Evie Sands - Women In Prison (1998)

EVIE SANDS is a legend in her own time: emotive blue-eyed soul singer, naturally funky guitarist, indelibly compelling performer, close-the-door sultry songwriter, meticulous professional, intuitive and perceptive producer, bountiful band mate, and a musician’s musician. Amongst pop aficionados she is a bona-fide treasure. No less than Dusty Springfield cited her as a favorite singer. She was widely seen on TV,including American Bandstand, Hullabaloo, Shindig, The Tonight Show, Where The Action Is, Hollywood A Go-Go, Everly Brothers, Glen Campbell, and Johnny Cash shows. In the United Kingdom she is revered as a Northern Soul icon (“Billy Sunshine” and “Picture Me Gone”) whose pulsating vinyl records are sought after and cherished.

Evie’s a Brill Building alum who starting cutting singles in her early teens for Cameo and Leiber and Stoller’s Blue Cat label (that’s Darlene Love and the Blossoms seen > right backing her up on “Take Me For A Little While”).
After several music biz mishaps with her original definitive versions of “Take Me”, “I Can’t Let Go” and “Angel of The Morning”, she finally landed a monster hit with “Anyway That You Want Me”. It stayed on the charts for 17-weeks eventually selling half a million copies. Her subsequent evocative A&M debut album is a critically regarded lost masterpiece combining her distinctive pale siren soul with country and folk in lush settings akin to the languid, morning after sensuality of “Dusty in Memphis”. The album included one of Evie’s own compositions: “It’s This I Am” which set her on a songwriting path. Intriguingly, the pensive song has been unearthed and freshly revived by yet another generation of appreciative interpreters.

A succession of Capitol/Haven mid-chart hits followed with “You Brought The Woman Out of Me” and “I Love Makin’ Love To You” from the fan-beloved, mid-seventies album, Estate Of MindEstate of Mind – and in 1979, an RCA studio-studded album, Suspended Animation – co-produced by Evie. While her songs garnered escalating notice, her career as solo artist ran into contractual quagmire and a struggle over creative control, so Evie stepped out of the limelight to focus on writing and production.

Her songs have been covered by a broad array of artists including: Barbra Streisand, Cher/Gregg Allman, Dionne Warwick, Franki Valli, Gladys Knight, Jose Feliciano, Karen Carpenter, Dobie Gray, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Beck, Beth Orton, Jazmine Sullivan, Missy Elliot and Dusty (who liked her songs too).

Evie’s return to the spotlight came in late 1996. After being invited onstage for an impromptu performance at a Chip Taylor gig, a re-ignited collaboration (together with Al Gorgoni) resulted in the roots-underlined 2000 CD, Women In Prison, which spawned six Top 10 tracks on the UK-Euro indie charts, with three number 1’s (including a duet with Lucinda Williams). In evidence is Evie’s patent expressive gift and the alliance yielded some playfully edgy jewels: “Fingerprint Me Baby”, “Gasoline and Coffee” and instant enduring classics: “While I Look At You” and “Angel In Your Eyes”. A tour with Chip and virtuoso guitarist, John Platania kicked things off, with shows in London, Glasgow, Holland, Brussels, New York and an appearance on the long-running Mountain Stage.

Throughout her career Evie has maintained a resilient and buoyant spirit. Inside the petite soul diva’s exterior is a titanic unshakable resolve fully engaged in her life-long passion for the craft of making music. What resonates within her is undeniably deep-rooted – she’s faithful to a rebellious rock n’ roll ethic that has allowed her to keep hold of her indomitable fiery essence. Her love of performing never went away and is ongoing. She’s active on stage – whether headlining, pooling resources or as a guest with fellow artists.

Evie’s notorious, unorthodox six-string guitar technique is a cross between polished versatility and earthy rawness that never veers far from the rhythm and musicality. She’s among the few who play lefty, with the strings upside-down (strung right-handed). Pulling downward on bends instead of pushing up creates certain musical nuances different than guitars strung the traditional way. She adeptly executes without flash in a electrifying succinct style to devise captivating licks, resourceful fills and infectious grooves that work off the melody in support of the song.

Evie is much admired – coveted as cool collaborator, magnanimous mentor and multi-faceted veteran without airs. Utterly unique as a songwriter and instrumentalist, her calling card has always been that innately poignant voice imbuing her singular songs with her signature indelible melodies and innate sensuality.

Shine For Me She could coast on her past glories, but Evie Sands doesn’t look or hold back and is particularly inspired at this moment with her faucet of song craft flowing; she’s tickled by her prolific output and feisty to share. First to come forth is Shine For Me, a 6-song EP issued on her own, R-Spot Records. Written, Arranged and Produced by Evie, “Shine” embodies her in full-flight and at a creative peak with her inimitable potion of sophisticated Rock, Pop and Soul.

On it she sounds as vibrant, vital and alluring as ever stirring the senses with her distinctive feel, transcendent taste and tender touch. While “Shine” heralds a exhilarating release of newly-penned material, it also has sparked a return of Evie in performance that fully signifies Evie – Past, Present and Future – new songs merging seamlessly with her enduring catalog and Evie jubilant at play with her rock-solid band. Evie lit up the regal Ponderosa Stomp stage with Barbara Lynn in a blazing two-tone duet of southpaw guitar slingers. MOJO magazine featured a four-page glowing career assessment and Evie’s subsequent Metropolitan homecoming tour served further notice of her lasting import and sustained relevance verified by two unforgettable SRO shows back-to-back at Manhattan’s urbane, Cutting Room and Brooklyn’s ultra hip, Union Pool. That’s DJ Evie as the silky co-host of “Instamatic Karma”, May Pang’s Internet engaging podcast, a beguiling “insiders window” into the world of popular music. Evie’s a natural on the airwaves and her affable presence reveals another side of Evie’s easy charm tapping her musical acumen, genial gift of the gab and intrinsic humanity. Evie Sands is justly – a force of nature as she boldly shapes an anticipated album of fresh material and is charged to take her potent song bag, nimble band and persuasive persona onto the global stage.



Track List:
01 I Ain't Done Yet (04:13)
02 Cool Blues Story (02:53)
03 While I Look At You (04:43)
04 Angel In Your Eyes (03:13)
05 Brooklyn Blues (04:26)
06 Women In Prison (04:16)
07 Fingerprint Me, Baby (02:52)
08 I Want Your Hands (04:36)
09 I Hate You Today (03:33)
10 Always (04:57)
11 Gasoline And Coffee (03:26)
12 Little Girl Cryin' (03:26)



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