Karen Carroll
has plenty of opportunity to strut her stuff on her debut,
Had My Fun
. Unlike many contemporary blues albums, which are highly polished blasts of blues-rock,
takes its time. Many of the songs are torchy slow blues or down and dirty Chicago blues -- either way, they sound natural, never forced. That's appropriate, since
Carroll
sings like a natural, caressing the ballads and growling the nastier numbers. Best of all, there's actual grit in the production -- four of the songs were recorded live -- and that allows
to achieve her full potential on this impressive debut. ~ Thom Owens