Search - Shirley Brown/Denise LaSalle: Divas in the Delta Live in Greenwood, MS on DVD

SISTAS DOIN' IT

Lester L. Carter | PHILA , PA | 06/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"THE SISTAS ARE DOIN' IT
SHIRLEY BROWN STARTS THE SHOW WITH AN AWESOME RENDITION OF
'RESPECT' THEN CONTINUES WITH HER HITS. ENDS WITH WOMAN TO
WOMAN OF COURSE.
THEN DENISE LASALLE TAKES OVER. AND IT'S ON LIKE POPCORN
SHE'S RAUNCHY AND SHE'S READY. SO HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS
AND LET'S GET TRAPPED BY A THING CALLED LOVE
HIT AFTER HIT AFTER HIT.
SISTAS DOIN' IT

"

Showtime

the professor | Paterson, New Jersey United States | 07/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is obviously a tape of a concert performance with Shirley Brown and Denise LaSalle. Shirley Brown was the opening act for Denise , so her performance is more subdued. She also did not have the musical legacy of hits that Denise had.
My appreciation of Denise goes back many years. She is the Queen of the Blues, but her performance is often R or X rated, so she never got the recognition she deserved. In this concert , you get to see her in great form and voice. She just never crossed over to the mainstream audiences.
Along with ZZ Hill, Little Milton, Johnny Taylor, Roy C, Marvin Sease and a few others, she has been the backbone of the true urban blues style. While the mainstream is worshipping Robert Johnson , she is what the folks in the "hood" are listening to.
Here, she does what she does best and you get a peek into what goes on in the "real blues" concerts. It's an art form, very sexually orientated and charged, but full of honesty that shows why the blues has been therapy for so many people. The pain turns to joy. Even when your man or woman is cheating on you, you can laugh about it. You can see how it is part of the learning process of life.
Although Malaco Records is a plantation like any record company, it has done us a great service in documenting these oft forgotten blues artists. I wish the quality of the video was better , but then she is not Madonna or Beyonce in the public eye. I could say the same about most jazz videos.
Shirley gives an "OK" performance , but it seems she is still struggling with her own identity crisis as a singer. She is too much in the shadow of Aretha and other soul singers.
Denise has looked better , but her singing is worth the price on the DVD alone. And you get to see a show, not a collection of songs.
If you want to know what the real "down home blues" sound like, you need to watch this DVD and honor the Queen of the Blues with your presence.
Five stars for Denise, four stars for wanting to fast forward past Shirley Brown."

Tommie J- Music Critic

TJP | ILLINOIS | 12/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The DVD is worth the price alone for Denise Lasalle. Shirley Brown has a good voice, but what is missing from her act are the Background singers. Her band is tight. But Denise bring the house down with her act. Shriley has a good voice, but she's not a performer, she's a Singer's Singer"