In 2018 San Diego-based blues singer-songwriter created quite a stir with, A Woman Rules the World. It was not only an impressive debut of sorts, but she has now leveraged it to sign with one of blues’ biggest labels, Ruf, for her follow-up, Stand Up! Here’s how this writer described her approach with the debut, “…her vocal talents, displaying both grit and elegant grace without any hint of overwrought singing. She has the sultry, sexy nuances down but she’s a strong, no-nonsense woman too.” She brings that approach to this effort as well but takes even more ownership. While the previous album featured only four originals, this has ten with just two covers.
The previous album featured stellar west coast musicians and the support here is equally formidable as it represents some of Austin’s best. Stand Up! was tracked at Austin’s Wire Recording Studio with producer Kaz Kazanoff, with Marcia Ball guesting on piano for one track and Guy Forsyth in duet with Shay on another. Other notable musicians are the legendary Red Young on keys, the sizzling Laura Chavez on guitar, and Derek O’Brien on slide for one track. And, of course, there’s the brass of The Texas Horns led by Kazanoff. Many of the songs were co-written with Shay’s partner Adam J. Eros.
“One of my favorite memories was recording the duet “Far Apart(Still Close)” with Guy Forsyth”, the singer remembers. “Within an hour we were singing together and cracking each other up. Laura Chavez’s brilliant guitar solos really shone and the interplay between her and Derek O’Brien on ‘Equal Ground,’ we jokingly referred to as ‘Godzilla versus Mothra’, because they are both such monster guitarists! Then there’s Red Young, who’s such an artist on organ, and when we would let him rip – like he did on the end of ‘Stand Up!’ – he added the perfect amount of soul to every track.”
That horn-driven punchy title track is emblematic of Shay’s self-confident persona and stance. “Being a strong, independent woman, raised by my single mother and grandmother, many of the songs on this album deal with themes of equality and female empowerment,” she says. Others are on the personal side. She claims that “Someone You Never Got to Know” is about not knowing how to mourn the passing of someone that you never got to have a relationship with. She was in tears recording it and that’s the take that was used. The tear-jerker ballad “I Thought We Were Through” is a nice change of pace after four pulsating tunes. It showcases her vocal chops and gives Kaz a nice tenor solo.
Shay does belt it on “Tell the Truth,” punctuated with a filthy Kaz sax take and pounding piano from Young. “Boy, Sit Down” is a sassy, feel good empowerment tune with Marcia Ball on piano, three background vocalists, nice trumpet from Al Gomez in the background, and Forsyth’s resonator solo. It’s a serious message carried out with a fun vibe. She sings defiantly on “Getting In My Way” and closes with the peppy, anthemic horn-driven “Change With the Times,” a bookend to the opening title track.
Overall, this is effort is a bit more refined than its predecessor where it often seemed she held little back. There are some terrific musical spots. Certainly, Laura Chavez brings her blistering guitar to every recording she graces. This view of a more controlled Shay may also trace to the songwriting, which is solid but often filled with predictable grooves. The predecessor benefitted from familiarity as Shay covered tunes from Dinah Washington, Denise LaSalle, Candi Staton, and Little Richard, among others. Here we get some of that when she covers “I Never Meant to Love Him,” associated with Etta James. A few more of those may have helped but every artist wants to write and perform their own material. Shay has plenty of talent and is a tremendous live performer. Her star will continue to rise.
