Sari Schorr

It’s ten years since the powerhouse vocalist from New York launched her solo career with 'A Force Of Nature', which was produced by legendary producer Mike Vernon, who came out of retirement to do it.  Although the singer is well known to Blues fans around the country, her new album, 'Running Wild', is only her third studio album, not counting a successful collaboration with Robin Trower in 2023 on his album 'Joyful Sky', for which she provided vocals. Given the long gap since her previous solo studio album in 2018 there’s been a long gestation period. Sari has commented about the new album: “Running Wild is the album I’ve dreamt of making all my life. It feels like a defining moment for me, and I don’t say that lightly”.

The album kicks off powerfully with ‘Mr In The Middle’ with an almost Hendrix-esque riff and vocals projecting at full pelt, reminiscent of her normal live vocal style. The song is about the sexual tensions between two people and is suitably explosive, with a thundering chorus and a sharp solo from guitarist Jamie Walker, who is excellent across the whole album, adding crunchy, chord-based riffs and fat toned solos that enhance rather than overpower the tracks. There’s a nice range of attack and feel across the different tracks. I think that the singer’s vocals are more compelling when she adopts a softer tone, which she does on ‘Man On Fire’, a lovely lilting number that opens with an acoustic playing broken arpeggios while drummer Luke Paget uses brushes to create a skiffly, shuffle beat. The singer’s melodic, deeper voiced vocal is supported by what sounds like her own multi-tracked vocals providing a beautiful counterpoint harmony. The track has a sense of space that works well, and also features a sweet solo. ‘Afterglow’ is another track that opens with gentle picking on guitar, allowing the singer’s voice to float melodically above the backing before the production hots up and the sound gets wider, louder and more urgent. Totally fabulous.  ‘Cool Hand Rider’ and ‘Elevate’ are superior rockers that will no doubt feature in the singer’s live set.  ‘Call It Freedom’ is a smoky, tense Blues that opens with some classic Blues licks and some restrained organ work from Bennett Holland. The vocal performance simmers with a sense of control before exploding into full power on the chorus and Sari gives it the full vocal gymnastics towards the close. The backing vocals help raise this track to another level. The solo is superb. This, for me, is the defining track on the album, a collection which gets better on each repeated listen. The production and arrangements of all the songs are superb and the collective musicianship allows the songs to shine.  A really strong album.

Simon Green