CANDYE KANE "SUPERHERO" Source: Jazz & Blues Magazine Date: 07/2009 Writer: Mark Smith

Candye Kane: Superhero

Candye Kane has always been a survivor of sorts with a mile wide rebellious streak, a youthful pregnancy and stints in the adult film industry filling her resume before she found her voice as a blues singer who took up causes as diverse as the “full-figured” and the gay, lesbian and transgender communities.

With a strong sense of conviction, a healthy dose of wit and a bawdy stage presence, she defied the odds and found a way to connect with the mainstream blues audience. In early 2008 she was thrown the challenge of a lifetime in the form of pancreatic cancer that required immediate surgery and the cessation of the touring and recording that kept her economic engine running. While her prognosis was grim her determination was stronger and now, a year later, she’s once again emerged on top.

This disc is her proud proclamation of victory. The title track is a buoyant survivor’s tale about not taking bad news lying down while Hey! Toughen Up! Reveals some deathbed thinking about not focusing on the small failures without being grateful for all the other things that are going right. And what use is victory if you can’t enjoy it? On Til You go Too Far Candye promotes the wild ride that goes along with discovering your outermost limits while she extols the virtues of love in all its carnal forms on her saucy duet with Mitch Kashmar, I Like ‘Em Stacked Like That, on the rollicking Throw It In the Trash Can Love and on the Willie Dixon classic, You Need Love, which she successfully wrestles back from Led Zeppelin.

As with past releases, Kane is too, well, big, to stick with the straight blues. I Didn’t Listen To My Heart is straight out of the 50s’ doo-wop book with its too cool sax and cha-cha beat. I Put A Hex on You has a cool mysterious groove and lyrics about Voo Doo Queen Marie Laveau while Picture of You heads close to Patsy Cline territory with its loping beat and longing vocals.

While long time fans might find the content here a bit tame compared to some of the lascivious material of her past, Kane’s brush with fate hasn’t dimmed her sense of fun or her willingness to tell it like she sees it.