Music Review: Sass Jordan – From Dusk ‘Til Dawn

This album arrived in my mailbox unannounced several weeks ago and has just sat on my desk begging for a listen ever since. It has been my loss as I now rank it among my top ten albums of 2010.

Sass Jordan has been a star for a number of years in her adopted country of Canada. She began her career at the age of seventeen, close to a quarter of a century ago, as a member of the group The News, and rose to fame as part of the new wave band, The Pinups. As a solo artist she consistently placed her releases on the Canadian music charts. She recently starred in the off-Broadway production of Love, Janis in the title role as Janis Joplin. Since 2003 she has served as a judge on the popular Canadian Idol television show.

She has now returned with her latest solo release, From Dusk ‘Til Dawn.The music branches out in many directions; from soul to pop to straight rock ‘n’ roll. Ballads, up-tempo tracks, and cover songs all grace this wonderful album.

The lead track, “What I Need,” immediately reaches out and grabs your attention. It is a percussion-driven rock tune with Jordan's vocal on top. Her vocal style sounds very much like a modern-day Janis Joplin. The second track, the up-tempo “Fell In Love Again,” veers in a Blood, Sweat & Tears direction as she adds a brass section as the dominant sound.  The third track changes direction yet again: an acoustic guitar initially backs her on the simple ballad “Awake,” which then adds harmonies, piano, and drums as it progresses.

There are a number of other songs of note. “Why Did You” places the emphasis upon her vocal, which soars on this melodic pop tune. “Love n Affection” is a smoldering pop outing. She gives a powerful performance on the Tom Waits classic “Ol’ 55.”

This is a rare album where the different styles work well together and provides an interesting whole.

From Dusk ‘Til Dawn is a very strong outing from veteran songstress Sass Jordan. My apologies for waiting so long before giving it a spin.