I LOVE this album!  "Tigerbabies" is definitely one of the greatest albums ever recorded.  With songs that anyone can relate to, female and male alike, it is impossible to press the Stop button once you've pressed Play.

The album starts with the song "sUnShinestAr", a rock n roll song that is sure to get anyone out of her seat and onto the dance floor.  It's the perfect song to start the album!  "You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down" is one of my personal favorites.  It tells the tale of the many women who stay happy and strong even through the worst of circumstances.  The song "Sitting on Top of the World" reminds me of warm, bright summer days.  It's full of so much imagery, I love the lyrics!  I get full of happiness whenever I listen to this fabulous song!  The album's title track, "Tiger", makes me so sad.  It tells the story of a tiger living in Hollywood.  One day, he escapes from his cage.  The tiger just wanted to be free, like he was born to be.  But he was shot and killed.  Alison sees into the tiger's soul when she sings lines like, "Tiger didn't see the freeway/Tiger couldn't see the flames/And tiger didn't feel that awful lust for fame/Tiger felt the jungle, tiger felt the jungle rain."  Those lines bring tears to my eyes.  The horns in "Tiger" are beautiful and make the song an instant hit.  Upright bassist Rebecca Mercurio sings the song "Honey Do", and her voice is like music to my ears, literally.  It's such a wonderful surprise to hear her rich, smooth voice on this song.  Her voice is perfect for "Honey Do".

The musical arrangements on "Tigerbabies" is fantastic.  There is piano and horns, which sound awesome with Alison Pipitone's rock n roll songs.  And Alison's voice could not sound better!  In my opinion, she has one of the best rock n roll voices ever!  I highly recommend picking up The Alison Pipitone Band's latest release, "Tigerbabies".  You won't be disappointed!
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One of the highlights of the summer of 2006 has been the release of “Tiger Babies”.  What an outstanding effort!  I cannot stop listening to this CD, and even when I’m not, it’s playing in my head.  Totally infectious!  I admit I’m a “late bloomer” when it comes to Alison’s music.  I work with a friend of Alison’s, who asked her to perform at our downtown Buffalo rooftop office party last year, and that was the first time I’d seen her play live.  What a treat it was, especially since she wrote “Sitting on Top of the World” just for the occasion.  The song has changed a bit since I first heard it, but it has evolved to a wonderful, catchy tune.  I honestly can’t pick a favorite song and I would think most of the selections are “hit material”.  I’m spreading the word about this CD and playin’ it loud in my car as I tool around Buffalo.  I’m working my way backwards through Alison’s music catalog, discovering a great singer/songwriter right in our own backyard.

Can't wait to hear Alison perform these songs live!!!

“I think you get me baby … you get me right here!”  YIPPEE!!!
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The Alison Pipitone Band’s new cd “Tigerbabies” makes two facts blatantly clear. One, this band is a gem and Buffalo, NY is lucky to have them. Two, this band should be playing to sold out crowds in huge auditoriums all across the United States, and even the World.
     The cd kicks off with the catchy “sUnShinestAr.” It’s message is universal. Life can stink, but life is also beautiful. So “pull your jaw up off the floor” and keep on living.
     Pipitone’s command of the English language is astonishing. You not only visualize what she’s singing about, but you feel it as well. “Bus stop cold in the middle of the night.” You relate to it. “Way back in school I had a friend. Nobody spoke to me much less to him.”
     In “Good People, Dirty Lives” Pipitone and co-writer John Gangemi champion the working class. “And hand to mouth, well, is getting old, just getting by takes up all my time…Broken/fixed and tattered-torn, raise the flag for the working poor and we all move on.”
     The song “Tiger,” based on a true incident, tells the tale of a tiger who is gunned down for trying to be what he was born to be—FREE. “Tiger didn’t hear the freeway. Tiger didn’t see the flames. And tiger didn’t smell that awful lust for fame. Tiger felt the jungle, tiger felt the jungle rain.” How awful we humans can be to animals.
     “Honey Do,” sung by upright bass player, Rebecca Mercurio, is a joy. Her voice is smooth, rich, and lovely. The fact that she stepped up to the mic and took the lead on this song is a wonderful surprise on this cd.
     The musical arrangements on this album are perfect. The addition of saxophone and piano to songs such as “You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down,” “Tiger,” and “Honey Do” adds volumes and gives the songs a special sound. Patrick Shaughnessy’s drum work is top notch. Graham Howe’s guitar sings. Backup singers Natalie Howes, Sheila Conners and Rob Lynch shine.
     Alison Pipitone has one of those rare, exquisitely beautiful singing voices. It is sweet and haunting. You want her to keep singing forever. You don’t want this cd to end. But, alas, it does end and while you may turn off your cd player, you won’t forget Pipitone’s voice or her songs. These songs will linger in your heart and mind. They will stay with you forever.
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As everyone in Buffalo already knows, Alison Pipitone is a unmined gem nationally. Tigerbabies is a fine CD full of terrific songwriting, inspired playing, and soul to soul communication. You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down and Tiger both do what great songs should: make you think, feel, and see things with a bit more clarity. The real highlight of the CD is Bass player Rebecca's beautiful vocals on Honey Do. The only critique of Tigerbabies is that the production is uneven. The horns on Tiger are silly (this one rocks like a mother in concert,) Howes' guitar blends in too much with Pipitones tone, and the piano on Good Woman Down lacks the bite it could've had. 
These are important yet minor complaints. Tigerbabies is like Alison herself:original, sultry, and authentic.

Well worth picking up.
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