Joanna Connor - Big Girl Blues (Blind Pig Records)

First off, this is not Connor's first record. Perhaps experience has granted her the wisdom to embrace the quirks, advantages and limitations of the studio, rather than fighting it. Big Girl Blues sounds like a finely-crafted studio record, complete with well-thought out arrangements, overdubs, effects, a wide variety of guitar tones and a tight and professional feel throughout.

Songs range from straight blues ("43rd St.") to a Reggae ("Smoke It Up") to a ballad ("Sweet Baby") to rock and roll. Every song is given the appropriate treatment from a production standpoint (and a healthy helping of Connor's blazing fretwork on her Les Paul Classic). The end result is 12 tunes, each possessing a distinct personality. This makes for a blues records that doesn't sound stale, uninspired or flat. You still need to catch her live, though.