Album review: ALLY VENABLE – Money & Power

Ruf Records [Release date 18.04.25]

In our reviews of Ally Venable’s previous albums ‘Texas Honey’, ‘Heart Of Fire’ and ‘Real Gone’ we noted that she was not quite the fully formed offering but was getting there. ‘Money & Power’ is a further step in the right direction although Ally is maybe torn between the Texan southern blues that she was brought up with and a more rocky approach to further tease the mainstream.

Interestingly the first two advance tracks released from the album – ‘Do You Cry’ and ‘Keep In Mind’ – were ballads/mid-tempo and if nothing else these tunes show that she is maturing as a performer and not least evidenced in the somewhat more sophisticated publicity shots. Perhaps the most noticeable aspect is the improved vocals.

Her contemporaries like Joanne Shaw Taylor and Erja Lyytinen have increasingly followed a more crossover route and Ally is not quite there yet. Perhaps she doesn’t want to be?

This means that she is now torn between satisfying an older audience with a penchant for the blues and pulling in younger blood and I don’t think this will happen with the latest release – good as it is.

The issue is that many of the tunes are fairly average and at times beat a well-trodden path followed by predecessors such as Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow. Guest appearances from Shemekia Copeland and Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram bolster the blues/rock credentials.

Of the more upbeat, album opener ‘Brown Liquor’ is again fairly perfunctory as these things go with only the Kossoff-esque guitar marking it out from the masses.

The standout title track has a Bad Company ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ groove and wah-wah infected solo whilst ‘Heal Me’ is more of the same.

‘Stopper Back Papa’ has a funky undertow with some welcome vamping in the playout.

‘Legends’ is a straightforward slice of pop rock whilst Copeland adds heft to ‘Unbreakable.’

I pondered when reviewing ‘Real Gone’ whether a song like ‘Gone So Long’ gave a possible direction of travel. But frankly there is nothing here to match that.

Ally has been touring in the U.S. with “Experience Hendrix”. We last saw her in the UK as part of the Blues Caravan troupe for label Ruf Records. Thankfully she’s back for more dates in October. ***1/2

Review by David Randall

UK Tour Dates (2025)

TUESDAY 14 OCTOBER – MANCHESTER, GULLIVERS
WEDNESDAY 15 OCTOBER – EDINBURGH, VOODOO ROOMS
THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER – NOTTINGHAM, THE BODEGA
FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER – LONDON, THE GARAGE
SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER – SITTINGBOURNE, THE BOURNE MUSIC CLUB

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