Sue Foley named her paisley Telecaster reissue “Pinky,” and her latest album celebrates the guitar she has played her whole career. Over the years, Foley moved from her native Canada to Austin, and has proven she can play the blues. This is a solid guitar-trio album, with Pinky front and center on every track and able backing from Chris “Whipper” Layton on drums and bassist Jon Penner; producer Mike Flanigin adds Hammond B3 on a couple tracks.

“Hurricane Girl” is a standout. Riding an Elmore James-style riff, Foley sings, “I’m a force of nature/I’m a hurricane girl” – classic Muddy Waters’-style blues bragging, complete with a wailing solo. “Dallas Man” features a scorcher of a riff while paying homage to blues guitarslinger greats from DFW – from Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker to the Vaughan brothers and beyond. Foley also ably covers Frankie Lee Sims’ “Boogie Real Low” and Gatemouth Brown’s early jump-blues bopper “Okie Dokie Stomp,” plus a stellar vocal turn on Angela Strehli’s “Say It’s Not So.”

If you haven’t followed Foley’s career, now’s the time to catch up. Modern blues don’t get much better than this.

This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.