This is hard album to review. There are things about the disc that are simply amazing yet there are other things that seem less than they should be. For starters, McClellan came to the American music consciousness via the NBC singing show The Voice. Because of that she hooked up with super cool producer David Z and put the album being reviewed here together. That said, there is a bit of Hollywood surrounding this girl and, believe me, this girl is too one of a kind and genuine to be comfortable in Hollyweird.

She looks crazy with her colorful tattoos and her shaved head. Yet, she seems so friendly and charming. She knows what she’s doing, as she has been slinging tunes around Florida for a decade and this is her fifth album to be released.

While the music, although mostly her original tunes, seems somewhat contrived, she is still so unique it hurts. She has drawn comparisons to Janis Joplin and Etta James but those are unfair as they are both unique ladies as well. Beverly has her own thang going on and that is why this is such a hard review. I think she might have been better off without the use of the awesome studio and the hip producer. I think her music would come off better, and more original, if she was recording on an eight-track multi-track tape player in her basement and hanging out with Keb Mo, one of her heroes, who does make an appearance on the CD.

If this is a confusing review then I apologize, but Bev is a tough one to categorize. Her voice is amazing and her songwriting is very good. I think she needs to go back and do it the unconventional way – the same way she lives – and then see what happens.

While this is worth checking out, one gets the feeling this is only the tip of the musical iceberg that she can dish out.