1 	Blue Suede Shoes 	5:58
2 	Try A Little Tenderness 	6:16
3 	As The Years Go Passing By 	6:26
4 	Only Women Bleed 	5:58
5 	Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City 	5:04
6 	Good Man Monologue 	5:07
7 	Trade Winds 	5:53
8 	No Mean City 	4:45
9 	Every Little Bit Hurts 	4:55
10 	That's The Way I Feel 	7:03

When Maggie Bell's group Stone The Crows broke up in 1973 it was time for Britain's finest female singer to launch her solo career. Since her earliest days in Glasgow, the Scots lass with the soulful voice had been impressing audiences with her powerful and passionate style. --- recordheaven.net "The River Sessions" catches Glasgow-born Maggie Bell back home, recording live at the Pavillion, Glasgow on November 1, 1993. The dynamic soul singer/blues belter has given us another female-oriented album: at one point she complains that she's being forced to do men's compositions, and wonders where the women writers are these days; then says, never mind, she's begun writing songs herself. But not to worry: this record is an hour's worth of "real" songs, and then some.

Bell opens with a New Orleans funkified take on the rockabilly favorite "Blue Suede Shoes," a song that apparently can trace its lineage back to the Gaelic Scots that settled the state of Georgia. She dares to take on Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness," dedicates it to her Glasgow mother, and does right by Redding -- and her Mom. "As the Years Go Passing By," a blues as good live as the studio take on her first solo album, "Queen of the Night." Ditto for "Trade Winds." Womack and Womack's "Good Women, Good Men," previously done by American blues star Bonnie Raitt. (And Maggie's happy to say she's got herself a good man, a Dutchman: she now lives in Holland.) Alice Cooper's "Only Women Bleed." She reaches back to an obscure Brenda Holloway number, "Every Little Bit Hurts," and closes with Delbert McClinton's "The Way I Feel."

We also get Bobby Bland's "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City," perhaps recorded here as a Glasgow-oriented companion piece to the soon-to-follow, magnificent "No Mean City." That was used as the theme song of "Taggart," the Scottish television show heard 'round the world, for years and years. This piercing, keening song she dedicates to everyone there that night: "There's your song. It's about you." It's also the best reason to get this album. Bell has been heard to remark that, though this song was a hit single, she'd sure love another hit album; but listen, this song certainly has legs. --- Stephanie De Pue, amazon.com

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1 	Coming On Strong 	
2 	Wishing Well 	
3 	I Was In Chains 	
4 	What You've Got Is So Good 	
5 	If You Don't Know, I Can Tell You 	
6 	I Saw Him Staning There 	
7 	Pencillin Blues 	
8 	Goin' Down

MAGGIE BELL's career has been both lenghy and distinguished, and her work with the legendary STONE THE CROWS, an impressive solo back catalogue and the obscure but impressive MIDNIGHT FLYER cemented her position as one of the finest female blues/rock vocalists of the last 30 years. These live recordings have been taken from Maggie's peronal tape archives and show her on brilliant form opening for BAD COMPANY at Boston Music Hall, USA during 1975's tour of the USA. Charles Shaar Murray said of her live performances that year ""I mean no one this side of Mao Tse-Tung can upstage Maggie Bell"". That really summed up her performance as she took no prisoners and won over all audiences she performed to. --- Editorial Reviews, amazon.com

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1 	Wishing Well 	3:33
2 	Suicide Sal 	3:45
3 	I Was In Chains 	3:00
4 	If You Don‘t Know 	3:53
5 	What You Got 	2:52
6 	In My Life 	3:07
7 	Comin‘ On Strong 	4:06
8 	Hold On 	4:45
9 	I Saw Him Standing There 	4:18
10 	It‘s Been So Long 	4:28

Backing Vocals – Bill Laurie, Brian Breeze
Backing Vocals, Producer – Mark London
Bagpipes – Cuddley Judd (tracks: 3)
Bass – Delisle Harper
Drums – Paul Francis
Guitar – Brian Breeze (tracks: A1, A5, B1, B2), Terry (tracks: A2, A4), Hugh Burns (tracks: A6, B4),
		 Mickey Keene (tracks: A1, A3, B3), Ray Glynn (tracks: A2, A5)
Guitar, Soloist – Jimmy Page (tracks: A4, B1)
Keyboards – Peter Wingfield (tracks: A1 to A4, A6, B1, B3, B4), Roy Davies (tracks: A5, B2)
Saxophone, Soloist – Jimmy Jewell (tracks: B4)
Vocals, Backing Vocals, Producer [Associate] – Maggie Bell

The success of Angel Air's series of Maggie Bell reissues can be easily judged by the Scottish singer's return to the U.K. after residing for years abroad, a planned autobiography, and her intention of touring. Although critically feted in the U.K., Bell, both solo and with her former band Stone the Crows, never quite achieved the commercial breakthrough everyone had so expected. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, Bell's recording career was punctuated by a sole Stone the Crows charting album. With that band's demise in 1973, the soul singer went solo, releasing the (again) critically acclaimed Queen of the Night album, with 1975's Suicide Sal following. A tougher, more energized set than its predecessor, Sal's electrifying live feel reflects the incendiary stage shows Bell and her new backing band had been playing in the intervening time between recordings. The two bonus tracks, recorded at a gig later that year, capture their live ferocity. Intriguingly, the funky, fiery title track, an homage to Bell's Aunt, a music hall star, is one of only two originals on this set. The second, the lavishly bluesy "If You Don't Know" was penned by band keyboardist Pete Wingfield, and boasts a guesting Jimmy Page on guitar. The storming "Coming on Strong" also has a Bell connection, being co-penned by ex-Crow Colin Allen and Zoot Money. The rest of the album comprises astutely chosen covers drawn from an eclectic selection of artists. One of the standouts is "It's Been So Long," a powerful gospel number written by the Pretty Things' Phil May, who not only rewrote some of the lyrics for Bell, but added his backing vocals to the song. Free's classic "Wishing Well" gets a sensational workout, while that band's offshoot Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit's "Hold On" is taken to new emotive heights. From barrelling Beatles pop to the Sutherland Brothers poignant Gaelic ode, from ballads to hefty rock & roll, Bell struts across this set with style and such assurance, that even Aunt Sal must have been impressed. One of Britain's greatest soul singers, showcased at her best, this magnificent album also includes an excellent, expansive biography of this crucial artist. --- Jo-Ann Greene, AllMusic Review

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1.Caddo Queen 	3:35
2.A Woman Left Lonely 	3:54
3.Souvenirs 	5:37
4.After Midnight 	2:34
5.Queen Of The Night 	4:02
6.Oh My My 	3:00
7.As The Years Go Passing By 	4:21
8.Yesterday's Music 	3:28
9.We Had It All 	2:55
10.The Other Side 	2:59
11.Trade Winds 	5:11

Vocals – Maggie Bell
Arranged By [Horn Arrangements] – Antisia Music
Backing Vocals – The Sweet Inspirations (tracks: A1, A2, A5, B1, B2, B5)
Bass – Chuck Rainey (tracks: A1, A3, B1, B2), Bill Salter (tracks: A2, A4, A5, B3 to B6)
Drums – Steve Gadd
Keyboards – Arthur Jenkins, Barry Goldberg, Leon Pendarvis, Richard Tee
Lead Guitar – Reggie Young (tracks: A1, A4, B1, B4, B5)
Percussion – Ralph MacDonald
Rhythm Guitar – Cornell Dupree, Hugh McCracken

Producer Jerry Wexler puts the earthy vocals of Maggie Bell in a beautiful setting here. She stretches John Prine's "Souvenirs" to the max with Steve Gadd ably assisting by splashing the drums as deep as Bell's vocals. Her uptempo version of J.J. Cale's "After Midnight" is more captivating than Eric Clapton's; she oozes that Etta James sexuality while Reggie Young throws some tasty guitar into the semi-calypso groove. Bell's identity is unique on much of the material, but a couple of tunes have her paying tribute to some of her sisters. The title track, "Queen of the Night," is drenched in gorgeous harmonies by the Sweet Inspirations and is pure Genya Ravan, but conversely, the cover of "A Woman Left Lonely," embraced totally by Janis Joplin on Pearl, is a sweet vocal and totally alien to how Joplin ripped the song to shreds so wonderfully. It works on an entirely different level on Queen of the Night -- Bell's voice is an instrument that slips into different styles on a moment's notice. She takes the fun but silly Ringo Starr/Vini Poncia number five hit from the same year and gives it some style, then turns around with Deadric Malone's "As the Years Go Passing By" and delivers another brand of quality sound. Cornell Dupree's fabulous guitar leads cook in the background -- the frosting on the cake for "As the Years Go Passing By." Intense and beautiful, it is the real sleeper here. While Merry Clayton was singing backup on Ringo Starr's "Oh My My" and ex-Black Oak Arkansas Ruby Starr would track Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed," Bell broke through her Stone the Crows image to cover a range of ideas, giving even David Clayton Thomas some respectability, taking his original "Yesterday's Music" to new heights with a Bonnie Bramlett-style touch of gospel. From Will Jennings to Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen, Bell's Queen of the Night is a stunningly marvelous mix of blues, pop, soul, and Southern rock. "We Had It All" builds with a smoldering tension that gives Bell a platform for her inspired phrasings. Sager must've been over the top when she first heard this version of "The Other Side." This is music straight from the heart, which concludes with "Trade Winds," piano, drums, and Bell's voice tapering off like the end of a great set at some intimate nightclub. This is an extraordinary creation worth pulling out when you want to appreciate a fine wine like Queen of the Night. ---Joe Viglione, allmusic.com

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