Tami Neilson is a Canadian-born New Zealand powerhouse vocalist, half-Patsy Cline, half-Wanda Jackson with a healthy dose of soul too. Put simply, she is a force of nature. While her 2018 Sassafrass was an impassioned feminist call to arms, here on Chickaboom! she’s more interested in delivering “popping firecrackers that, when stripped back to nothing but a guitar, percussion and two voices, would still go boom!,” she says. She’ also bringing her musically-steeped family and personal history to bear, collaborating with guitarist/singer brother Jay who flew from Toronto to New Zealand for these sessions. Like its predecessor, Neilson brings hints of country and rockabilly, fused with soul; essentially retro late ‘50s or ‘60s groove, complete with her sassy, strutting persona, portrayed in part by the piled-high beehive hairdo as depicted in the cover art.
These ten songs, save one, are all Neilson originals, some co-written with lead guitarist Delany Davidson, who penned the closer “Sleep.” Brother Jay sings, plays rhythm guitar and bass while Joe McCallum handles drums and percussion. Neilson just sings, but that’s plenty. She doesn’t need much support.
Ironically, because the similarity of the song titles is surely incidental, Neilson begins immediately with fire with ‘Call Your Mama,” recalling Etta James’ “Tell Mama” which was also the first track on Etta’s iconic Muscle Shoals album of the same name. “Hey! Bus Driver” is a rockabilly rave-up, also centered on family, followed by the tremolo-guitar driven, hand-clapping “Ten Tonne Truck,” an ode to hard work and a take-no-prisoners attitude, signified by her sassy “ha, ha, ha.” “Queenie, Queenie” is a simple vocal rap with percussion as the only accompaniment as her four and six-year-old sons echo and deliver some different lines in the background.
”You Were Mine” is a compelling, standout track as Neilson sounds like a cross between Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and early Mavis with her explosive vocals. Pulling no punches, she continues in retro style with “16 Miles of Chain,” as Davidson’s guitar calls up scintillating doses of reverb. Neilson’s sustaining certain words like “pain” and ‘chain” is real testament to her vocal prowess. “Tell Me That You Love Me’’ is rockabilly call and response in overdrive, as the lead guitar blisters.
“Any Fool with a Heart” is a gentle ‘50s- styled country ditty, complete with “ooh, ooh” background vocals and nice harmonies between Neilson and Davidson. The hand-clapped gospel shouter “Sister Mavis” is indeed a tribute to the gospel icon, capped by this lyric – “Send in Sister Mavis, send in Sister Mavis/Mahalia and Rosetta, NO you don’t find a better/Holy Trinity to save us/ Send in Sister Mavis, send in Sister Mavis.” Neilson proves she has a crooning, tender side on the closing lullaby “Sleep.”
Neilson grew up performing across North America with Canada’s Neilson Family Band working alongside legends like Johnny Cash, Tanya Tucker, and Kitty Wells. With her parents Betty and Ron (her late father a well-respected songwriter) and her two brothers Todd (drums) and Jay (bass), she spent years on the road. It’s clear that she’s absorbed all that experience and then some. Jay has since become an acclaimed producer and songwriter in his own right, so this collaboration brings the family musical history full circle in a sense. This is Tami’s fifth solo album. Her trajectory is climbing and her boundless talent is a wonder to behold. Listen up.
