2 stars (out of 4)
Wanda Jackson had enough sass to hang with Elvis in the ‘50s. No wonder she declared, “I can cause destruction just like the atom bomb,” on her strutting party-starter “Fujiyama Mama.” In many ways, with that song and others such as “Mean, Mean Man” and “Honey Bop,” she was the first riot grrrl, a little package of proto-feminist dynamite with big hair and an acid tongue.
More than a half-century after her rockabilly-era debut album, Jackson is back with “The Party Ain’t Over” (Third Man/Nonesuch). One of her more ardent acolytes, Jack White, serves as producer and guitarist. White performed similar duties for Loretta Lynn on her 2004 comeback, “Van Lear Rose,” which came off as a sturdy but relatively conservative tribute record to one of his musical heroes. This time, he takes a few more chances as he dirties up Jackson’s thinner but still eerie stray-cat wail with distortion and adds a horn section to several tracks. These decisions, however, don’t enhance our appreciation of Jackson much. Her voice often sounds overly pinched, and the horns come off as gimmicky.
The song choices are solid if unremarkable, a predictable mix of vintage tracks (“Rip It Up,” “Shakin’ All Over”) and retro-leaning contemporary material that Jackson handles like a pro, but without much panache (Bob Dylan’s “Thunder on the Mountain,” Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good”). The tangents include an ill-chosen Caribbean-flavored take on the Andrews Sisters’ hit “Rum and Coca-Cola.” But on Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel #6,” accompanied only by White on acoustic guitar, she busts loose, her voice robust, her asides sly, the rockabilly queen once again on the prowl – a too-little, too-late hint of what this album could’ve been.
greg@gregkot.com