There I go making assumptions. You hear an album and you just assume that it is the work of another New Yorker on a retro kick. Only this time, whilst there is a New York element present here, the singer and the band are, in fact, Swedish. Given that the album carries only her name, it is safe to assume that Jasmine Kara is the actual point of this exercise in making new musical friends.
On her album, she runs the gamut of styles through Motown, Stax, funk and the blues whilst taking her shot at a collection of standards. The interesting thing is that these covers run pretty damn close to the better known versions with little to suggest that this more than just another respectful set of reflections of what has already been done. Apart from one thing that is - or two if you count the just this side of demented keyboards contributed by Petter Bergander - and that one thing is Jasmine Kara herself. She has the mark of a proper singer and she, in simple terms. owns these songs. Whether bouncing along ska style to "Try My Love" or going all Motown on "Ain't No More Room", she provides all that you could hope for and more. She captures the feel of these songs and brings them life through the nothing more than joy. Now that might be something to do with how quickly the album was recorded - in two days it would seem - and it might equally be done to Jasmine Kara's obvious love for what she is doing but, no matter what, you just can't argue with the enjoyment factor of this album.
So, whilst the opportunity for originality will no doubt have to wait for her next album, you can currently revel in what can only be described as nascent talent.
Naturally available on vinyl, "Blues Ain't Nothing But a Good Woman Gone Bad" is a very respectable album indeed. The pressing quality was fine and the sound quality passed muster too.