Eliana Cargnelutti
Album: Electric Woman
Label: RUF
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.rufrecords.de

Eliana is a girl in a hurry. Not content with working with the Girls With Guitars group and touring with the Blues Caravan, she now produced her own solo album which marks her international solo debut.

She teamed up with American bluesman Albert Castiligilia who produced the album. During her early career in Udine, Italy, she dabbled with heavy rock, soul and jazz.

Certainly tracks like Just For Me and Show Me are from the pure rock stable, with lots of overdriven guitar, and the album is weaker for this.

Better are the covers, Savoy Brown's riff-laden Street Corner Talking, The Allman Brother's Soulshine and AC/DC's There's Gonna Be Some Rockin.

There's plenty of tasteful guitar, which show Eliana's technical prowess, but I was disappointed with the overall production. On some songs the vocals need to be higher in the mix and supported by backing singing to fill out the sound.

The playing on the album is top notch, there's great keyboards and guitar on Everybody Needs Love, an upbeat bluesy rocker.

Most of the album is full on. The only slow song is I Saw Your Eyes, which brings a strong vocal performance from Eliana.

The closing track Eliana's Boogie, sounds like something concocted in the studio. Overdriven guitars battle it out over a basic riff. It sizzles away and is an instrumental feast for guitar lovers.

A good effort.

John Knighton