Mr. Groove

And here she is,ladies and gentlemen - the great white Ikette herself - passionate,fierce and gifted with voice that blows the roof,smash the windows,peels the wallpaper and puts most of the so-called singers to shame.
Talk about legend - not only she started as the only ever white girl in The Ikettes,was part of classic Delaney & Bonnie duo,worked with everyone from Joe Cocker,Eric Clapton,George Harrison to Leon Russell and The Allman Brothers Band back in a day but truly possesed one of the strongest of so-called blue-eyed soul singers voices - ever.
Just check out any of her old recordings,that voice was part soul,part gospel,full blown hurricane that white girls never came close to (young Rita Coolidge actually sang like this but before you could say "Kristofferson" she went on to became another MOR ballad singer and forgot about real music).
We have not heard from Bramlett in a very long time.Sure,there were occasional guest spots here and there,even the album out of nowhere called
I'm Still The Same - some 20+ years out of recording studio in between her previous Step By Step - so anything by her is super-rare and high quality. Nobody else but Ike Turner compliments her singing here in liner notes and he definitely knows a thing or two about great singers.The album starts with a bang - "Love the one you're with" is such rousing gospel-rock that I almost yelled "Lord have mercy" (being white east-european,I just dropped everything and turned my head in surprise),from there on Bramlett goes through blues,soul,rock and - surprise - even some mellow jazz numbers that I never knew she could sing so well.Backing musicians are excellent and lady herself is like a cat with nine lives,older & wiser with a scarr here and there but passion and intensity are worthy of the best Rock and Roll Hall of Famers - only those with experiences through life's ups and downs can muster such joy and meaning through their music,truly its not just singing but her soul is pouring out through my speakers so much that I have to literally leave everything and just listen.
Bramlett covers Chuck Berry, Nina Simone and Sam Cooke - I would never tell her own "Change is gonna come" would one day eclipse even Tina Turner - but where she surprises me the most is old and usualy boring "Love hurts" that sounds like honest reflective look in a mirror,first time ever that this song grabbs me so help me God.
Ah yes,have I mentioned that here she reunites with two girls from The Ikettes - they sang together in 1960s and now they are in studio again...
This is the world's best blue-eyed soul female singer - never mind these kids on MTV,if you want to hear true singer,this is the one.

I have enjoyed Bonnie since the first time I heard her, On Tour With Eric Clapton and Friends. I remember being in the groove when Bonnie asked, "Can we have some red lights, 'cause this is a red light song?" She then knocked my socks off as she belts out Bessie Griffin blues anthem, "That's What My Man Is For."

Bonnie continued to show her great writing talent. She shared writing a song with Leon Russell that was named "Groupie," but before she could get it recorded, The Carpenters changed the title and released the record now called, "Superstar".

Other reviewers have given you most of her biography,. but when Bonnie returned to her music with "I'm Still the Same" and now this great session, "Roots, Blues & Jazz", it's still apparent, her haunting voice will echo through the ages.

Thirty-five years passed since I had heard of Bonnie(I thought she was wonderful in the 60's) . I got older, she got older and Lord did she get better.

It was Ike turner's "opinion" on the cd liner that convinced me to buy this album yesterday. Best impulse purchase I have made in months and just in time to make my ten best of the year list. Not a bad track on this cd and many quickly recognizable song choices are given fresh life and vitality. Charlie Daniels does not have nearly as much cred with me as Ike does, but Charlie IS right when he says that no one does blue eyed soul better than Bonnie.

I only recently discovered this talented singing artist's great music and this CD is the best one of all that I've collected so far. She sounds better than ever and her passion for the lyrics and song styling is evident in every track. It is rich and soulful and wrenching. Lots of emotion and heart.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this great, multi-track CD. It is a great assortment of material...with long playing versions skillfully arranged and performed.

i have known tim smith (bass) and roddy smith (guitar) since 1971. tim was the first person to really expose me to great music. i didn't really get it then. SLOWLY, as (lots of) time passed, i began to get it-never woulda happened without tim. his musical dreams should all become reality. if you really listen, you'll appreciate the talent of all the players on display. tim is on equal ground with the best bassists that have ever been in the business-haslip, patitucci, reid, wooten, clarke, etc...; and you can hear the influence of berry oakley & jaco, as well as all of the trad. jazz greats, both past and present. i don't believe there is anyone that exists who loves music and loves to play music more than tim and these guys. so give this some serious listening and i think you'll be blown away. this should be in the collections of millions of true audiophiles. help them get it out there............

I have owned this for a few years. Some would call this music smooth jazz. Everything is played by human beings, and the tunes are good. I prefer this to most of the smooth jazz out there today, which is starting to all sound to same. They do an interesting version of the Beatles tune "Blackbird". The instrumentation is sax, guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums. One tune, "I Don't Know Why", has vocals.

i have known tim smith (bass) and roddy smith (guitar) since 1971. tim was the first person to really expose me to great music. i didn't really get it then. SLOWLY, as (lots of) time passed, i began to get it-never woulda happened without tim. his musical dreams should all become reality. if you really listen, you'll appreciate the talent of all the players on display. tim is on equal ground with the best bassists that have ever been in the business-haslip, patitucci, reid, wooten, clarke, etc...; and you can hear the influence of berry oakley & jaco, as well as all of the trad. jazz greats, both past and present. i don't believe there is anyone that exists who loves music and loves to play music more than tim and these guys. so give this some serious listening and i think you'll be blown away. this should be in the collections of millions of true audiophiles. help them get it out there............

I have owned this for a few years. Some would call this music smooth jazz. Everything is played by human beings, and the tunes are good. I prefer this to most of the smooth jazz out there today, which is starting to all sound to same. They do an interesting version of the Beatles tune "Blackbird". The instrumentation is sax, guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums. One tune, "I Don't Know Why", has vocals.