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Francine Reed I Got A Right...To Some Of My Best 2001, CMO Chicago born, Atlanta’s Francine Reed’s got the right, alright. Her blues belting is fueled with passion, gospel rootstock, smooth serene jazz and deep down and dirty blues. She is fluent in the medium and sings with authority and polish. Her vocals are controlled yet powerful. The as-tight-as-a-drum band follows and propels every nuance. Horns blare, guitars flash and bass throbs through a 12 song set. Recorded in one or two takes there are new songs, unreleased previous recordings that were tied up in her previous label’s bankruptcy and very rare cuts unavailable elsewhere. In order to streamline the process, the cuts from her two Ichiban releases "I Want You To Love Me" and "Can’t Make It On My Own" were rerecorded. Besides that, Tinsley Ellis illuminates the Percy Mayfield classic "Please Send Me Someone To Love" and Willie Nelson (YES!) repays Francine’s help on his "Milk Cow Blues" disk by performing a wonderful duet version of "The Night Life." All of these roar and soar on the heat of six years of steady, worldwide "rehearsals." The subjects are familiar. Sleazy men, getting it on, movin’ on and sailing through. Less the norm is the sheer quality and listenability of Ms. Reed. A fine stew—throaty lyrics, impeccable phrasing, a hot band and the voice that fills Lyle Lovett’s Large Band with soul, that’s Francine.—Mark Gresser