Zora Young - Learned My Lesson (2000)

All the songs played in Chicago blues clubs don't necessarily have 12 bars. Many of Chicago's blues singers are also R&B and/or rock singers, and Zora Young is a prime example. Based in Chi-Town but originally from Mississippi, the expressive singer provides an enjoyable, if derivative, blues/soul/rock mix on her 2000 date Learned My Lesson. Young is far from a blues purist - while "My Man's an Undertaker" and Young originals like the humorous "Pity Party" are straight-up urban blues, she confidently detours into soul and rock territory on "Girl Friend" (another Young original) and sweaty performances of Ike & Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" and Chuck Berry's "Living in the U.S.A." Meanwhile, Young draws heavily on her gospel background on a passionate version of Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love." No one will accuse Young of being an innovator; drawing on such influences as Koko Taylor and Etta James, she is quite derivative. But a CD doesn't have to be groundbreaking to be likable, and Learned My Lesson is a CD that's easy to like. (Alex Henderson)