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STOMPIN’ GROUND
(Daemon/SBS)
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On her latest studio recording, singer-songwriter Michelle Malone displays the maturity of a Dylan disciple with her own personal agenda. Blues and roots are fused into her brand of folk rock, which has developed over the course of a decade in which she’s released everything from loose live recordings to a major-label effort that fell between the commercial cracks. But here she demonstrates both the songwriting talent and the artistic depth to be regarded as a performer in the same vein as commercial and critical successes like Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, and Lucinda Williams. "Moanin’ Coat" is a reflective, melancholy, Southern-flavored rock tune marked by Malone’s raspy-voiced and Janis Joplin–style delivery — it’s her "Piece of my Heart." "I wish that I could wrap you up in my moanin’ coat," she sings, as desire mingles with longing, lust, and tenderness and a gospel choir chants "Be my rolling stone" as a backdrop. "Honeysuckle Lullaby," the disc’s most accessible, hook-filled number, shows off her keen ear for pop; "Flagpole" and "Camera" reveal her raucous rock-and-roll heart. Blues chordings come into play on "Snack N Shack," and she gives us her take on the woes of life on the road with "Samsonite." Written, recorded, and co-produced by Malone in just a two-week period, Stompin’ Ground has the spontaneity and the polish of a songwriter who’s mastered her craft. (Michele Malone will appear Wednesday December 10 at the Paradise; call 617-931-2000.)
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