Peace, Love and Barbeque reviewed by Steve Jones

Peace, Love and Barbeque
Marcia Ball
Alligator Records
www.marciaball.com
13 tracks

I don’t think that anyone who has ever listened to Marcia Ball has not fallen in love with her and her music at some level. Her musical talents are utterly superb. And if one has the pleasure to see her live, any convincing needed as to her talents gets done just a few bars into her first song. Marcia’s sultry vocals and expressive piano still send chills down my spine when I listen to her. No wonder she has been honored as piano player of the year for the last 3 years at the Blues Music Awards!

This new CD on Alligator is another great set of songs that showcase Ball’s talents. She authored or co-authored 8 of the tracks on the new CD. From the opening measures of “Party Town,” a song about New Orleans, the listener knows they are in for treat. The title track is next on the album, where Marcia pleads to “Give me some peace, love and barbeque.” I can’t think of a more perfect way for life to be. Well, maybe a few beers with all that, but you get my drift.

“Her Tallness,” as her web site describes the lanky and leggy chanteuse, is the epitome of Texas and Louisiana roadhouse dancehall music scene. Whether she is singing of the joys of “Married Life” or riding out the troubles of bad weather in “Ride It Out,” this first studio album release in four years treats us to the joys and pains of life delivered in her expressive musical style.

I love this CD as I do the musician. It is an great set of tunes that adds to the wonderful library of music that this woman has given to the world. If you like your piano music in the red hot, pounding expressive outpouring of East Texas/West Louisiana roadhouse style and your vocals as sultry as can be, then this is a CD for you! No one can compete with Marcia Ball at the peak of her game, and she’s spot-on in this great new release!