Imelda May - Love Tattoo (2008) (2009 for the 2-CD Edition)

► The album

Throw-back glamour

Her husky hoarse voice sounds as sensual as her glamorous look. Halfway between rockabilly and retro swing vocal jazz through boogie and jump blues, she made her 1950s pin-up hair-style a real iconic trademark, almost a commercial logo, to the point that her hair-dresser should be credited on her early albums !

Now 47 and apparently sexier than ever with a return to a natural hair style, she was born Imelda Mary Clabby in July 1974 in Dublin. Strongly influenced by Billie Holiday and the likes, she started singing on the Dublin pubs circuit at age 16, sometimes even banned from entering her own shows for being under-age !

She had already started to make a name for herself with the retro-swing band Blue Harlem, which originally featured more or less the same musicians as her later band, when she relocated in London in 2002 and recorded her first solo album, "No Turning Back", which came out in September 2003 under her real name Imelda Clabby, and was later re-issued in 2007 under her new stage name Imelda May.

So "Love Tattoo" is in reality her second album. Recorded in 2007 and released in October 2008, it was followed in 2009 by a limited double CD edition featuring eight bonus live tracks, five of them being stage versions of some of the studio CD tracks.

The opening number, "Johnny Got A Boom Boom", is a hot rockabilly master-strike that would certainly not be despised by somebody like Brian Setzer and brought her instant celebrity. But this double album is subtler than simple rockabilly. It features a richer and larger range of styles, and May excels in all of them : the retro jumping jazzy blues "Feel Me"; the piano jazz ballad "Knock 123"; a rocky blues adaptation of the traditional "Wild About My Lovin'" with ultra sensual bewitching vocal; "Big Bad Handsome Man", a New Orleans style jazz piece with a trumpet-voice dialog; the rock'n'roll title song "Love Tattoo"; "Meet You At The Moon", a bluesy jazz ballad à la Sinatra; "Smokers' Song" another punching rockabilly; "Smotherin' Me", a pure rocking jump blues; "Falling In Love With You Again", a melancholy love ballad, probably the most "Irish" track with May's bodhran giving the beat over the piano; the swampy Charles Sheffield's rhythm'n'blues "It's Your Voodoo Working"; and finally "Watcha Gonna Do", a heavier electric and more pop piece.

The particular sound of the album, which gives it its unique color, is largely due to the excellent upright bass-drums pair (Al Gare & Dean Beresford), the first in particular giving the whole package its distinctive warm and jumpy texture. On piano and organ Danny McCormack is doing an excellent job, as is doing multi-instrumentist Dave Priseman especially on trumpet or flugelhorn. As for Darrel Higham (May's husband at the time), he is perfect on guitar navigating from straight rockabilly to blues and jazz.

Apart from five versions of songs taken from the studio CD, the live bonus disc, recorded in 2009 in Exeter (UK), features three non-May numbers : a rocking version of Willie Dixon's soul "My Babe", the stomping rockabilly "Don't Do Me No Wrong", and a five and a half minutes Delta slide-rockabilly mix cover of Muddy Water's classic "Rollin' And Tumblin'" on which May's voice and Darrel Higham's guitar make marvels.
At the end, when May breathlessly credits her musicians, you can't miss her strong Irish accent. 😉

I confess that I didn't hear anything by Imelda May before. This great double album was a big nice surprise to me, and I can assure y'all that it's really worth listening. And not just a few times ! ■

Discography
→ No Turning Back (2003, as Imelda Clabby)

→ Love Tattoo (2007/2009)
→ Mayhem (2010)
→ Tribal (2014)
→ Life Love Flesh Blood (2017)
→ Slip Of The Tongue (2020)
→ 11 Past the Hour (2021)

Anecdote
When 16 or 17 and already playing the Dublin pubs circuit, Imelda May was broken hearted after a love rupture. Her father who was driving her to the show where she was due to sing, looked at his tearfull daughter and said : "Is your heart broken ? Excellent. Now you can really sing the blues !"

Interviews

 ● At Le Live, France : https://youtu.be/SXG9Z0Sn6to
● On France 2 TV channel, 2011 : https://youtu.be/81_wcp_rD-s
● New Year's Eve interview on Ireland’s National Public Service Media TV channel : https://youtu.be/gvVjXFcUW7Q
● On Ireland AM : https://youtu.be/oFdmWFQYVng

Live videos
● "Johnny Got A Boom Boom" at the Birmingham Symphony Hall, April 2022 : https://youtu.be/7reQG8MYy84

Darrel Higham & May

● At Pryzm, London, 2021 : https://youtu.be/sdMprwn3s_I

 ● With Ronnie Wood at the London Palladium, 2019 : https://youtu.be/3DWu5tfvLhw
● Live at the Liverpool Feis, 2018 : https://youtu.be/IOSQUpcprBg
● "Always On My Mind"/"Call Me" with Jack Savoretti, Rome, 2018 : https://youtu.be/KgYsintDuiQ
● "Black Tears" live at Latitude, 2017 : https://youtu.be/by8XI_NQGOg

● "Johnny Got A Boom Boom"/"The Girl I Used To Be" at the Ipswich Regent, 2017 : https://youtu.be/6aok3tsoTZk
 ● 'Love and Fear' at Lakefest, 2017 (with a speech about the Charlottesville riots) : https://youtu.be/pMhMLoIhk_M
● "Spoonful" live at the Pori Jazz Festival, Finland, 2016 : https://youtu.be/23gww7kNJWY
● In Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 2015 : https://youtu.be/nEwJbhS6tbE
● Full concert at Blues Cazorla, 2015 : https://youtu.be/GCzxbZBP3kc
● At the Roundhouse, Camden, 2014 :
→ Part 1 : https://youtu.be/W6ueogeMfEw

→ Part 2 : https://youtu.be/l31FptJ3gys

● At the Postbahnhof, Berlin, 2014 : https://youtu.be/xgo544Fk9Cw
● At Le Live, Paris, 2013 : https://youtu.be/L-LkoplDB5A
● At the Luna Lunera Fest., Spain, 2011 : https://youtu.be/arxWg41IpSQ
● At the Isle Of Wight Festival, 2011 : https://youtu.be/Zcm56V577aU
● At the Marquee, Cork, Ireland, 2011 (phone shot) : https://youtu.be/LRwzIJaMctQ
● At the Burnaby Blues & Roots Fest., 2011 : https://youtu.be/DgAcUtlHbno
● "Proud and Humble" live at La Cigale, Paris, 2011 : https://youtu.be/G8QD9uxqUn8

Jeff Beck & May

● With Jeff Beck at the "Jeff Beck Honors Les Paul" concert, 2010 :
→ https://youtu.be/WjJiuk37Ux0
→ https://youtu.be/E-YdEatw6kA
→ https://youtu.be/aJmAX8bMan8
→ https://youtu.be/rstg37FB9k0
● At the Azkena Fest., Spain, 2010 : https://youtu.be/8KJ_X69Oc4U

● At Concorde, 2009 : https://youtu.be/WsI3FFUzCBk
● "Rollin' And Tumblin'" at The Boardwalk, 2008 : https://youtu.be/vf34PBw8Zx4
● At John Sheahan 80th Birthday Celebration, Dublin : https://youtu.be/zULN0JRXrk8

● In Russia (?) : https://youtu.be/ubrQ8IOvLcg

 

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