Michele D'Amour and the Love Dealers - Ante Up - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Ante Up from Michele D'Amour and the Love Dealers and it's lively. Opening with She's Got Sway, a groovy rocker, D'Amour takes the lead on vocal with Greg Dolan on guitar, Patrick Mc Danel on bass and Rick Bowen on drums. Special guest Sue Oelrich plays a lively keyboard solo on this track as well. Waiting For You, a slow paced blues track features some particularly lush guitar work by CD Woodbury. Chippy rocker, Say What You Mean, keeps it light with a pretty nice guitar solo from Greg Nolan as well as Oelrich on keys. One of my favorite tracks on the release, One Wave At A Time, has a smokey feel along the lines of I Put A Spell On You. D'Amour does a nice job on vocals and I particularly like Dolan's guitar phrasing on this particular track. R&B style Angels All Around, has a cool groove and Dolan's guitar work puts me in mind of the Chambers Brothers. Jealous is a slow ballad with the nices vocal efforts on the release. With it's overall spiritual like vocal blending this is a nice track. Dolan steps up with a tasty blues solo on this track as well. Very nice! On boogie track, Dress Code, the band creates a bit of a rumble with a melody that will stick in your ear. Too Fine A Night, a quiet blues like track, again features CD Woodbury on guitar. Not Your Man has a bit of a funky step and features an excellent bass solo by McDanel as well as a screamer of a guitar riff from Dolan as well. Shuffle track, Memory, has a nice walking bass line and some of the best vocal harmonies on the release. Oelrich lays out a sweet key solo on this track giving it nice vocal to instrumental balance. New Orleans styled, Hurricane is probably a track that should go straight to the radio. It has a catchy melody, it's very danceable and fun vocally. With a partying sound and singing about partying is always a solid crowd pleaser. McDanel opens the final track, Don't Make Me Wait, with a driving bass line and D'Amour gets this jump track hopping. Oelrich plays a snappy key solo and Dolan rolls out one of his own. A nice closer for a lively recording.

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