SANDI THOM
Flesh and BloodThis album is Sandi’s fourth, and coming after the hugely successful Merchants & Thieves it has something to live up to. Expectations have been quite high for this, and rightly so. Flesh And Blood is considered by Sandi herself to be her “coming of age” album. It’s a lot different to the previous one, but at the same time it’s a very natural progression, rather than veering off at a tangent into altogether different territory. It was originally scheduled for release on August 27th, but due toSandi suffering a bout of shingles while she was in the UK earlier in the year, coupled with a stay in hospital, the release date has slipped to 17th September so you’re going to have to wait to get your hands on this a little longer.
The album has been produced by the Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson and although his presence can be heard in places, there are other times that it’s hardly noticeable at all. The production is certainly very intelligent. Now, anyone that knows me, or has read other reviews of mine, will know that I am a big fan of female vocalists. I happen to think that Sandi’s voice is incredible and this album shows it off to it’s full extent.
It is primarily a blues album, but it goes much deeper than that. Drawing from a lot of personal experiences over the past couple of years this is an album steeped in emotion, and one which has it’s own personality. A lot of blood sweat and tears have gone into this, and you can feel everything in the music as you listen. It’s got a lot of soul, some motown influences and a wee bit of rock too.
Sandi also got to perform with one of her personal heroes, namely Buffy Sainte Marie on the latter’s song Big Ones Get Away. It’s a duet that works extremely well, and is a great addition to this collection of songs, and is one of Sandi’s personal favourites from the album.
Merchants And Thieves was one of my favourite albums of 2010. It appealed to me because of it’s simplistic approach, and the focus on the vocals. Flesh And Blood is a little more complex, but it still manages to carry forward the strengths from the last album, without losing the honesty and integrity of it’s roots.
I believe that Sandi has grown as a song writer with this album. The tracks on here have a much more mature sound, and a lot of thought has gone into the arrangements to make them sound bigger and bolder. Everyone who has been involved in making this album is extremely pleased with the end result, and honestly I can see exactly why that is, Sandi has made an record that really stands out, and I really hope that it gets her the recognition she so deserves as she has worked so hard to give a piece of herself to everyone that listens to it.
Personally, I was expecting something extremely good and, I am very happy to say, I have not been disappointed in the slightest.
