Sue Foley - Without A Warning (1993)

On Without Warning, young Canadian blueswoman Sue Foley puts together the complete package: guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Her driving, syncopated guitar grooves are as vigorous as ever, but her tender, ingratiating voice has come forward in the mix as a crucial asset and her own compositions have increased from three out of 11 on her first album to eight out of 13 on this follow-up. Backed by her road rhythm section, Foley plays six of the cuts as a guitar trio, shifting with impressive authority between rhythm riffs and single-note leads. Even when joined by ex-Blaster pianist Gene Taylor, Austin organist Riley Osbourn, or duet singer Angela Strehli, Foley dominates the proceedings with a confidence that belies her outsider status as a young woman in an old man's game. --Geoffrey Himes