Album Notes

Memphis singer/songwriter/pianist Sandy Carroll's new CD, Just As I Am, received 9 stars of of 10 in a rave review by Blueswax. The Memphis studio musicians, mostly members of her band, the background vocals of Reba Russell and Pie Hill as well as the production by her husband, the legendary Jim Gaines, are praised but "the strength of the CD is the songwriting and vocal talent of Sandy Carroll herself". Sandy is a Beale Street original, one of the headliners during its rebirth in the 1980s and received her note on the famous street in 2011. After five years on the road and then working in San Francisco, she returned to Memphis full-time in the 1990s. This is her first album in several years and is a long-time project of her and Jim Gaines. Sandy has written songs for a who's who in the blues and the title song was written by her, Luther Allison and James Solberg, first appearing on Allison's Reckless album. The songs are an eclectic mix of her roots music influences, ranging from ballads, blues/rock and gospel, to New Orleans second line and country. The performances, production and songwriting are as good as it gets. A first-rate album of memorable songs.