Search - Lou Ann Barton :: Sugar Coated Love

BIG TEXAS BLUES SOUND

jay ancer | Plantation, FL. USA | 08/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although I'm an avid Blues listener I was not familiar with Lou Ann Barton. I picked up Sugar Coated Love on a lark. As a fan of SRV I was more curious to hear the early recordings of Stevie Ray which are cuts 8-17 on the disc. After my initial listen
I was very impressed with the quality of the songs and the raw power. Barton's energy and passion are evident throughout the album, while the band powers through Blues-Rock selections with extreme confidence. At times the band (Rockola) reminded
me of the early work of Cream with a young Eric Clapton,
IT'S THAT GOOD. The music dates back to 1977 and has a
very raw unpolished sound and edge to it, (Kenny G fans
need not apply) which is common to some of the early Possum releases. I was not, however, impressed with the sound quality on the disc which ranges from Fair to Poor, with some songs sounding like they were recorded Live with a Mattel cassette recorder placed at the edge of the bar. The sparse liner notes are limited to a single piece of paper listing the songs and 3 paragraphs about Lou Ann Barton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Ironically, it does not even mention the members of the band shown on the back of the case. Still, SUGAR COATED LOVE is not about the anemic packaging but the power, energy, and passion offered on this album by Barton and the band. And, oh yes, don't forget Stevie Ray."

Some good early work by Lou Ann and Stevie

S. Kornfeld | Central Texas, USA | 10/25/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I got this for a birthday gift and saw Stevie Ray Vaughan mentioned on the cover and extensively in the brief liner notes I figured it was mainly to help with sales and that there would be some rough, early work from Stevie Ray. Well, Stevie does a fine job and is already in quite distinctive form, thought it would improve as his career blossomed. Lou Ann does a fine job, as well, and these two made some great tracks together here. The early tracks on this CD sound like they were recorded months or years earlier and yes, it is not a great recording but it is still good material. The tracks with Stevie are tighter and better recorded. A good deal for Stevie or Lou Ann fans (whatever happened to her?) but be warned the CD does not even list the authors of the songs or the other members of the band."

Lou Ann's Best. A Must have for blues lovers.

Greg G. Richardson | Jax, Fla | 09/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lou Ann has the best female blues voice on the planet! These live performances with their imperfections and background noises only make the CD more enjoyable. You can almost smell the beer and smoke in the room.



Then Stevie Ray Vaughn steps in on lead guitar on the last several numbers and the thing Rocks.



Real down home Texas blues and SRV when he was just a kid...WOW!"