Review: Patti Scialfa, “Play It As It Lays”
In some ways you have to feel sorry for “the first lady of love” Ms. Patti Scialfa. Being married to Bruce Springsteen cannot make it easy to launch a successful solo career and get people to take you seriously. However, “Red” as Springsteen affectionately refers to her, does more than hold her own on her excellent third solo disc Play It As It Lays.
What sets Scialfa apart from other female artists for me is her unique voice. She literally sounds like nobody else. She’s also a very good songwriter. The CD’s 10 tracks all have a down and dirty, back road-type feel to them, and the sonic landscape created by Scialfa and producer Steve Jordan, works perfectly with her gritty, sensual vocals.
She seeks rock and roll salvation on the excellent “Looking for Elvis,” looks for true love in “A Town Called Heartbreak,” gets very soulful on ”Play Around,” realizes wanting someone you shouldn’t want so much is not a good thing in “Bad for You,” and sings about everlasting love in the tender “Black Ladder.”
I will admit I bought Scialfa’s first release, Rumble Doll, back in early 90s because I am a huge Springsteen fan and I thought it was the “right thing to do.” However, it turned out to be an incredible CD that I still listen to quite often. Play It As It Lays is equally as good, if not better. Scialfa has really grown as a songwriter and musician, and I am happy to report, I bought this CD the first day it came out because as a Patti Scialfa fan, “it was the right thing to do.”
