ALLY VENABLE – Money And Power (2025) *HQ*
Having spent the past decade carving out her own unique space in the male-dominated world of blues-rock, Texas gunslinger ALLY VENABLE‘s combative sixth album, ”Money & Power”, demands more of both – for herself, for women around the world, and for anyone else who thought they weren’t worthy of a seat at the table.
Push play on the roaring title track and hang on as Venable blasts out with a hard rock guitar lick every bit as biting and brutal as any swaggering male player. She verges on AC/DC terrain when singing “Imagine what a woman could do / ain’t gotta take it from you / don’t you doubt her / she got that money and power” before laying into a wah-wah laced solo as intoxicating as anything Clapton did in Cream.
There’s more where that came from with the slashing riffs, throbbing power chords and dark solo of “Heal Me” (“This music is my salvation…turn it up…”) as she sings with the intensity of a caged big cat at feeding time. On the opening “Brown Liquor,” where Venable brings in Christone “Kingfish” Ingram to assist with the tough blues rocker, she sings about a relationship where the titular alcohol replaces her rambling man.
There are plenty of less strident moments providing balance to this diverse dozen song set.
Venable shifts to soul/blues on “Maybe Someday,” for a retro blast that, with its chopped and sharp guitar lines, wouldn’t be out of place on an older J. Geils Band album. The sensitive “Keep Me in Mind” cozies up to Sheryl Crow territory as Venable speaks to a longtime friend “If you ever need me/wouldn’t matter where you were/I’d be there.” It’s a perfect distillation of pop and rock, rugged and grimy but tuneful enough to generate crossover airplay.
On the tensile “Unbreakable,” Venable invites fellow warrior Shemekia Copeland to duet on a commanding anthem. Both women charge through the lyrics speaking to the authority of performers from their gender with “She’s a soul survivor/head held high…she’s unbreakable and bold.” It’s the album’s most powerful and driving statement.
The mood breaks into a jumpy twang lilt for “Stopper Back Papa,” a jaunty ditty expanding her musical vista into funky town while still hanging onto organic roots with a punchy guitar solo. It infuses diversity yet sticks to Venable’s strong suit.
She’s just as comfortable with a ballad as the mood softens for “Stepping Stone” with male backing vocals, washes of organ and a naa-naa-naa break adding atmosphere with bonus potential for audience sing-alongs.
This tribute to strong women closes with Janet Jackson’s strutting “Black Cat,” the disc’s only non-Venable original (she co-pens everything else, about half the album with producer / drummer Tom Hambridge). The rocker brings ‘Money & Power’ to the end with a potent flash of crackling blues authority from an artist whose time has arrived.
With this recording, Venable has one foot planted firmly in the blues with the other on the rock side of the equation. Overall, ”Money & Power” is a strong album showcasing Venable’s power and confidence and foretells of great things ahead for the promising young performer.
Highly Recommended
1 – Brown Liquor
2 – Maybe Some Day
3 – Money & Power
4 – Do You Cry
5 – Heal Me
6 – Stopper Back Papa
7 – Legends
8 – Keep Me in Mind
9 – Unbreakable
10 – Stepping Stone
11 – Feel That Sting
12 – Black Cat
Ally Venable: Vocals and Guitar
Tom Hambridge: Drums
Bobby Wallace, EJ Bedford: Bass
Elijah Owings: Drums
Randy Walls: Keyboards
BUY
www.amazon.com/Money-Power-Ally-Venable/dp/B0DSYRWYH7
