October 28, 2023

DEB CALLAHAN
Backbone
Blue Pearl Records – No # 6

Reviewer: —Matt R. Lohr

Philly-based vocalist/songwriter Deb Callahan’s sixth album is called Backbone, and its dozen tracks are undeniably loaded with this titular
strength. Joined by a coterie of longtime instrumental collaborators, Callahan blends timely, probing lyrical content with classic
blues dynamics, all served up with fiery, take no-prisoners power.

Callahan’s parallel career as a social worker and therapist comes to the fore in a handful of tracks that connect with blues’ longstanding history of sociopolitical engagement. Don’t Tread on Me appropriates a current conservative battle cry, while Callahan subverts the sentiment to her own ends, culminating in a demand to “choose what’s right for my own body.” The elegiac Thought You Were My Girl, graced by the soul soothing organ of Danny Schogger, is a quietly feminist ode to a dead friendship, Callahan lamenting a woman she thought would always “be a bad-ass bitch with me.” And the slinky slide guitar of Backbone producer Chris Arms gives Still Fighting to Be Free a folksy touch that simply strengthens Callahan’s fierce, accusatory statement on America’s ever-gnawing racial divides.

But Callahan has plenty of pure blues pleasure on offer here as well. Garry Lee’s pliable bass and the unstinting polish of Tom Walling’s
drums lend the regretful ballad Rogue a weary maturity. (A stalwart presence throughout  the album, Walling sadly passed away in
November; Backbone is dedicated to his memory.) Allen James’ guitar never fails to find the right colors, whether searing sultry smoke into
the yearning passion of Just What the Doctor Ordered or whispering sweet nothings that turn Callahan’s take on Percy Mayfield’s Danger Zone
into the most cooled-out warning of impending doom you’ve ever heard.

Callahan’s voice packs a hefty punch with just a hint of urbane gravel, while her cool
vibrato smooths those edges into an endlessly inviting package. She trills with energetic sass, ideally paired with Schogger’s keening, sunny
chords on Sean Costello’s Anytime You Want, and she packs both force and charm into the invigorating inspiration of Big Girl Pants. Her sensitivity counters the menacing memories conjured by Walling’s bass drum on the subtly biting Cleaning House, and her well-seasoned chemistry with her bandmates funks up What
I’m Working With. On this cut, Callahan declares, “You gotta be yourself / ’Cause everybody else is taken.” It’s a suitable mission statement for Backbone as a whole, and Callahan masterfully takes her own advice throughout.