Hot Tamale Baby (CD - 1985)

Additional personnel: Alvin "Red" Tyler (tenor saxophone); Bill "Foots" Samuel (saxophone); Terry Tullos (trumpet); Ernie Gautreau (valve trombone); Craig Wroten (piano, organ).

E.L.S.: Elaine, Lisa and Sharon Foster (background vocals).

Marcia Ball solidifed the favorable impression made with her debut Rounder effort with this rousing second outing. She dedicated it to the late King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, and was backed by a fine band of veteran pros that included saxophonist Alvin Tyler. Ball ripped through Booker T. Jones's soul gem "Never Like This Before" and Chenier's title composition, while also demonstrating her own facility with R&B on "That's Enough Of That Stuff" and "Love's Spell." She came close, but didn't quite hit the mark on O.V. Wright's "I'm Gonna Forget About You," turning in a more than acceptable rendition that still didn't approach the original. But other than that one misstep, which she compensated for with a charged version of "I Don't Know," Marcia Ball proved that her debut was no fluke. ~ Ron Wynn minimize