Cee Cee James review…June 21, 2018….

CEE CEE JAMES

STRIPPED DOWN AND SURRENDERED

FWG RECORDS  SDS 0012016

STRIPPED DOWN AND SURRENDERED–THE EDGE IS WHERE I STOPPED–HIDDEN AND BURIED–HE SHUT THE DEMON DOWN–GLORY BOUND–LOVE DONE LEFT HOME–COLD HARD GUN–THANK YOU FOR NEVER LOVING ME–BEFORE 30 SUNS–YOU’RE MY MAN–MINER MAN’S GOLD–SO GRATEFUL

Just give a good, hard listen to blues sister Cee Cee James and you’ll know by her from-the-soul vocals that her life ain’t always been rosy.  But, with the help of her husband and songwriting partner, Rob “Slideboy” Andrews, they channel her struggles into some very potent songs of passion, strength, and empowerment, and overcoming seemingly-insurmountable odds.

To say that Cee Cee has been down to the Crossroads would be an understatement, but, she’d be the first to tell you that she’s also climbed up the hill to the foot of the Cross and laid all her burdens down, right there.  You can hear her whole story in the original songs that comprise her latest album for FWG Records, “Stripped Down And Surrendered.”

Cee Cee possesses a beautiful voice, that is captivating, soulful, and, as the old folks say, “full of the spirit!”  Ol’ Slideboy’s got a guitar lick for  every song, and his sound blends itself well within the context of the material.  It all begins with the title cut, where, “after 50 years”  she’s “Stripped Down And Surrendered” her inner demons and “poor me tears” to find peace.  Along the way to and from that Crossroads, she had visits from “crows passin’ by my windows,” and “Shaman takin’ my hand” to find out what’s “Hidden And Buried underneath my ground,” with that hell-hound dobro from Slideboy.  In the end, tho, she finds redemption and restitution thru the “double-edged sword” in “He Shut The Demon Down and turned my life around,” and now she’s “cleaned the mud off my shoes” and is “Glory Bound.”

In a more somber vein, she gives a bittersweet and back-handed “Thank You For Never Loving Me,” to the father figure she never had, which, inevitably, gave her a unique insight to the blues most of never even dream of.  On a much lighter note, she shouts-out to the love of her life, the “sweet delight” of “You’re My Man.”  She closes the set over Slideboy’s guitar, being thankful for her many blessings and lessons learned, in the reverence of “So Grateful.”

Cee Cee James is thankful that her soul’s been saved, and she has a new, positive outlook on her life, love, and music.  She’s been “Stripped Down And Surrendered,” and may not know what tomorrow holds, but she sho’ niff ain’t going back to where she’s been!  Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.