Women in Blue

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EVIE SANDS is a legend in her own time: emotive blue-eyed soul singer, naturally funky guitarist, indelibly compelling performer, close-the-door sultry songwriter, meticulous professional, intuitive and perceptive producer, bountiful band mate, and a musician’s musician. Amongst pop aficionados she is a bona-fide treasure. No less than Dusty Springfield cited her as a favorite singer. She was widely seen on TV,including American Bandstand, Hullabaloo, Shindig, The Tonight Show, Where The Action Is, Hollywood A Go-Go, Everly Brothers, Glen Campbell, and Johnny Cash shows. In the United Kingdom she is revered as a Northern Soul icon (“Billy Sunshine” and “Picture Me Gone”) whose pulsating vinyl records are sought after and cherished.

Rhino's five-disc box set Respect: A Century of Women in Music was surely assembled with the best of intentions, but it doesn't quite work. First of all, any collection that focuses solely on "the female contribution" comes off as a little condescending, no matter how good the intentions are. Still, the concept has enough weight to make for at least an interesting listen. However, any compilation that spans nearly 100 years and every conceivable popular musical genre is bound not only to be incomplete, but too sweeping to be totally effective. The scope is impressive, as are the featured artists – think of any major female musician and they're likely to be here, unless it's Joni Mitchell (Kim Gordon and Kim Deal are also missing, as are several other similarly minded post-punk rockers and various pop and folk singer/songwriters, but no omission is as shocking as Mitchell's) – but the overall effect is somewhat bewildering.

Featuring ninety of the most remarkable female artists, all-girl bands and female-fronted groups to have recorded in the UK during the decade spanning 1977-1987, irrespective of genre and commercial success, “Make More Noise” proudly explores the breakthrough of countless pioneering women of the era. Of course, hugely successful female pop stars were nothing new in 1977, but this isn’t their story. This is the story of the everyday artist. The jobbing, gigging, working musician. The independent spirt.