Ironically, guitarist, singer and songwriter Sue Foley, who rose out of the Austin, Texas, blues rock scene of the early '90s, sounds more at home with the blues now that she has returned to her native Canada. The title cut on
Love Coming Down still rocks but Foley's guitar solo goes for guts rather than show. And her distinctive voice sounds as lonesome as an abandoned baby doll throughout the set, recalling another Texas singer
Lou Ann Barton. For the mesmerizing "Two Trains" Foley's licks are as svelte as a streamliner, while
Willie Dixon's sexually-charged "Same Thing" becomes a showcase for her singing. Folk and blues rocker
Colin Linden produced the set and his presence behind the console and on dobro on "Empty Cup" (which features Lucinda Williams singing harmony) and "Let My Tears Fall Down" take Foley back to the times when rural music encompassed the best of both folk and blues. It's this emphasis on acoustic music that makes this Foley's best set to date: She isn't trying to scream over a rock band, and her guitar playing doesn't bear the weight of
Stevie Ray Vaughan's legacy.
Love Coming Down is Foley coming through an honored Canadian tradition that manifested itself in the folk blues strains of Ian and Sylvia in the '60s.
