Manhaton 2020
Closing her first phase, feisty American artist reports back from the other side of Atlantic.
There’s a lot of white ladies on the blues scene but most of them lack passion, yet that’s what Sari Schorr provides in spades, especially on-stage, which is why she doesn’t need more than two studio albums to serve up a riveting concert experience – as captured on this document of her 2019 European trek. It’s raw and delicious as one would expect from the artist who delivered "A Force Of Nature" as a debut statement, so if the singer’s sophomore offering, “Never Say Never” from 2018, showed some polish, Schorr’s edge remains sharp. And while Sari’s no stranger to an occasional romantic moment, as signaled by her delicate take on “Ready For Love” – one of a couple acoustic bonuses here – harder cuts such as “Damn The Reason” reflect the New Yorker’s dynamic personality in a much more unique manner.
Of course, Schorr leaves her heavy reading of “Black Betty” – Sari’s trance-inducing, dramatic tour de force – for the performance’s finale, but “The New Revolution” which starts this record is setting the bar high enough when guitar riffs get fleshed out with organ splashes and vocals roar rather victoriously inviting the listeners to join in the chorus and the rock ‘n’ roll movement, before “Demolition Man” directs the drift towards the honky-tonk where Martin “Magic” Johnson’s six strings hold sway and paves the road to “I Just Want To Make Love To You”: an energetic 10-minute hoodoo dance displaying instrumental prowess of Schorr’s accompanists. Still, whether applying AOR gloss to “Turn The Radio On” or purring menacingly in “Ain’t Got No Money” – another example of her ability to bring the audience to their knees – it’s Sari’s voice that’s the concert’s primal center, and “Thank You” seals the singer’s approach to a feeling quite spectacularly.
Unfortunately, pauses between a few tracks – laid down at three different venues – somewhat mar this master class in soul-baring, yet infectious numbers like “Valentina” which effectively whip the crowd into a frenzy strip away any deficiencies a live album may demonstrate. Given concert recordings usually signal the end of a chapter for an artist, the opening gambit of Sari Schorr’s game was nothing short of success.
****4/5