrea Marr grew up in a musical family, it was obviously written in the stars that she would make it in the music world.

Ever since the blues and soul scene came down in 1999 with this Andrea Marr knowledge, the life of this outstanding soulsinger also changed. The birth of a new ‘Soul Diva’ was naked. It is a little art for this lady to make soul, rhythm a blues, funk, blues and gospel blend together. It is therefore not necessary to argue that Andrea But immediately fell to the Aussies. In 2002, she brought it to “Female Artist of The Year” with her album “Sassified”. In 2005, she earned the award for “Blues Performer of The Year”.

On the other side of the world, this Andrea Marr was immediately noticed, and at the Chicago Blue Skunk label she released her album ‘Little Sister Got Soul’ in 2008. The moment also for this Andrea Marr to become a world citizen. A true globetrotter. With this new ‘Natural’ her contest is on ‘7’ and immediately after listening we have to fix hell hell this is natural … soul.

Pure nostalgia to the area of Stax and Motown comes back to life on this 11th album. Images of an Aretha Franklin or Betty Wright are burned back on my retina when listening to this album. In addition, 9 of the 11 numbers are originals, four of which are written by Andrea or in co-writing. Excellent interpretations include Marva Whitney’s classic ‘What Do I Have To Do’ featuring a sublime trumpet solo of Funky Hitman, Sean Rankin.

Open Andrea Marr and her Funky Hitman in the atmosphere of an unexplored Stax interpreting with the soulshakin ‘Force Of Nature’. When we say that this Andrea Marr is originally a blues singer, we must also decide that this is an 18-carat soul diamond. Gossiping blazers are like a red thread through this album like her funky ‘Rock Steady’. A true revival of the ‘rhythm’ a blues era ‘from the sixties. Oustanding is definitely the number ‘Credits’ and do we not hear a new ‘Queen of Soul’. To end all the time in the soul of ‘soul’, they bring the funky grooves of Fred Wesley & The JB’s back to life with ‘Snakes’.

Leave steam on the soulbreak ‘Grateful’ where this Andrea Marr takes us back to the celestial period of a Gladys Knight and her Pips. It’s like takin ‘back the midnight train to Georgia. WOW! They conclude on this ‘Natural’ with the jazzy toned ‘Sticks and Stones’, one on which Randy Crawford and the Crusaders would be jealous. Have you said that there are still plenty of good bands available?

ROOTSVILLE GERMANY
November 2017

BluesMagazine Netherlands

When, born in Sri Lanka, but in Melbourne, Australia, Andrea Marr lives at the age of seven with Elvis Presley’s music, the first flame to make music is inflamed with her. During her youth she sings in the gospel choir of the local church. There is always music in her area, her father who makes jazz music is a great source of inspiration, and he begins to sing cautiously known jazz standards, which they also approach in a bluesy way. When she is pointed to her bluesy feel on her sixteenth, without realizing it herself, she begins to focus more on that style. Etta James and Koko Taylor may also be seen as inspirational sources. In 1998, her first album ‘Inheritance’, which was followed by ‘Sassified’ in 2001, appears. This edition is a successful period, she wins as a result of Sassified’s Female Blues Artist of the Year award, with her name being instantly established. As a winner of the 2005 Blues Performer of the Year, awarded by the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society, she is able to represent Australia at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, and gives her the opportunity to enter the BB King’s Blues Club in that city. In 2006, her album “Watch Me Work It”, which plays international airplay and the title track is selected for the compilation CD National Women in Blues 2007, is an American production featuring Andrea Marr as the only foreign singer. In 2008 there will be new material from this meanwhile as Aussie Rhythm and Blues Queen-nominated singer. ‘Little Sister Got Soul’, the title says enough, Andrea Marr is giving more space to soul in her repertoire. And again, she falls in the prize, the album will bring her an Australian Female Blues Artist of the Year award in 2009. In 2012, she takes up the EP ‘Sass & Brass’ in Chicago, based on the Blue Skunk Music records, a copper-plattered disk that reminds Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Ike & Tina Turner’s work. The same year, they will be selected again by winning the MBAS Blues Performer of The Year competition to represent Australia during the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, where they can kick it up to the semi finals. Her latest release concerns a live recording and is available to her fans in 2015 under the title Live Blues Party At The MBAS House Of Blues. In the same year, she collaborates with the Hip / Hop R & B artist Markia, with whom she takes her own gospel R & B song Grateful, which reaps the successes in her native Sri Lanka country.

On the recently published album ‘Natural’ Andrea Marr focuses on soul, returning to Stax and Motown’s sound, known to James Brown, Otis Redding, Etta James and Sharon Jones, but of course she has her own turn given. The origin of the album returns to her EP ‘Sass And Brass’ from 2011, all tracks are represented on this album and supplemented with six new recordings. Of course, much copper work on ‘Natural’. On both sessions is trumpet player Sean Rankin of the party. The saxophonists Jeff Mead and Stuart Byrne make the blazers section of the 2017 session complete for the 2012 session, Andy O’Connell (saxophone) and Dave Palmer (trombone). The cd starts with the smooth Force Of Nature, which immediately sets the pace right and where the bright spicy voice of Andrea Marr immediately strikes. With the funky Rock Steady, original of Aretha Franklin with fun funky guitar game by Dave Reynolds, the second fixed value on this album. Andrea Marr has not shaved her blues past long ago, this is evident from Mama Got It Wrong Sometimes Too, in which blues, funk and soul elements come together. Also, the aforementioned Grateful is present on this album, a ballad in which she reads that she is grateful for every day that she may recover again. Cam Scott takes care of That’s Where Love Ends, a slow bluff, who knows a strong gospel feast for a Hammond and piano bottom that drives the whole song. The rush returns to Let’s Take It To The Bedroom, which features blues, funk and soul elements. Both Credit and What Do I Have To Do (Marva Whitney) are like a house where the first tends toward soul tendencies and the second has a powerful funky performance. Definitely worth mentioning are the rhythm tandems Steve Temple (bass) and Paul Angas (drums) who provide Snakes with a soulful and funky groove and bassist Rob Little and drummer Robby Corelli for the same role in Real Good Man. With the mellow sounding Sticks And Stones, in which space is for subtle guitar clicks by Dave Reynolds, the CD comes to an end. ‘Natural’ has become a nice smooth album, with Andrea Marr moving to soul and funk, but she has not shaken her blues past and this combination produces some nice songs, most of which are also self-contained. to be

Martin van der Velde
BluesMagazine Netherlands
November 2017

Review from Rudolfs Music - Netherlands

The album ‘Natural’ is not the first album of the Australian Andrea Marr but her first full length soul album. On the album, the sound of Motown and Stax is the basis for the music on the album.

What strikes is the passion and energy that Andrea Marr puts in each of the eleven songs on the album. Besides soul, we also hear Andrea Marr flirting with funk. It’s incredibly handsome

Andrea Marr still retains her own style in a genre of music that many hair have been for. In addition to an excellent voice and the help of outstanding musicians, the singer also shows her versatility by writing a number of songs.

In my opinion, the album ‘Natural’ is an excellent album which makes more than curious about the stage work of this versatile singer

http://www.rudolfsmusic.com
Netherlands
November 2017

REVIEW FROM ROOTSVILLE BELGIUM

With Andrea Marr’s new album you bring a natural exciting and floorfillin’ soul explosion into your life…

ROOTSVILLE BELGIUM
October 2017

Natural Album Review

This album has been years in the making…beginning in 2012 with Andrea’s band, “The Funky Hitmen”. That unit released an EP titled Sass & Brass in 2013. That EP made a good jumping-off point for a great full-length album. This has all the heart and soul of classic soul, funky enough to make James Brown sit up and take notice and has a look that most guys would drive around the block to see a second time. Having grown up with a love for the music of Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Stax, Motown and more, she had a good base to start from. With a core band that is right on the money and a horn section that sounds like it could easily have come through the era when Soul was king, Marr is free to do what she does best…set the house on fire. Top-notch vocals, all the power of a runaway train…and she wrote (or co-wrote) all but two of the album’s 11 tunes…this is a woman on a mission. With a repertoire that ranges from blues and soul to gospel, R&B and Funk, this is a woman armed with everything she needs to face any situation she might come up against on the road. Natural is powerful and passionate. If classic soul is your bag, this is one album you will not want to miss. I really dislike making comparisons between artists. Andrea has developed a style of her own to be sure. I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge hearing the influence of Etta James, Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin, but this is Andrea Marr, start to finish. This woman is the real deal, not some cheap knock-off. In a world full of people trying to sound like their favorite star, Andrea Marr is a bonafide original…100% the real deal.

Bill Wilson USA
http://chickenwilson2.blogspot.com/p/october-reviews.html
October 2017

Soul Sister and Heartbreaker Extraordinaire

As an old Soul Boy; finding good high quality Soul Music these days is becoming increasingly difficult, as the majority of what is being called R&B ain’t really got Rhythm and certainly isn’t what I call The Blues!

My appetite was sated a recently when I accidentally discovered a label called Ecko Records which released some really saucy and sassy albums by acts like Miss Jody, Sheba Potts-Wright and (my favourite) Barbara Carr, but it appears to have sunk without trace; leaving me with my old record collection for solace.

So it was with great delight when my favourite Blues PR man, Frank Roszack sent me this terrific album by Sri-Lankan born and Australian brought up, musical powerhouse Andrea Marr.

Even the cover artwork will get Soul aficionados blood pumping and when opening track Force of Nature comes blasting out of the speakers feet all over the world will twitch and tap as hips shake like leaves in a storm.

Andrea Marr and The Funky Hitmen sure know how to get a party started as they use every trick in the book with their swinging horn section and a firecracker guitarist coupled to a steam powered organ, drummer and bassist giving Andrea’s amazing voice a backing it well deserves.

Track #2 will give you a real idea about where Ms Marr is coming from as she tears away all of the Pop trappings from Aretha’s Rock Steady and turns it into the sassy Rhythm AND Blues song of seduction it was always meant to be!

As with all the great Soul that came out of Stax and Atlantic in that halcyon bygone age and what Daptone Records currently do better than anyone else, Miss Andrea Marr combines passion, energy and S-O-U-L with melodies and hooks to die for on What Do I Have To Do and Mama Gets It Wrong Sometimes Too, but it’s when she writes and sings from and about the heart this album surpasses any similar releases in the last 20 years.

That’s Where Love Ends and Sticks and Stones are both the type of slow song I wanted to hear when the lights went down low at the end of the night in a Club or at a party.

While not as ribald as those Ecko albums I love, Andrea includes a couple of earthy songs of seduction in Good Man and the quaintly titled Let’s Take It To The Bedroom, when she shows she’s a lady that knows what she wants and…..trust me; she’s going get what SHE wants!

That last song was very nearly (and probably should be) my favourite track here; but I’m actually going for something a bit left of centre with Grateful; a rather beautiful bittersweet love song that evokes memories of discovering the delights of Aretha, Phyllis Nelson and, of course more recently Sharon Jones; and now Andrea Marr appears to have the same ability to touch my heart with her magical words and phrasing too.

The Rocking Magpie
https://rockingmagpie.wordpress.com/2017/10/16/andrea-marr-natural
October 2017

Natural Album Review

“This new cd from Andrea Marr –”NATURAL” – ticks all the boxes to indicate a first quality album. The original compositions and Andrea’s robust vocals are wedded to excellent instrumentation to give the album the class and professionalism to put it in the forefront of Australian soul and blues. It is a NATURAL to win awards !!!!”

Brian Elliott
Presenter at 94.1FM Gold Coast Radio Brian’s Monday Blues
October 2017

Natural Album Review

“Natural” is a fabulous outing, Marr & the band are really cooking. Shades of Bettye Lavette and that’s somethin’

Salty Dawg’s Blues and Roots Podcast Australia
October 2017

Natural Album Review

“WOW, this is one HOT HOT HOT album”

Wayne Blackwell – IMP radio
October 2017

Blue Skunk Music

Ever since her arrival on the Aussie blues scene in 1999, multi award-winning soul/blues diva Andrea Marr has gone from strength to strength. Primarily a blues singer, Marr has always demonstrated equal mastery over gospel, R&B and soul, all her recordings exhibiting her commanding versatility across the entire blues spectrum. A five-song EP, Sass & Brass is her follow-up to 2010’s Little Sister Got Soul which was picked up by Chicago’s Blue Skunk label for release to wide acclaim Stateside. It sees Marr digging deeper into her classic soul/funk bag, expanding her growing fan base even wider. She delivers a dynamic performance backed by her torrid rhythm unit, three-piece horn section, and four part backing vocal chorus. Marr wrote four of the songs herself and co-wrote ‘That’s Where Love Ends’, a ’60s R&B-styled ballad, with her musical director and co-producer, Hammond organ/keys player Cam Scott. The CD opens with ‘Mama Got It Wrong Sometimes’, Marr and her tight band locking into an intoxicating JBs-inspired booty-shaking groove that continues through ‘Snakes’. They ramp it up to a fever pitch on ‘Credit’ that would make Aretha Franklin envious, the band’s powerful brassy tones giving way to a sultry jazz-tinged sound for the closer ‘Sticks & Stones’ where Marr’s steamy vocals leave you hitting the replay button. If you dig Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings or The Dynamites, you’ll go for this.

Al Hensley
www.rhythms.com.au

THREDBO BLUES FESTIVAL 2014 LIVE REVIEWS

But an amazing set by the Andrea Marr Band stole the show for me this year.. the crowd was on a high as the band were all wirelessly set up and lounged and flirted with the punters…these guys were so professional and so entertaining..

Rod Neimier

THREDBO BLUES FESTIVAL 2014 LIVE REVIEWS

Andrea Marr Band, one of the best things about Thredbo Blues Festival..

Get Shot Magazine

LEICESTER BANGS UK

A five-track EP with a title that may just be the most concise three-word review ever written. I’m not sure I can better it, but here goes …

Andrea Marr has been playing her blues since 1999 and winning awards almost from the off. The Melbourne singer-songstress, together with her band – this particular line-up has been playing together for five years – have also been recognized internationally. The much-respected Chicago blues label Blue Skunk Music signed them up in 2010, re-released their “Little Sister Got Soul” album in 2011 and now the “Sass & Brass” EP.

It’s easy to hear why the label was so impressed. Marr’s inherited a style that made Etta James a legend and Sharon Jones a cult phenomenon. These five tracks leap from the speakers, grab the listener by the lapels and force them onto the dance-floor; resistance is futile. The horn section works in perfect harmony with Marr’s powerhouse blues-soul voice and the songs themselves sound like a succession of classic hits, forged in the Chess studios or Muscle Shoals, 30 or 40 years ago – or yesterday. It’s almost pointless drawing attention to standout songs as there’s absolutely no filler, just a selection of timeless, soulful, high energy, feelgood blues. If you’re partial to any of the above names, or Ike and Tina or Aretha Franklin, then you’d be foolish to miss out.

Rob F.

Live review - Echuca Blues Festival 2011

Hi Guys,

Just got back from my first look at the Echuca Blues Festival, and you know what? How good it is to see a ‘council/business houses/volunteers/in fact,the whole bloody city jumpin’ on the Blues wagon. What a great way to spend a couple of days in winter, goin’ from pub to pub, have a ‘dram’ or two. Walk down the main street, with talent abound, grab a ‘snag and onions’, drop into one of the many coffee shops (all with great coffee), and all this, at your leisure for basically zero!!! If you don’t drink or smoke, you’re laughin’ man.

The city heart of Echuca’ was jumping, both in ‘music,bodies’,and nick knack shops, nearly “ALL” premises open, and so many pleasant assistants. I think that the city of “Echuca” should be bloody proud of what they achieved this weekend.

I got to see many of the acts at ‘Echuca”,and it was great to see so many young’uns strappin’ on the old ‘Axe” and givin’ it a fair pasting. I’ll go thru the program (which was free by the way, and a brilliant production it is too)

. . .

And the final Band I got to see on Sunday was my ‘Fav for the Fest’. Andrea Marr and Band, Bloody Hell, Sharp, Tight, a Rhythm Section to die for, and Andrea’s presence, and Vocals, World class. I’ve seen and heard a lot of guitar players in my life, but Greg Dodd has me enjoying the new face to an old instrument. He was really the reason we stayed all day at the Bridge Pub.

I know that he was Dutch’s axeman over the years,and have seen him in Mildura a few years ago with Dutch. But now with the lineup that Andrea has now, I can’t tell you how good this band is, I only wish that they will record some live stuff in the future. Jeez, they were that good.

. . .

That’s my take on the Echuca Blues Festival for 2011.
“Tecka’. Terry Iredale .Tecka’s Tracks R & B Program on CRN & HOTFM in Vic.

Clint
Tue, 30th August 2011

Little Sister Got Soul! | Blue Skunk | BS4524

I go through long stretches when I feel that soul music is one of those things whose day is past. Then, something miraculous happens…the slot in my door opens and I am blessed with some of the best stuff I’ve heard in quite some time. The Chicago area’s Blue Skunk Music has released a CD by Andrea Marr that is reminiscent of what I was hearing when soul was king. Little Sister’s Got Soul has it all…a strong vocalist with the power to melt the soles of your shoes or to blow those shoes right off your feet, depending or her mood or the cut you choose to listen to. Andrea Marr pours 100% of her heart and soul into every cut, never delivering less than her all. Little Sister’s Got Soul! is soul the way it was meant to be, mixed with enough pure, raw blues to reach straight to the heart. Andrea Marr delivers the goods with pure raw emotional power. This is one of those albums that grabs you from the opening notes and leaves you hoping she never lets go. Then, there’s the band. I have said a hundred times if I’ve said it once, no performer can be better than the band backing them up. In this case, that is not a problem. This band is as solid as bands get, their playing is right on the money, soulful, yet technically right on the money. Their arrangements are flawless and they play with a power that can only be reached when the band loves the music with their entire being. There is no doubt that this band loves the music. Like a throwback to the days when soul and blues were indistinguishable, Marr is a voice that will not be silenced and I, for one, am glad of it. This album and the folks responsible for putting it together are real winners.

Bill Wilson
Mon, 9th May 2011

Andrea Marr - Little Sister Got Soul (US album review)

Blues music was born in the United States, yet there are Blues artists in Australia. What a wonderful testimonial to the power, richness, and impact of the roots of all Roots music, Blues!
Australia has a thriving Blues and Soul scene, and they can rightly brag about the crossover-the-ocean artists that have made a name in the U.S. like Sugarcane Collins, Dave Hole, Harper, Jimi Hocking, Fiona Boyes, and now, Andrea Marr.
Andrea is truly a first class singer with a dynamic, gospel fueled voice, and I’m not the first to notice. She already has an impressive resume:
* 2009 Female Vocalist of the Year (Chain Award, the Australian Blues Music Awards)
* 2007 Female Vocalist of the Year (Newcastle Blues Awards)
* 2005 Blues Performer of the Year
* 2002 Female Blues Artist of the Year (Vic/Tas)
This is simply a wonderful album. If you are a Baby Boomer very familiar with Aretha Franklin, Dinah Washington, Etta James and Memphis Soul sounds, you may not hear anything new, but you’ll hear an artist and her band who have mastered the idiom, breathing new life into it. If you are younger, or not familiar with the classic Soul music of America’s best, you’ll feel like you have discovered a gold mine!
This is Andrea’s fourth album, and her performance, backup band, production, and engineering and mixing create a world class effort. There are seven originals plus covers of Etta James (“I Prefer You”), Dinah Washington (“Soulville”), and Glenn Kaiser (“If I Leave This World Tomorrow”).
Her core band is Greg Dodd, guitar, Dean Matters, drums, Clint Healy, bass, Cam Scott, keyboards, and Sean Vagg, sax. Two of the originals are written by the band, and another is written with Dodd. The skilled instrumental contributions from each plus full band studio additional musicians make the CD more than just a vocal showcase.
Standout moments beyond Marr’s singing are Dodd’s guitar work on “If I Leave This World Tomorrow” and his intro to “What’s Wrong With You,” the groups sagacious advice found in “Don’t Touch What You Can’t Afford,” the full horn section in “Real Good Man,” and Cam Scott’s piano work in “Baby Got Me Crazy.”
This is no “regional” or “niche” album; this is great Soul music. Meet this “Little Sister” now and then watch for her to tour the U.S. – hopefully SOON!

James “Skyy Dobro”
Reviewer James “Skyy Dobro” Walker is a noted Blues writer, DJ and Blues Blast contributor. His weekly radio show “Friends of the Blues” can be heard each Thursday from 4:30 – 6:00pm on WKCC 91.1 FM in Kankakee,
Thu, 30th July 2009

Andrea Marr - Little Sister Got Soul (US album review)

ANDREA MARR - LITTLE SISTER GOT SOUL (album review)

I reviewed Andrea’s first CD, Watch me work it, back in June 2006, and while I liked it, I didn’t really “get it” until I saw Andrea live at Goulburn the following February. Man, she is a dynamo, has a great blues/gospel voice, and really pumps out the sexiness, sass and attitude you hear on the CD. Sometimes an artist can create a particular personality in the recording studio, but they can’t deliver it live. This lady delivers in abundance! After all, she was the MBAS Performer of the Year in 2005 and represented them in Memphis.

With Greg Dodd (guitar), Clint Healy (bass), Dean Matters (drums), Cam Scott (keys, Hammond), Sean Vagg (sax), a 3 piece horn section (Paul Williamson, Shane Hughes, Dave Palmer), and 4 backing vocalists (Rudy Tadros, Jeke terei, Edith Borradale, Carmel Sundaram), this CD is a powerhouse outing from this pint-sized songstress.

Andrea has come up with a great collection of 7 originals and 3 covers that don’t have a weak one among them. The covers are Dinah Washington’s Soulville, Etta James’ I prefer you, and Glenn Kaiser’s If I leave this world tomorrow and they are terrific versions. You can get an idea what the originals (by Andrea and B. Strafford or various band members) are like by checking out the titles: Steam up the windows, Don’t touch what you can’t afford, Superwoman, Taught me to love, Real good man, What’s wrong with you, and Baby got me crazy. There’s a nice mix of feels and tempos, with lots of brass, and great guitar and piano and, of course, Andrea’s big vocals.

In my opinion, this CD is a great example of a local product that’s the equal of anything coming into Australia from “the home of the blues”. Some albums have some great songs, some have some great performances, some have great recording quality, but some, like this one, have it all and just “hang together” and “sound right” from start to finish. (Actually, it reminds me of another great album; Dutch Tilders & The Blues Club, The blues is my life.) You’ve got to have a listen to this one.

Gary deWall
www.sydneyblues.org
Wed, 11th February 2009

ANDREA MARR - LITTLE SISTER GOT SOUL

Launching the big horn-laden sound of her sequel to 2006’s Watch Me Work It, Melbourne soul-blues dynamo Andrea Marr wraps her unrestrained pipes around Dinah Washington’s ‘Soulville’ ahead of seven new powerhouse original songs, Etta James’ funky ‘I prefer you’ and Christian music singer Glenn Kaiser’s gut bucket blues ‘If I leave This World Tomorrow’. Guitarist Greg Dodd, bassist Clint Healy, drummer Dean Matters, saxophonist Sean Vagg and keyboard player Cam Scott were Marr’s musical running partners in the realization of this project. Scott’s tight and snappy horn charts and Marr’s vocal arrangements for her backing chorus by members of the Urban Praise Gospel Choir inject a soulful edge to songs of depth and attitude. The sassy ‘Don’t touch what you can’t afford’ and ‘Superwoman’ and the sultry ‘Baby Got me Crazy’ and ‘Steam up the Windows’ exemplify Marr’s growth as a creative artist. A fervent musical chemistry exists between marr and her road-tested band during the whole 41-minute set.

Al Hensley Rhythms Magazine
Tue, 6th January 2009

Andrea Marr: Little Sister Got Soul

HATE to sound chauvinistic about the music in this town, but here goes anyway: the depth of talent in Melbourne can astound, and this album is a delight, truly jump-out-of-your-skin stuff, passionate, poised and, most of all, musical. Andrea Marr’s voice is so sensuous, sassy and dynamic, her command of her idiom so assured that one is tempted to accost strangers to tell them. Marr announces her rock-the-house intentions from the get-go with the call-to-arms Soulville. Organ (Cam Scott) and horns are to the fore. Scott also did the horn arrangements and Marr the vocal arranging. The rhythm (Greg Dodd, guitar; Clint Healy, bass; Dean Matters, drums) is hot as a pistol and the horns lift the music to a higher level. Whether drawing on Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin or Etta James or her own works (seven of 10 songs are originals), Marr is inspired. In 2005 she won the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’s blues performer of the year award. I was honoured to be one of the judges and I’m pleased we got it so right.

See original article here

Ken Williams for The Age
Tue, 30th December 2008

Little Sister Got Soul! album review by Rooster

This is Andrea’s fourth album and she has finally got a band that not only can materialize her vision, but also enhance it. Andrea’s soulful vocals seem effortless whether it is on one of her 7 originals or covering Etta James and Dinah Washington. Her core band of Greg Dodd, guitar, Dean Matters, drums, Clint Healy, bass and Sean Vagg, sax are truly that, a band, who have committed themselves to Andrea’s sound which seems to have allowed Andrea to relax and concentrate on her vocals. Two of the originals are written by the band and another with Greg and it really appears to be a true group effort, with everyone being valued and everyone working with each other to get the best sound. This album represents somewhat of a comeback for Greg, who didn’t pick up a guitar for a number of years. His distinctive style and blues edge adds a punch, whilst Dean and Clint deliver a beat and groove so dependable and polished. Sean usually carries out sax duties alone so he must have been in fantasy land with session buddies Paul Williamson, Shane Hughes and Dave Palmer. The luxury of a horn section is enhanced even further with Cam Scott’s piano and Hammond which takes this album to a level usually only acquired by the greats as Etta and Aretha. The engineering and mixing (Troy Trigwell & James Kilpatrick) of such a large band takes some doing and I can’t see how it could have been done any better. It is a world class effort that rips you from your seat and doesn’t let you go, and when it does you want to do it all again!

Rooster for MBAS Bluesletter
Fri, 24th October 2008

THE MARR STAR

Andrea Marr Sings The Blues Because She Loves It.

Those familiar with Melbourne’s vibrant blues and roots scene will probably know the name, Andrea Marr. For around seven years this pint-sized singer has been belting out blues tunes in a voice the size of Australia’s World Cup hype, and whilst it’s been a struggle, more a labour of love than a “career”, things are now starting to fall into place for Marr. Singing the blues isn’t usually the dream of many people, but for Andrea Marr, it’s been a long time coming.

“I started singing blues without even realising it,” she says down the phone of her introduction to music. “I was brought up in Sri Lanka, and I was 14 when I came over here… they don’t have any blues music over there at all. But my dad was a jazz musician, and we’d listen to a lot of stuff at home, and I think through him, my earliest blues influences were Elvis and Ray Charles. That’s pretty much all that I would have heard that would have got me started with the blues. So when Dad was playing jazz songs, I would sing them in a blues phrasing without even realising it.

By Sam Fell for Rhythms magazine
27 Dec 2006

Andrea Marr Works It All The Way!

The Sultry vocals of Andrea Marr get the full showcase treatment in her latest release titled, Watch Me Work It. Ten tracks, of which six are Marr originals that have been co-written with guitarist Brian Strafford and others, sees Marr wrap her R’n’B vocal chords around such showstoppers as Stand And Deliver, He Only Rocks On Stage, and the aptly titled, Duke Robilard Tune. One Sided Love Affair gives Marr a chance to relax with a classic slow blues whilst her treatment of Jimmy Witherspoon’s Ain’t Nobody’s Business, also allows her to bring the room temperature down. Lloyd Spiegel’s guitar licks, bump, grind and shimmer in all the right places. Dean Matters and Luke Hodgeson provide tight rhythm, Chris McConachy wails on harp and Andy Cowan provides a keyboard cameo appearance on Stand And Deliver. Andrea Marr works damn hard and as such has turned this one into a winner just like her appearances at last years Blues Performer Of The Year contest.

Werner Martin – Inpress magazine
Posted: Wed, 14th June 2006

album review by lee howard: herald sun

RARELY has an album been so aptly named, assuming “sassified” means sassy to the fullest. Andrea Marr is a blues shouter the likes of whom we have seldom seen in Australia. It is a quality that allows her to sing out with conviction on Surgarpie De Santos’s sexy Use What You Got, bringing the inderlying humour to the fore. In fact, it is almost possible to hear a smile in some of the songs, Marr leading a tight band of cohorts that would overwhelm a lesser singer. The horns of Ken Mailing, Steve Williams and Brian Stafford drive the singer to be at her best and Chris Wilson’s keyboards and production are spot on. It all coalesces on the slower tempo of a Bed Full of Blues, one of the fine, self-penned songs on the 14-track album. This again is brassy in a way a couple of American labels would do well to emulate.

LEE HOWARD
Sat, 23rd November 2002

ANDREA MARR'S BLUES TRAIN GET SASSIFIED

The sassy Andrea Marr has been part of the Melbourne blues scene for some years now and finally people are sitting up and taking notice…and rightly so. Whilst her first release a couple of years ago was a bit patchy, her newest outing is anything but! Laced with Marr’s sensuous and soulful vocals, Sassified has an inner strength that not only emanates from her own musical journey over the last few years but also from her choice of material, musicians and her song writing collaboration with guitarist/saxophonist Brian Strafford. Right from the opening track – the funky superwoman (a Marr/Strafford collaboration)- the scene is set for a soulful album. The Blues Train don’t disappoint and stop at all stations without ever leaving the tracks! Marr knows how to deliver a tune and she’s got the nuances, the inflections, the wails down pat and whether it’s a blues, soul or gospel tune, whether it’s an up tempo number or a ballad, Andrea Marr has stamped her vocal authority all over it. Sassified delivers 15 tracks in all and my faves are the opening track, the innuendo laden Sugarpie De Santo cover Use What You Got, Sweet Southern Blues and Marr’s original tune It Takes A Woman To Sing The Blues. Marr has been knocking on the door for some time and with this release she’s opened that door and is damn well delivering the goods. A great album and one that I can thoroughly recommend.

Werner Martin: Inpress Magazine Issue 694
Wed, 9th January 2002

One wonders what rock was big enough to hide the immense talents of vocalist Andrea Marr. With a voice suited to blues, jazz, soul and gospel (all of which Andrea performs), one struggles with the realisation that this artist has been around for some time. With an impressive independent release, titled “Inheritance”, featuring a strong emphasis on original material with some decidedly impressive arrangements, Andrea is well poised to make herself known on the national front. On this album, Andrea not only proves herself a gifted vocalist but also a talented lyricist, having penned a majority of the tunes. There is some very impressive harmonica and saxophone work courtesy of Steve Williams, with Billy Kavanagh (ex-Tin Pan Alley) contributing some guitar. Chris Wilson adds keyboards and bass (Chris also recorded Inheritance at his Studio 7), while a number of other guests also make appearances.

The solo saxophone (Steve Williams) intro of the jazz-infused “Summertime”, followed by the keyboards of Chris Wilson with rhythm section and guitar open and set the mood for the album.

Following is the very funky “Shaky Ground”, with decidedly commercial leanings.

The bluesy jazzy “Pray for Rain” (an album highlight) sees Billy Kavanagh lend some tasty guitar, with Williams’ saxophone and harp also making strong contributions, as Wilson’s keyboards back the rhythm section.

“When I Laid My Eyes On You” has a Little Willie John “Fever” feel performed as trio plus voice.

“It Takes A Woman To Sing The Blues” is straight-ahead blues, with sax and guitar solos by Brian Strafford and Peter Healy respectively and keyboards by Wilson.

The title track “Inheritance” is performed a capella gospel style.

R & B surface on “When You’re Gone”, with female backing vocalists.

The slow blues “Heaven Sent”, again with Kavanagh and Williams making strong contributions, will demand air play on any self-respecting blues program and is another album highlight.

“What’s Wrong With You” adopts a more rock/blues approach devoid of sax or harp.

The Thomas Dorsey “Precious Lord” sees keyboards to accompany voice, as does the laid-back original ballad “Words Cannot Express”, with a decidedly mainstream feel to finish this album.

While diverse in nature, the album is also focused and a fine example of a debut release for an artist wishing to expose and promote themselves. Andrea Marr is currently working up a straight-ahead blues outfit in hometown Melbourne, known as “Hideaway,” and we here at Highway 49 will be watching closely for activity within this camp.

Glenn Nelson
Sun, 30th September 2001