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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE July 3, 2009 • www.GayPeoples Chronicle.com

eveningsout

It's good to be a bad girl

by Anthony Glassman

The day before Cleveland Pride, there was another reason to rejoice. After months of work, planning and

preparation, Robin Stone released her latest funktastic album, Bad Girl, out on her She Loves You Records.

While the release party at Brothers Lounge on Cleveland's West Edge lim-

PATTI HARRIS

Robin Stone takes her tongue in cheek Bad Girl title to the limit. As fas as being a bad girl of groove, she admits she's guilty.

ited the number of people who could hear those new songs, Pride provided a larger venue for its debut.

Those who hadn't heard her play at Pride before, who had only seen her solo shows, were in for a startling surprise, one that is evident throughout Bad Girl: backed by a full band, the "chick with guitar" sound that she does so well on her own is left by the wayside, replaced by a larger, funk-inflected R&B sound.

Those who love Stone's music know what to expect from Bad Girl; those who dislike it have obviously never heard her with that full band, and are going through CWG overload.

It's difficult to review an album like Bad Girl, mainly because it is uniformly good. With many records, you can say, this song sucks, that song's the bee's knees.

That is, fortunately or otherwise, not the case here, with every song laying down some funk and making life a joyful thing.

In the interests of sticking to the regular format for album reviews, though, there are some tracks that can be singled out.

The eponymous track, for instance, is especially funky, while “Verbal Traffic Jam" sounds a bit like newer Tracy Chapman songs.

"Ridiculous Kind" starts off on a Cool Jazz tip complete with saxophone,

and then picks up the pace to really start rocking.

Stone then brings out the storyteller, channeling Randy Newman and Maggy Estep with the party-time tune "Soda Machine." It's an observational song, just following Robin along, taking the listener with her.

She brings the sexy in a major amount with "God Made You Right," which may be intended to be a validation but somehow sounds like a big bottle of sex, poured into a sexy saucepot to create a lamb stew of sex. Yeah, it sounds kinda sexy.

In the last track, "7 Course Meal," she introduces the members of her band, and wraps the album up the same way she started it, funky.

In fact, that would be the adjective most likely to be seen on her Wikipedia page: Funky. Repeatedly.

Now, given how funky her music is, it begs the question and brings about the only real criticism of the album.

Given the obvious R&B and funk influences, where is the prominent, Bootsy Collins-esque bass guitar all up in your face? There should be a rocking, up-front bass weaving through all of these songs, but there is not.

I want my mother-#*$&ing bass! Yes, it's a trifling complaint, but a serious one to a fan of bass guitar. And really, who doesn't love a good bass line?

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New full-length CD

Early Girl, those incredibly creative local favorites, have finally finished a full-length album, and their release party will be on July 11.

Harrowed Ground features ten songs familiar to their fans, with classics like "Patch It Up" and "Nobody's Wife" joining newer ones.

It follows their earlier EP, Fallow Field.

The only thing missing from the new album are some of their magnificent covers, ranging from Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" to Rage Against the Machine. Any band that can cover both in a single set is truly worthy of success.

The CD release party will be at Lady Z's, 4002 Jennings Road, at 9 pm on July 11. Cover is $5, and the show is 21 and over. For more information, go to www.earlygirlmusic.com.

-Anthony Glassman