Angela Strehli Band - Live From Rancho Nicasio (2001)

► The album

Queen of Texas Blues

She was sexy even past 60, blonde (but not naturally), sung with legends like Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughan or W.C. Clark, with her one time accomplices Marcia Ball & Lou Ann Barton, with The Blues Broads (herself, Dorothy Morrison, Tracy Nelson & Annie Sampson), recorded a few solo albums, helped to manage and build the reputation of Austin renowned club and record label Antone's, and later of the Rancho Nicasio, an old mid-19th century stagecoach roadhouse set in the peaceful north of San Francisco Marin County, that her husband-manager Bob Brown bought and renovated in 1998. That's where this album was recorded.

With Muddy Waters

I'm not going to repeat here what's in the detailed biography joined to the album posted on Blue Dragon and mentioned below, except to remind that the lady was born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1945, and that her reputation as "Queen of Texas Blues" is much more considerable than her thin solo discography indicates : only one 3-track EP and four studio albums since her recording debut in 1986 (she was already 40). Let's also mention her joint ventures with Marcia Ball and Lou Ann Barton in 1990, and with the Blues Broads in 2012. The reason is that she appears on numerous "various artists" projects and compilations or as a guest singer on other artists works, and had an intense concert activity long before her first recording experience with musicians like those mentioned in the beginning of this review. Still she waited 2001 to do her first and only live album to date.

This one proposes solid Texas style rhythm'n'blues. Here and there a detail in Strehli's vocals or Schermer's guitar lines, reveals light country music echoes, nothing surprising for a Texan lady.
The twelve featured songs, technically very well recorded and mixed, see Strehli going through a kind of retrospective of her career. There's not one single under-level track on this live. The listener will take his pick of favorites according to his own taste.

Personally, if I was threatened to death to point out a few, I would mention "Just What It Takes", the groovy soul "A Stand By Your Woman Man", "Clean Up Woman" and "Stranger Blues" both illuminated by Schermer's top guitar work, the equally rocking "Tell Me Why", "Slipped, Tripped, Fell In Love" for the chorus vocal harmonies, "Howling For My Darling" ("whooo… hooo…"). But what about "Big Town Playboy", "It Hurts Me Too" or "You Don't Love Me" ? Wouldn't be fair not to mention these either !

The truth is that her excellent band is seriously rocking, Texas way, starting with Mike Schermer on guitar who certainly deserves his being dubbed "Mighty" and is undoubtedly the other attraction of this live. But the most impressive instrument of the lot is the lady's incredibly attractive husky vocal texture. Though she was then around 56, her voice is as powerful and full of energy as it was at her debut. Maybe more... In all cases, more sensual than ever. A perfect voice for singing the blues. ■

More infos

● Angela Strehli's bio : https://musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004819/Angela-Strehli.html
● A 2010 interview with Angela Strehli : https://www.sacramentopress.com/2010/09/25/blues-on-the-green-2-interview-with-angela-strehli/
● The Rancho Nicasio : https://ranchonicasio.com/
● Aerial discovery of the peaceful Nicasio village : https://youtu.be/Eqipl1zMkLQ

Live performances videos

● At the Austin Blues Heritage Festival (with Major Burkes Blues Band, Mark Pollack, "Little" Charlie Sexton, W.C. Clark Blues Revue, Tex Thomas & the Wranglers,  Angela Strehli Band (from 29 :00 to 38 :45), and the Cobras, 1982 : https://youtu.be/Eaj_k_uSdKM
● "Take Me To The River" with W.C. Clark & All Stars Texas Blues : https://youtu.be/sQWbcrLblAY
● "Fool In Love" with Marcia Ball : https://youtu.be/q6s4jKusTXQ
● "Stand By Your Woman", at the Frederikshavn Blues Festival, Denmark, 2007 : https://youtu.be/9A4c9pLYEYE
● With The King Snakes, Denmark, 2007 : https://youtu.be/SZ4tubvfuaA or https://youtu.be/HaUmvU3TqAk

● "Boogie Like You Wanna" with the Cobras, Austin, 2010 : https://youtu.be/RHh9dUq75Io
● With Marcia Ball and Lou Ann Barton, at Antone's, 2017 : ►
https://youtu.be/_HCs2KScQrs
● With Tommy Castro & the Painkillers and Deanna Bogart at Rancho Nicasio, 2021 : https://youtu.be/xmlmGddoliU
● Birthday perf., 2021 : https://youtu.be/-7cUYzn2uis

► With Stevie Ray Vaughan
● With SRV, Jimmie Vaughan, Jeff Beck and Kim Wilson, Hawaii, 1984 :
→ "You Were Wrong" : https://youtu.be/HfZDaJfUMXE
→ "Don't Fall For Me Baby " : https://youtu.be/zlDlfIzVVY0 or https://youtu.be/4p1VDHzoFiE or https://youtu.be/B8QlL2iY7Xo
 

► The Blues Broads : Angela Strehli, Dorothy Morrison, Tracy Nelson & Annie Sampson
● "Oh Happy Day", 2012 : https://youtu.be/agN_BnlIacw
● At the Festival de Blues, Lucerne (Switzerland), 2013 : 8-part playlist
● From the 2014 DVD) : 10-track playlist
● "Take My Love With You", at Rancho Nicasio, 2017 : https://youtu.be/EvhntGWjuN4
● "Oh Happy Day", at Rancho Nicasio, 2021 : https://youtu.be/MTv7SOQsuC0

► With "Mighty" Mike Schermer

● Denmark, 2007 :
→ "Boogie Like You Wanna" : https://youtu.be/PU6PjqW8kdw
→ "Kiddio" : https://youtu.be/EcUuBNrkMJk or https://youtu.be/LxxGxVIW9Ks
→ "C.O.D."  : https://youtu.be/LMl2fb13VcQ or https://youtu.be/7bVlRA8DrgY
→ "?" : https://youtu.be/mcKmzvFgGMY
→ "Big Town Playboy" : https://youtu.be/z85Ephqgzes

► Mighty Mike Schermer and Friends - Live At Greaseland ! Vol. 2, 2021 : https://youtu.be/AvoKuy20JO8
- Mike Schermer : guitar/vocals
- Steve Ehrmann : bass
- Paul Revelli : drums
- Tony Stead : keyboards
+ Nic Clark : harmonica
- L'il Baby : vocals
- Kid Andersen : guitar, vocals, percussion and synthesizer.

Nicasio, a small peaceful Marin County village

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