Blues Music Review: Janiva Magness - The Devil Is An Angel Too - Alligator Records 2010

Janiva Magness dropped her new release on Alligator Records a few months ago, and in the follow up to her smash 2008 Alligator debut What Love Will Do, Magness continues to push the boundaries of where her talents can reach. What Love Will Do was a critical and commercial success that helped earn Janiva the "B.B. King Entertainer of the Year" Award at the Blues Music Awards in 2009. With the honor, Magness became only the second woman to take home that trophy; the other being the legendary Koko Taylor.

Magness returns with a dozen songs, clocking in at just over 42-minutes worth of sonic stories that explore both good and evil. For The Devil Is An Angel Too, Janiva Magness draws on early influences like Memphis Soul, Motown, Country, and of course, the Blues. Co-producing he record with Dave Darling, Janiva Magness dips into the wells of classic performers like Marvin Gaye, Ann Peebles, and Percy Sledge, just to name a few. What's most exciting about her work on the new record is that Magness herself admits that she refuses to produce the same record twice...and that means that The Devil Is An Angel Too isn't just a sequel to What Love Will Do.

The Devil Is An Angel Too begins with the dark drums and guitar of "The Devil Is An Angel," leading into Magness' sultry vocals creeping in. Stephen Hodges' interesting percussion technique gives this song an element that calls to mind the chains that tortured souls would be forced to drag in the afterlife. Hodges work throughout the entire record should be commended, because the sonic addition made through his contributions take each song to a different plane.

Janiva Magness and company turn to a pair of tracks performed by Ann Peebles next: the revenge tune "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" and "Slipped, Tripped and Fell In Love." Zach Zuris lays down some killer picking during his guitar work for "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down," and the ending of the song with (what sounds like) a guitar creating the sound of crashing walls, is a nice touch. "Slipped, Tripped and Fell In Love" features some great baritone saxophone bouncing in the background. Magness' husband Jeff Turmes laid down the sax parts, and plays a big role throughout The Devil Is An Angel Too, by also playing guitar, bass, and slide guitar, as well as writing a pair of songs.

The next track is "I'm Feeling Good," an interesting arrangement on the standard "Feeling Good." The song has been covered a lot lately by artists ranging from the crooning Michael Buble to Blues-Rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa. Magness and company opt to let the song's big sound come simply from Janiva's vocals, as opposed to swelling orchestral arrangements or huge guitar. Of course, Janiva Magness does have the backing of her band here, but the song starts out with simply the vocal for the first few lines before the band comes in to support her. By the end of the tune, Magness is belting the lyrics.

"Weeds Like Us" is the first of the two songs on The Devil Is An Angel Too written by Jeff Turmes. The arrangement on the track has a hypnotic, Mississippi Hill Country Blues sound to it, and it's a very well written, emotional song that suits Janiva Magness perfectly. Another home run for Magness is the follower, "Walkin' In the Sun," which was done beautifully by Percy Sledge once upon a time. "End of Our Road" is surely a song that Magness heard as a youngster listening to her father's record collection. The song was recorded by both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight and the Pips.

The aching in Janiva's voice on "Save Me" provides an incredible emotional element to one of my favorite vocal performances on this album. Magness sings the tune with conviction, it seems, and that translates so well onto the recording. The strings provided by Stevie Blacke are a wonderful addition, too.

Joe Tex's "I Want To Do Everything For You" is performed almost as a duet here, with Janiva Magness singing along with Dave Darling on the tune. There's another vocal layer in there, as well, so that's why I say "almost" a duet. You'd have to ask someone else what a duet with three singers is called. "Your Love Made A U-Turn" has some Rock and Funk in it, for sure, and Magness sings with a swagger that really grooves on the tune.

The Devil Is An Angel Too wraps with a take on Nick Lowe's "Homewrecker," followed by Jeff Turmes' other original piece, "Turn Your Heart In My Direction." The closer is a Jazzy tune with more beautiful string arrangements from Blacke, as well as a terrific piano solo by Arlan Schierbaum (who also plays hammond on the song.) It's a drifting, ethereal song that gracefully closes this wonderful album.

I do want to mention Janiva Magness is the National Spokespoerson for Casey Family Programs, promoting National Foster Care Month. It is the fourth year she has been honored with the role, and you can find out more about the work they do at the following links:
Casey Family Programs Official Website
FosterCareMonth.org
JanivaMagness.com

Standout Tracks: "Weeds Like Us," "Walkin' In the Sun," "Save Me," and "Turn Your Heart In My Direction"

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