Janiva Magness - What Love Will Do

“Janiva Magness has been feeling the love recently, thanks to back-to-back best contemporary female artist wins from the Blues Music Awards and a deal with Alligator, yielding this debut. Magness possesses a mighty voice, which she cuts loose with memorable effect on the slow blues “One Heartache Too Late.” That voice works just as well in a funk or soul setting and, indeed, the record opens with the rugged funk tune “That’s What Love Will Make You Do.” She knocks down a bit of green-eyed soul on “Fool Me Again” and endows the lowdown blues “I Don’t Want You on My Mind” with a particularly sultry buzz. —Philip Van Vleck”