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''The blues is my business and business is good,'' Etta James growls over a churning rhythm section on the appropriately titled ''Let’s Roll.'' Although not entirely a rock & roll album, the disc is a rousing reminder of the gritty ''Tell Mama''/''Roll with Me Henry''-style of tough R&B that caught the world’s attention more than 30 years ago. From this disc’s swampy ''Wayward Saints of Memphis'' to the brazen ''Lie No Better'' and the Stones/Faces boozy slap of ''Somebody to Love'' (all co-penned by Delbert McClinton), James, now in her mid-60s, is back in her element. With a brassy, sassy attack more powerful than that of vocalists half her age, the singer--who also produced--works her wiles on a stunning collection culminating in a gutsy eight-minute version of Billy Wright’s ''Stacked Deck.'' Declaring, ''the Queen, that’s me, and I’m about to wear my crown,'' there’s no doubt that Etta James is blues-rock royalty and definitely on a roll.
--Hal Horowitz
Track listing:
1. Somebody To Love
2. The Blues Is My Business
3. Leap Of Faith
4. Strongest Weakness
5. Wayward Saints Of Memphis
6. Lie No Better
7. Trust Yourself
8. A Change Is Gonna Do Me Good
9. Old Weakness
10. Stacked Deck
11. On The 7th Day
12. Please, No More
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