Diva la Grande

by Stewart Mason Former sex industry worker Candye Kane's third album is her breakthrough, the record where she finally perfected her blend of jump blues, rockabilly, and big-band swing, combined with her brassy, gleefully omnisexual persona and big-as-life voice. Besides the obvious personal anthems like "You Need a Great Big Woman," "Gifted in the Ways of Love," and, of course, "All You Can Eat (And You Can Eat It All Night Long)," Kane does more than credible versions of classics ranging from "I Got a Feelin'" to a Cajun-ized version of Lee Hazlewood's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'." Producer Dave Alvin and Kane's longtime backing band, the Swingin' Armadillos, set Kane's alternately booming and flirty voice in swinging settings that emphasize her vocal strengths while minimizing the occasional flatness that marred Kane's first couple of albums. More importantly, while jump blues in the '90s is by definition a stylized genre, there's nothing overly cute or retro about Diva la Grande. This is a fun, sexy, rocking good time.