ALI HANDAL
MAKE YOUR MOVE
DESSERT FIRST RECORDS
ALL THE WAY–MY SHARONA–PIN ME DOWN–YOU’RE WORTH MORE–REALLY REALLY REALLY–YOU’RE STILL WITH ME–SHUT YOUR MOUTH–NEED MORE TIME–IT’S UP TO ME–CANNED HUNT
Back in September, 2017, we had the great pleasure to review Ali Handal’s most excellent “That’s What She Said.” It was a brilliant set of blues-rock, showing off not only her sah-weet guitar chops, but her clever way with a lyric. Hey—you gotta love “Thank God For Birth Control” from that set, and now, thanks to the wonders of Facebook, Ali is giving away free of charge, for nothing, and without cost or obligation, (save for postage from her house to yours), her 2010 release, “Make Your Move,” for Dessert First Records.
Even eight years ago, you knew this rock kitten was gonna be a star. This set of nine originals and co-writes plus one unbelievably-cool cover give you a taste of her rocker-chick side as well as her feminine side. The party starts on a grungy note, with a shot of youthful, carnal lust, as our girl has her guy in her sights, with intentions of goin’ “All The Way!” She thought she’d “kicked the habit” on the “best drug that I know,” and lustily begs him to “Pin Me Down, fill me up,” and “I’ll quit you—tomorrow!” She addresses domestic violence as “he makes you feel two feet tall” in “You’re Worth More,” and poignantly looks at the sudden loss of a loved one to whom she “never got to say goodbye,” and now, “all that’s left of you is love,” the heart-tugging “You’re Still With Me.”
Perhaps the most unusual cut on the set was a stone-cold throwback to late 1979 and The Knack, as Ali cranks out a slowed-down-then-amped-up read of “My Sharona,” buzzsaw guitars grinding away!
In a totally non-derogatory use of this term, Ali Handal is a badass blues babe with still-unlimited potential. If she’s still giving it away, or even if she ain’t, stop by her website or Facebook page and “Make Your Move” on some killer blues-rock! Until next time…Happy Thanksgiving, Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues And Roots Alliance.
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