Page 42 - BiTS_05_MAY_2021

Ally Venable—Heart Of Fire—RUF Records ASIN :
B08QW83BWJ

Looking at Ally on the cover she looks like an unlikely blues artist
- she's young (21), pretty and sweet but I guess that's the same
kind of comments that were aimed at Susan Tedeschi when she
first started. The album's first track, the title track, reassures any
doubters - she can both play guitar and sing - she doesn't put on
a harsh, screaming 'blues voice' but sings naturally and still has
the power to up the intensity for the choruses. Her guitar playing
is confident and has great tone and while this is very much rock-
blues the following track 'Played the Game' features her on nice

bluesy acoustic slide guitar and also has great vocals. Ally is backed by Bobby Wallace or Landon
Moore (bass), Elijah Owings or Cody Dickinson (drums), Rick Steff and Pat Fusco (keyboards) and
Jana Misener (cello),

Perry Bradford's 'Hateful Blues' starts with a sample of Bessie Smith and on the melodic 'Road to
Nowhere' (written by Ally and Devon Allman) Devon adds a nice bluesy guitar solo, and the next
track is a similar melodic blues with Kenny Wayne Shepherd adding his fluid blues lead guitar

while Ally provides the rhythm and the vocals. 'Hard Change' is a riffy rocker, 'Do It In Heels' is like
a female version of ZZ Top, I really liked the very dirty guitar sound on this one. 'Use Me' is a Bill
Withers song that adds a bit of funk to Ally's sound and 'Tribute to SRV' is an instrumental that has
Ally paying tribute to her hero and fellow Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan, it's very tasteful building up
from a restrained almost 'Albatross-y' opening and then alternating between this and more fervent,
intense passages. I must admit this album was a lot better than I expected, it sounded good courtesy
of producer Jim Gaines (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Miller, Santana) the only downside for me were

a few weak songs, however this is still a great achievement for someone so young and like Susan
Tedeschi I'm sure that Ally will go on to bigger and better things.

Graham Harrison

Ale Ponti—Dead Railroad Line Chronicles—Independent

Ale Ponti is a Milan-based Italian singer/guitarist specialising in
pre-war acoustic Blues and Ragtime.

Outside Italy he has performed in New Orleans and at the 2018
Chicago Blues Festival, and has also toured with Corey Harris. He
quotes the Rev. Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy and Robert Johnson
amongst his influences, and echoes of their music, among others,

can be heard throughout this fine album of 13 original songs
recorded at his home in April 2020 during lockdown. His very
dexterous finger-picking on 6 and 12-string guitar and very
tasteful slide on resonator, demonstrate his mastery of pre-war
styles. He is also a strong, authentic-sounding vocalist, with very little trace of an Italian accent and

an only occasional lapse into the “faux-black” growl that many white Blues singers seem to
consider de rigueur. Although entirely self-penned, these 13 songs are very convincingly “pre-war”
in style and underline how thoroughly Ale Ponti has studied and absorbed the music of the Masters.
Particular favourites of mine are “Locomotive Papa” (echoes of Bukka White), the Broonzy- inspired