There is plenty of fire in
Saffire -- The Uppity Blues Women
, a trio of feisty multiracial middle-aged
acoustic blues
femmes who, rather surprisingly, were one of the top sellers from
Alligator
's male-dominated, plugged-in roster. This generous 20-track, 75-minute compilation collects highlights from the threesome's previous seven
albums, spanning 1990-2001. Led by pianist and co-founder
Ann Rabson
's barroom
honky tonk
piano and
Gaye Adegbalola
's gutsy vocals and guitar, the band hit a nerve for a previously untapped audience of older, predominantly female
blues
fans. With double entendre lyrics flying (
"Silver Beaver,"
"Elevator Man,"
"Middle Aged Blues Boogie,"
"Wild Women Don't Have the Blues"
), the aggressive sexuality boasted in the majority of these songs may have seemed sassy at the time, but was just a throwback to the similarly raucous style of
classic female blues
singers such as
Ma Rainey
,
Sippie Wallace
, and
Ida Cox
. The big difference was that
Saffire
could play their instruments, and play them well, which added a layer of self-confidence to their shtick. With three distinctive singers and a strong sense of pacing, the music never gets boring, although at 20 cuts, this does start to feel repetitious in spots. There are no rarities, so fans won't need to take the plunge, but for newcomers this is a perfect introduction to a unique female group that proved it could hold its own in the testosterone-heavy world of
music. ~ Hal Horowitz