In 2016, Lorraine Lewis surprised Rock audiences with “One More For The Road“, the unreleased demos that would have laid the groundwork for the 1989, second FEMME FATALE album. This CD released via FnA Records is one that has long been awaited by fans of Lewis and her musical endeavors.
Being a big fan of Lorraine Lewis and the self-titled Femme Fatale album, I was ecstatic to know that the world was finally going to be able to listen these recordings that have remained unheard for nearly three decades.
The band sounds just as good as they did on their first record, but these songs are not “copycats”, in fact are much more elaborated, mature, showing a clear step forward in terms of songwriting. It is good to see that Femme Fatale decided to try to differentiate from their debut, and it is truly a shame that many of these songs never got to exist beyond the demos that were made.
This is not strictly ‘the unreleased second album’ from the band, but rather the demos that would have been crafted and reworked to create a second album.
As such, the sound quality is pretty rough though easily listenable and enjoyable. And while Lewis is the only member of the current Femme Fatale to take part in these recordings, the current version of the group has added many of the songs featured here to their live setlists.
There are straight-up rockers, hard ‘n heavy songs, midtempo rockers, and a little bit of everything in between as well, helping the album to feel fresh and enjoyable. We even get a surprise cover of “Piece of My Heart,” the song popularized by Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company back in the 60s!
You can really tell that the band would have progressed substantially musically had they been allowed to complete the record proper and release it as they wished to. At 14 tracks, the release is a bit excessive; it makes one wonder if, had the band been able to finish the album, if it would have been narrowed down to the “best” songs of the lot.
In either event, despite the somewhat overlong length, there really are not any weaknesses or boring moments to speak of.
Femme Fatale wows audiences a second time with this long overdue release of lost recordings “One More For The Road”. It is great to see the band is incorporating some of these songs into their current setlists; here is hoping we get a new album of original material from the band eventually as well.
In the meantime, this release comes essential to Femme Fatale longtime fans, but all hard rock / melodic aficionados.
Highly Recommended
01. Don’t Mean Nothing
02. Lady In Waiting
03. I Know
04. One More for the Road
05 Buried Alive
06. The Alley
07. Fallen Child
08. Til It’s Shot
09. Ain’t Nothing Better
10. Another Piece of My Heart
11. I’m Back
12. Sacred Bible
13. Stiffed
14. Lost Generation
Femme Fatale – One More For The Road 2016, CD, MP3+FLAC , FNA Records
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