“At first glance, Neals’ voice shares a Janis Joplin and Etta James singing style; but her own unique and tremendous talents make her specifically superior and very, very likable.”

This new music showcases Eliza’s vivacious and vigorous vocals and the tremendous talents of three great guitarists: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Billy Davis, Johnny Winter’s second guitarist Paul Nelson, and Detroit blues legend and member of her band, Howard Glazer. It’s also a lot of fun listening to the different tones, picking styles, and lovely licks that are characteristic of each of the three, string masters’ approach to the blues. Davis and Glazer, with their Detroit Blues influenced leads, and Nelson, with his Austin meets Chicago licks, are always easy on the ears and a joy to fiigue out who plays what. The icing on the cake is how Neals’ voice sings with and pushes the guitar notes to the next level on every song. Very captivating. Her operatically trained voice is sexy and menacing, and the fabulous fretwork is always creative and completely competent. To be sure, her glowling voice matches their growling guitars note for note in every measure on all the tunes.

This is basically a rocking blues album. Modern electric blues and a bit of psychedelic rock, with Southern soul and jam band mixed in. Neals studied with Motown legend Barrett Strong, and you can hear it in the way she arranges her songs and in the way she sings. She contributes piano, B-3, Rhodes, and tambourine to her music too.

At first glance, Neals’ voice shares a Janis Joplin and Etta James singing style; but her own unique and tremendous talents make her specifically superior and very, very likable. Check out the slower, bluesy ballad “At the Crossroads” featuring Davis and “Cold Cold Night” with Nelson and Lenny Bradford. Two memorable melodies that stand out for their attitude and tight performance.

The opening slow bluesy track, “Cleotus,” sets the tone for this album; great voice, emotional delivery, killer keyboards, and a tight band backing her up. Listen to the blues-rockers “Burn the Tent Down,” the title cut “10,000 Feet Below,” “You Ain’t My Dog No More,” with Glazer’s nice slide work, “Downhill On a Rocket,” and “Merle Dixon,” a tribute to the main character on The Walking Dead. The only cover, “Hard Time, Killing Floor Blues” by Skip James, has a new arrangement and is a great illustration of her stunning vocals and passionate piano playing. Eliza Neals is the winner of this year’s 2018 Detroit Black Music Awards for ‘Blues Artist of the Year,’ and this righteous record shows your ears the reason why. – A. J. Wachtel

BLUES MUSIC MAGAZINE

Thank you A.J. for the great review of “10,000 Feet Below” we truly worked on every aspect of the music to create something that would be unforgettable. Although “10,000 Feet Below” came out in 2017 the depth of influence will rumble under the feet and rise over the heads of many musicians, fans and music critics hopefully for years.