Album Notes

Led by powerhouse vocals from singer-songwriter Sue, the Sue Menhart Band fuses traditional southern rock and old-time blues with new millennium pop to create a unique live sound.

Sue’s songwriting style hints of Lucinda Williams – dark, simple and true, but yet her live show has the passion and energy of Bruce Springsteen as she hurls around her Sunburst Fender Strat. It’s a unique combination that throws people off a bit, until they find themselves screaming right along with her.

Comfortable in a concert hall like Toad’s Place, New Haven or in a quiet acoustic corner at a local Borders, Sue has been entertaining crowds all over New England, in all kinds of bands, for years.

In late 2007, Sue’s dissatisfaction with her day job as a computer analyst in the corporate world, coupled with the breakup of yet another cover band, prompted her to sit down and simply, write. She recruited some musicians from work and her neighborhood to play on the album, they practiced in her basement, and recorded the songs in a barn attached to an old New England farmhouse in Griswold, CT.

The debut album “Torn,” expresses everyday emotions about decisions people make at crossroads in their lives. The album has received airplay on WCNI New London at Connecticut College, WPLR in New Haven and WATD in Weymouth, MA.

Sue’s voice reminds listeners of Susan Tedeschi and Bonnie Raitt, but yet according to IndieMusic.com, is “a totally original and distinctive voice.”

Other reviews:
Blog Entry from WCNI New London Connecticut College Radio, DJ Dot – https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4983268322094933898&postID=4545699228814190050
“Hi I am the Gramma in the GrammaphoneRadio Show. WCNI 90.9 FM. I am so excited for Sue and the band as they step out and do their own promotion of their Kickin' new CD "TORN." It is powerful. It touches every emotion that a woman can feel with the songs about relationships. "Just another Man", and "Dark Haired Man" ring tried and true as you listen to Sue reveal her soul in these songs. It gets right down to the center of who Sue is in Child of the Blues. That song is my fav on this cd. If you haven't taken time to listen to The Sue Menhart Band then today would be a good day to do so.”

Torn CD Review – Blogger in the UK - http://further-on-up-the-road.blogspot.com/2008/06/sue-menhart-band-torn.html
"...the standout track overall for me is the title track Torn. Sue’s voice on this one is stunning, dripping with emotion and pulling the listener into a story that many of us in the modern world can relate to..."

Norwich Bulletin - http://www.norwichbulletin.com/entertainment/x1743981351/Sue-Menhart-Band-offers-elixir-to-work-week
“The formula for the Sue Menhart Band is a mix of folkish singer/songwriter lyrics paired with a rock sound. Think Jackson Browne meets Journey, or Bob Dylan meets Boston.”

Hartford Courant - http://blogs.courant.com/eric_danton_sound_check/2008/06/sue-menhart-band-goes-digital.html
“Those tunes comprise "Torn," her debut, a collection of big-throated blues-rock songs with shades of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.”

Gothic Rangers -
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=391917577&blogID=435097307
"They're a 5-piece outfit from Connecticut, and their new CD is titled Torn. Something suspenseful, romantic, and siren-calling about that golden-hued bay in the photo background on their page. And speaking of sirens, listen to Sue's voice. It's right on the real surface of things in several of these songs. Songs propelled by a tight-rockin' band. Experience, passion, and that certain indefinable female gist (ineffable for a male) blend on a Southern rhythm-and-blues scorcher like 'Somebody Better Than Me.'

But there's other stuff below the everyday surface. 'Corporate City.' Wow...I mean...just...wow! Sue's voice takes on a sultrier, more serious color. A kind of rich, dark gray. Appropriate for assessing the contours of a modern Metropolis -- one whose demoniac personality is less obvious but just as crushing as Fritz Lang's environment of robot-women, flying cars, and numbing cogs. Then the vocal gray, through emotional alchemy, is transformed into pure silver during the chorus. Mezzo leaps to soprano. High notes reach to the providence of clouds that oversee this hard city of contracts and soulless growth. A song is perfect when the words and music complement one another like they do on this one."