Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Kristi Johnson
is a capable blues guitarist and a startlingly fine singer and songwriter. On her debut album she leads a bare-bones trio (augmented by the occasional guest musician) through a program of hardheaded blues and R&B, most of it original.
"Train"
starts things off with a bang: after a slow-strutting intro, the song transitions without warning into a quick blues shuffle, then breaks down as
Johnson
takes her first solo, which alternates masterful understatement with fleet-fingered heat.
"Shake Your Sugar Tree,"
another
original, sounds like a cross between Tin Pan Alley and early jump blues with a slightly nastier edge. And speaking of a nasty edge,
"If I Ain't Got"
is a slow, snarling scorcher; a brazen challenge to her lover punctuated by filthy guitar fills. Best of all is the soulful kiss-off
"Outta Love."
doesn't maintain this level of quality perfectly -- her solo on
"That Would Be Fine"
is ponderous and sloppy -- but for a debut album, the level of musicianship here is very impressive. She'll probably only get better. ~ Rick Anderson