Edmonton Sun

Blues Guitar Women
Ruf Records/Distribution Fusion III
5 out of 5

It's easy in a genre dominated by male guitar slingers to forget that not only were the first blues vocal stars women, some of the players were, too.
Memphis Minnie McCoy, for example, could run the neck on a Stella or a National Steel so fast her fingers were a blur, and she was renowned at "cutting heads" - competing on stage with another guitarist. Minnie apparently laid waste to all the greats of the day, including Willie Brown, Son House and a slew of others.

She's on this new compilation from the excellent German blues label Ruf, but is just one of many. The two-disc set, researched and partially compiled by Ottawa guitar slinger Sue Foley, is a virtual library of the best contemporary and traditional players, some of whom you may never have heard of.
For example, there's Laura Chavez backing vocalist Lara Price with blues-rock licks so hot they'd keep Bernard Allison or Joe Kubek at bay.

Then there are established stars such as Debbie Davis, the longtime sidewoman to Albert Collins who has established herself as a top blues draw. She chimes in here with a smoking shuffle, Takin' It All to Vegas. There are cuts from Slavic sensation Ana Popovic, Ruthie Foster, Foley and a host of others.

Keep one thing in mind: this is a guitar-lovers' album. But despite that, there's enough diversity here to keep just about any fan interested. And it's giving a little more blues recognition where it's deserved.