Nothing Comes Free

Album review

Brigitte DeMeyer offered a credible, though not outstanding, rootsy blues-folk-rock album on her sophomore effort. The relaxed bluesy mood would have fit in well with mainstream FM rock radio in the early to mid-'70s, recalling at times the early work of Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat. In fact, Lowell George's "Roll 'Em Easy" is covered, though DeMeyer wrote or co-wrote most of the songs. When the Hammond organ makes its infrequent appearances, production-wise it doesn't sound too different than vintage efforts by Dr. John and the Band. For the most part it's more subdued than all of those rather more commercial reference points, though, with frequent slide and acoustic guitar. (DeMeyer herself, though pictured with a guitar on the cover, plays her acoustic guitar on just a few tracks.) As a songwriter DeMeyer favors tunes, whether relationship-oriented or not, with impressionistic images and feelings that convey adult uncertainty and tugging between adventurousness and a wish for solid grounding. Raitt fans looking for something they're apt to like could do worse than to check this out, though it's more opening-act material than something on par with Raitt or Lowell George. Incidentally, the album ends with an acoustic cover of the Beatles' "Oh! Darling" that's not listed on the sleeve.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo