Treasa Levasseur Low Fidelity Slim Chicken
by john valentyn
maple blues magazine, oct 09

There is a great deal to like about her second CD: Ms. Levasseur’s vocals are upfront & confident, she has some truly fine songs and an excellent band behind her. “The Good Ones Never Share” is a fascinating modern blues commenting on a wild lifestyle without ever actually concluding that change might be necessary. Paul Reddicksupplies some appropriate harp, which he also does on “Low Fidelity”. It turns out that low fidelity is a problem her soon-to-be-ex partner has, not a comment on the recorded quality of the CD. She does play up the pun though with a lo-fi intro & extro. “(Me and my) Big Fat Mouth” speaks for itself as a title but does not describe its rocking tempo. You’ll be humming this long afterwards and maybe agreeing with the lyrics. A lovely soul ballad, “Talk To Me Baby” features DK Ibomeka on harmony vocal and his silky voice is perfect for the part. “Give Me Just One” is in a more traditional R&B style, as is “Stuck in Soulsville”, a most effective homage to the Stax sound. The album ends on a more serious note with “Amen”, an original gospel song pleading for more religious tolerance. There’s quite a large cast involved in this project so I’ll just say that many of the songs include a chorus & horns and that several players are used at each of the usual instruments, all firmly under the guidance of co-producersDavid Gavan Baxter & Ms. Levasseur. Long time guitarist Sean Cotton deserves mention as do keyboard aces Bill King & Julian Fauth. The CD Release Party is October 2nd at the Lula Lounge. There are two shows, at 6:30 & 9:30 PM and she’ll have a seven-piece band.