Jessie Galante seems torn between reliving her glory years as an Eighties rocker in the vein of Melissa Etheridge and Sass Jordan, and morphing into a provocative modern-day pop star. The artwork around her right eye on the cover of Spitfire (and Galante's appearance throughout the CD booklet) reveals what could be a Lady Gaga fixation. So it's no surprise that this album, stylistically, is all over the place. Many of the 10 songs are rooted in the Eighties, back when Galante apparently was known as the "first lady of rock" in Buffalo, N.Y., and fronted a band called Actor. She later went on to perform with L.A.-based Fire.
The Sass Jordan comparison is most obvious on Galante's cover of Jordan's high-octane "High Road Easy," and "I Crave It" is an all-out chick rocker. On the other hand, Galante also covers Gladys Knight & the Pips, with "I've Got to Use My Imagination." "Can't Find My Baby," given its Pink toughness, could be played on one those Top 40 radio stations my teenage daughter listens to, and Galante pours her heart into the soulful ballad "Mamma (I Get a Little Crazy)" with a sexy Tina Turner rasp.
Galante may be a woman searching for an identity — and an incredibly sexy woman, at that — but
Spitfire still is a fun, carefree listen packed with emotional performances. Ain't nothing wrong with that.
Track Listing:
1) Spitfire
2) High Road Easy
3) I Crave It
4) Go On Rain On Me
5) Can't Find My Baby
6) I've Got to Use My Imagination
7) Get Away
8) Grown Man Cry
9) No Fool Nore
10) Mamma (I Get A Little Crazy)
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