JANIS MARTIN

The Blanco Sessions

cowislandmusic.com

Rockabilly pioneer Janis Martin—dubbed “the female Elvis” during her brief ’50s heyday—died in 2007, but not before teaming with producer Rosie Flores, one of the genre’s finest revivalists, for one final session. After Martin’s death, Flores struggled for years to shop the album, and she ultimately financed this release via a Kickstarter campaign. The result is a bittersweet 11-song set—proof that this overlooked Virginia singer still had something to give. She’s great on the sock-hop rockers, keeping pace with the zippy guitars and chattering piano, but it’s the country ballad “Sweet Dreams” that inspires her bluest—and perhaps therefore truest—notes. May they ring out for years.