Lisa St. Lou: Ain’t No Good Man Review
The first thing that comes to mind when I hear Lisa St. Lou’s voice is “Powerful Vocals.” Lisa is an accomplished singer that seems to sing effortlessly on her debut release Ain’t No Good Man. With a master’s degree in Opera and a resume that includes performing in the Broadway musical The Producers, Lisa proves she has the ability to soar vocally. Ain’t No Good Man pays homage to 60’s soul with a little bit of attitude thrown in for good measure.
By her own admission, Lisa is co-dependent, and spent most of her life trying to please others. Whether it was her education choices, career choices, or personal choices she often made decisions based on what everyone else wanted her to do. As in many scenarios like this, she put her musical career on-hold to pursue other life choices such as marriage and raising a family. Unfortunately, her marriage ended in divorce, and Lisa had to pick up the pieces of her life and set a new path. Using her life circumstances as motivation, she decided to get her career back on track, and start singing again.
With life experiences to sing about, Lisa began working on music with producer Tor Hyams (Lou Rawls, Joan Osborne, Vivian Campbell) for what would eventually become Ain’t No Good Man. Tor and Lisa have put together a great ensemble of musicians including Ivan Neville (Neville Brothers) and his Dumpstaphunk band members Ian Neville, and Tony Hall just to name a few.
Special guest appearances by The Meters founder, solo artist, and New Orleans royalty Cryil Neville (Dr. John, Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia) and Soul Legend Irma Thomas help round out the cast of musicians on the project.
The lead single “I’ve Seen the Light” captures the sentiment and attitude of Lisa as an artist, while giving you a glimpse of her vocal power and range. The title track “Ain’t No Good Man” and “Miracle in Motion” are also great examples of the diversity of Lisa’s voice and a glimpse of where she can go as an artist. The standout track is “Nothing Is Never Enough (for a man)” and features Irma Thomas on guest vocals. This song captures the emotion of Lisa’s story and makes the listener feel it with her.
Ain’t No Good Man is a story of life – getting knocked down, shaking yourself off, moving forward, and being stronger for it. Lisa has a powerful voice and she demonstrates she can easily navigate belting out vocals and the nuance of a soul ballad. The challenge of being such a strong singer is maintaining the ability to connect with the listener and not losing the emotion in the song. Ain’t No Good Man is a solid debut release and shows the potential she has as an artist and singer.
The Review: 7/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– I’ve Seen the Light
– Ain’t No Good Man
– Miracle in Motion
– Nothing Is Ever Enough (for a man) – featuring Irma Thomas
The Big Hit
– Nothing Is Ever Enough (for a man) – featuring Irma Thomas