Back to Monica Tornell with 1977's Bush Lady, by request

 

I guess this album which came after the hirsute Don't Give a Damn one from 1975, continues in the vein of harder, rawer, more rocky songs with none of the folk that appeared earlier and that in fact reappeared in the next 1978 album posted already earlier.  Of note this one was produced by Northern fusion musician (actually, North Carolina born) Stephen Frankevich (or sometimes Franckevich) who plays percussion, trumpets, and writes some material, both songs and lyrics.  (The next one used Jason Lindh as producer which gave it a folkier aspect of course.)

For us Stephen Frankevich is notable for the fact he played on Soffgruppen and Sundance, both wonderful one-off Scandinavian fusion albums. I posted the former here recently and the latter can be done if requested. It's also a wonderful slice of smooth and breezy fusion, with female vocals to grace it.

On this record there are quite a few cover versions and odds and ends, there is a string quartet interlude from Frankevich  which makes it somewhat regrettable that he didn't do more arranging duties though it also stands out as completely out of character on an otherwise basic rock album. 

However his composition called Snowcold Day is perhaps the best track:

It also gives you a sense of how grating her rock singing style can be when she attempts to be rough and loud like Janis Joplin--sorry to those who are fans.

Another good track, by the same songwriter, though the harmony vocals near the end are somewhat clunky in arrangement, Say Yes:

It's an album that could have been much better had it matured a bit more or maybe, had it been in the hands of a stellar producer, because it does have potential. At any rate I would say it's the best album from her by a long shot, being not so enamored of her early folkier days.