Blue Black Hair is the debut CD of The Del Moroccos, an eight piece, self-described “garage 50s” rock and roll band from Chicago. Made up of some of the Windy City’s best blues, rockabilly and surf musicians, The Del Moroccos are already popular for sizzling live shows which feature front singer Gabrielle Sutton and two-girl back up: Barb Clifford and Suzie Brack. But DM’s new CD clearly kicks away any doubt that this band gets by on only showmanship and sultry singers, although it excels there as well.
A quick look at the CD’s 13-song play list and I can imagine the band members scouring through their vinyl collections to find just the right kind of music from the ‘50s and ‘60s. The lesser-known jewels of everything good about the American music scene in that rich era.
But DM isn’t a mere tribute band, duplicating the sounds of the past, which it does skillfully. It breathes life and spirit into the songs and brings us back to the era of their birth. And Sutton’s voice is an integral part of this transformation. Her full vocal pallet brings out the many hues of a musical period that was the soundtrack to everything from the battle over segregation to man walking on the moon.
Read the rest of this review and more by Richard Davis in CKD #34
Kustom Music
