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READ THE REVIEW BY LINDA HEIDTKE
Janiva Magness
Hard to Kill
Review by Linda Heidtke
I first met Grammy-nominated Janiva Magness in the 90’s when she was a guest on a local blues radio program. She was mesmerizing: a true blues diva, gritty, humorous, and sooo sultry. She captivated all as she shared stories of her life, of hardship, of loss. Magness’s life experiences surely would have left a lessor soul broken. Instead they became the driving force and inspiration for her music: bluesy, soulful and painfully honest. Her work has won her critical acclaim, seven Blues Music awards and in 2009 she was named the BB King Entertainer of the Year, an award given to her personally by Bonnie Raitt and B.B. King himself.
Her latest release Hard to kill, her 16th album and the first in three years, features a dozen songs that help tell her life story. Her unique and often hard-hitting vocal style delivers each track with raw honesty and emotion making her one of the top blues, R&B and Americana singers today.
The opening song “Strong as Steel,” skillfully tells of young Janiva’s fight with drug addiction and alcohol. Her strength to survive is summed up in the line “I’m bad business for the devil ‘cause I’m so hard to kill.”
A special treat is her duet with bluesman John Nemeth on “Comes Around” as well as her cover of John Hiatt’s “The Last Time.”
The final track “Oh Pearl” delivers a heart-wrenching apology to the newborn daughter she gave up to give her a chance for a better life. The sweet sadness of this song and Magness’ clear vocals highlight her ability to share intense and personal experiences through her craft. The haunting line “I hope your dreams come true, my mother failed me too” is with me still.
In the liner notes Magness tells us of her pandemic isolation “This album was not going to happen. Somewhere between my office, the kitchen, and the bedroom for nearly two years, I began completely questioning whether I was going to continue in the business of music.” Enter her good friend, guitarist, and co-producer David Darling who encouraged her to get back in the game. And thank goodness he did.
Janiva Magness is touring extensively in 2022. If you can, see her live. Her ability to connect with and entertain audiences, whether in a cozy club, or on a music festival stage, will leave you wanting more.
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