Review and photos by Peter Coates – https://www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography
As the PR blurb states – Rules are to be broken. Expectations are there to be defined, and glass ceilings are there to be shattered.
Having spent the past decade carving out her own unique space in the male-dominated world of blues-rock, Texas guitarist Ally Venable’s combative sixth album, Money & Power, demands more of both – for herself, for women around the world, and for anyone else who thought they weren’t worthy of a seat at the table.
“I hope these songs allow people to see into my life in a vulnerable way and hold a strong perspective that empowers women and breaks the glass ceiling.”
In February 2024, with the dust still settling from the success of the Real Gone album, the sessions for this new record saw Ally and producer/drummer Tom Hambridge push through the doors of Nashville’s famous Soundstage Studios. The studio band was a wishlist of first-call musicians, including Isaac Pulido (drums), EJ Bedford (bass/keys), Kenny Greenberg (guitars), Rob Coreton (bass), Luke Mosely (keys), Tim Lauer (keys), Jorion Dawson (saxophone) and Jason Grant (trumpet), all topped off by the backing vocals of Rachel & Sarah Hambridge.
I feel somewhat inadequate that I have not come across Ally Venable previously, although the prior album Real Gone should certainly have hit my radar – but what we have here is a very listenable collection of straight-up blues / blues-rock tracks, including a cover of Janet Jackson’s Black Cat, that give the listener the full range of Ally’s clear strong vocals, and her range of blues guitar skills, from mellow ballads, to more balls-out rockers.
The album scorches to life with the swaggering southern rock of Brown Liquor, which features a cracker of a riff, and a scintillating solo spot from Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram. This is at heart a basic three-chord bar-room boogie that has so much class and extra dimensions to it, that it sits perfectly as the album-opener. Maybe Someday swings into view, with the horn section and Hammond Organ adding the additional layers, and allow Ally to show off some precise and intricate guitar work in the solo.
Title track Money & Power really raises the bar, with the punchy riff and aggressive vocals, with a superb pre-chorus riff, that slams into a wah-wah driven solo that should make people sit up and take lots of notice of this lady. The first track released off the album, Do You Cry, is a mid-tempo ballad, with a smouldering vocal line, and lots of tasty little guitar licks between the lines. This is a sophisticated number, with a powerful solo that expresses all the intensity and passion of the lyrics, and some soaring backing vocals that really add to the overall impact.
There is a grungier tone to the guitars for Heal Me, and a slightly discordant vocal melody in the verse, that serves to highlight the more normal harmonies in the chorus. This is driven along by the bass and drums in particular, and the rhythm guitar riffing, which really harks back to some of that 1970’s classic blues rock of Free / Bad Company given a modern twist.
There is a funky off-beat to Stopper Back Papa, and Ally shows off her vocal dexterity and range, as well as giving us another punchy solo over the jagged chords of the back-beat. Legends sort of continues this semi-reggae beat in the opening verse, before swerving into a more straight-up chorus, albeit with more high-end vocals. This is less of a blues track than a complex modern pop-rock song, which may indicate an attempt to broaden her appeal from the standard Blues crowd – nothing wrong with this of course.
We head back into a lower-tempo country-blues rock territory with Keep Me In Mind, If Luke Combs or Luke Bryan released this, it would probably sell millions of copies. There is much more to appreciate with Unbreakable, which includes notable Blues / Roots singer Shemekia Copeland to share the lead vocals, adding some undoubted power and urgency to the song, which really puts the female-empowerment theme of the record into sharp focus – with the combination of intense vocals with the searing guitar work.
Stepping Stone is another slice of red-light, late-night blues balladry, with a nice counter-point of having the boys provide the backing vocals, and some melodic vocal / guitar harmonies in the middle-eight, before the lead guitar takes over for the solo. I love the haunting groove of Feel That Sting, with the snarling vocal line, and the sizzling guitar work, both lead and rhythm that lays over the pounding drums of the backing track. This is where Venables really excels, where she adds some modern influences and touches to the basics of the blues-rock framework that some from her Texas roots.
The album closes with the Janet Jackson cover of Black Cat, which is a horn-laden slice of Pat Benatar / Alannah Myles blues-rock, with some distortion in the call and response vocals. Ally then has a lot of fun in ripping out another lead break and solo, before throwing out another verse and chorus refrain to the thunderous finish.
Website :
https://allyvenableband.com
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ALLY VENABLE – 2025 U.S. TOUR
APRIL 2025
4/4 Atlantic City, NJ – Experience Hendrix Tour
4/5 Ridgewood, NJ – Experience Hendrix Tour
4/6 Durham, NC – Experience Hendrix Tour
4/12 Dallas, TX – Money & Power Tour
4/13 Austin, TX – Money & Power Tour
4/18 The Woodlands, TX – Money & Power Tour
4/23 Tulsa, OK – Money & Power Tour
4/24 St Louis, MO – Money & Power Tour
4/25 Kansas City, MO – Money & Power Tour
4/30 Nashville, TN – Money & Power Tour
MAY 2025
5/2 Chattanooga, TN – Money & Power Tour
5/3 Walhalla, SC – Money & Power Tour
5/4 Decatur, GA – Money & Power Tour
5/10 Leonardtown, MD – Money & Power Tour
5/14 Annapolis, MD – Money & Power Tour
5/15 Shirley, MA – Money & Power Tour
5/17 Fairfield, CT – Money & Power Tour
5/18 New York, NY – Money & Power Tour
5/21 Sellersville, PA – Money & Power Tour
ALLY VENABLE – 2025 UK TOUR
14/10/25 GULLIVERS, Manchester
15/10/25 VOODOO ROOMS, Edinburgh
16/10/25 THE BODEGA, Nottingham
17/10/25 THE GARAGE, London
18/10/25 THE BOURNE MUSIC CLUB, Sittingbourne