I have always been a fan of Candye Kane and now everyone that walks the planet should be. I am not talking just for her music but for whom she is and her work as a humanitarian and the recent fight won with deadly pancreatic cancer. After a year of fighting like the true warrior she is, Ms. Kane comes roaring back with the aptly titled Superhero. This is Candye’s first release on Delta Groove Music, who slowly but surely is putting together a strong stable of artists.
Right from the get go Candye and her crackerjack band are swingin’ and rockin’ with the blues and it never lets up, not for a second. Her voice is excellent for this type of music and with each release it seems like her tone and emotion gets stronger.
I love the way the album opens with the title track and how robust and alive Candye sounds. From that point forward there is no holding back or sugar coating anything. No, she does not resemble her first name at all; this lady tells it like it is while making it a big party for everyone involved. Her accompaniment, which also is the live band, sounds all jacked up on pure energy prompted by the soulful voice of a singer poised to belt out every lyric like it’s her life blood. That is commitment to the craft of spinning a tale through the blues-100% no bull.
When Candye sings “I’m A Bad, Bad Girl” you believe her although those who know her story can attest that she is just the opposite and this could be nothing but a reference to her younger years when life was different and there was no direction. We all go through a phase like that one time or another and nobody can convey all of that in one song like this blues belter. In another instance she sings a sad lament on “Don’t Cry For Me New Jersey”. Again telling it all straight up by saying “Don’t cry for me New Jersey” and in another instance deals out a reality check by saying “Your rejection sandwich is one that I can’t eat”.
Women like Candye Kane have a universal appeal you can’t knock. There is so much more to her than the music and if you listen and look inside the proof is in the pudding. Superhero is another five star effort from a gal that is off the charts cool and in a non-stop groove.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
July 6, 2009
