Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com

"You better step aside, I'm a woman on a mission," declares the daughter of the late blues guitar great Johnny Copeland, as she kicks off her fourth album in typically feisty form.  Aided by a stellar cast of rootsy pros led by producer/guitarist Steve Cropper and including Chuck Leavell on piano, Felix Cavaliere on organ, ex-Zappa drummer Chester Thompson, and saxman Jim Horn, Shemekia delivers the soul, funk, and swamp-rock goods.  Disappointed with the lack of gutsy music on the radio ("Who Stole My Radio?"), she aims to rectify that situation with a dozen slabs of tough, tight, barnstorming R&B that she energizes with her sassy attitude and grits-'n-gravy voice.

Meshing the sweat of Memphis with the pleading, deep-fried sizzle of Muscle Shoals in its prime, the songs on The Soul Truth shift from bluesy, testifying ballads ("Strong Enough") to horn-infused steamy funkers ("Better Not Touch") to late-night gospel ballads (Dobie Gray swings in to duet on "Used") with the effortless, down-home intensity of Otis Redding. You won't find her on MTV or in the top 40, but for those who reject the plastic, Pro Tools-sculpted pop and slick cookie-cutter music that dominates the airwaves, Shemekia Copeland speaks the "soul truth."

--Hal Horowitz

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