Deborah Coleman ~ Soft Place to Fall & Livin' On Love

A great blues-rock-soul guitarist with plenty of energy and talent, who writes & performs most of her own songs.

I've included scanned cover art plus a biography & these two great AMG reviews


Soft Place to Fall:

Review by Michael G. Nastos

For her third recording, Coleman continues to show the promise that her previous CDs gave a glimpse of. While still

not as much of a blues devotee as she could be, she gives all indications of being a solid performer, a steadily

improving vocalist, and a decent guitarist. She wrote three of the 11 cuts here, and they're the best of the lot.

"What Goes Around" is a good 12-bar tune about cheatin' and messin' around; "Another Hoping Fool" is a slinky blues

number about waiting by the telephone for that reassuring late-night call; and the title track sounds much like a

Dire Straits tune, especially in the spare guitar playing of Coleman and Jack Holder. Coleman interprets Little

Johnny Taylor's "If You Love Me Like You Say" in a cool funk mode, jumps into the direct blues of the adapted

classic "I'm a Woman," and rocks the Jerry Williams number "Nothin' to Do With Love," which has all the potential

to be a legitimate hit. On the boogie beat of "Don't Lie to Me" and the hard swing of the getting-back-to-love

statement "So Damn Easy," Coleman changes up a bit to a more authentic blues style. She rocks on the simple "Look

What You Do to Me," rocks even harder for "Confused," and goes into a more Southern-rock area on "The Day It

Comes." She also uses pop/R&B-ish background vocals on "Look What You Do," "The Day," and "So Damn Easy." Deborah

Coleman is still on the trail of eclipsing Sue Foley, Debbie Davies, and Susan Tedeschi to take her place as the

high priestess of contemporary blues. While not there yet, she has all the tools and musical ability to reach that

lofty perch.

Livin' On Love:

Review by Dave Sleger

Deborah Coleman detected a void in the music stratum and successfully filled it: A lead guitarist/vocalist playing

the in the male dominated world of blues-rock. Others like Bonnie Raitt and Marie Muldaur have contributed to

varying degrees in the contemporary blues scene (and other styles) but Coleman with her string of five consistently

strong albums in only seven years demonstrates that she is serious about her craft and knows her calling as a

blueswoman. Livin' on Love combines slow-grind blues pieces, R&B and gutsy rockers with a soulful voice and

exemplary guitar playing proving that she's here to stay, not merely passing through.