Dana Fuchs is one of my favorite singers. But to just credit her raw, emotional voice would seriously sell the songwriting courtesy of her and her musical partner Jon Diamond short. And while that combination was promising from the beginning, ‘Bliss Avenue’ was the first Dana Fuchs album on which everything just came together. It is probably the most bluesy album she ever released, but ‘Bliss Avenue’ is more than just a blues album. It is a collection of fantastic songs in the broader American roots style without expressly leaning towards one of the genres that fall under that moniker.

In the last decade and a half or so, Fuchs has had the tendency to have some sort of thematic approach to her albums. ‘Love Lives On’, the excellent 2018 follow-up to ‘Bliss Avenue’, is clearly intended to be a soul album and her upcoming album ‘Borrowed Time’, to be released next month, is said to be a southern rock album. ‘Bliss Avenue’ feels like a deliberate attempt to bring out a different side to Fuchs’ voice than was displayed on the quite rocky ‘Love To Beg’ by adding some distinctly rootsy elements to the mix. The versatility of the music certainly allows Fuchs to shine here.

What makes ‘Bliss Avenue’ so good is the amount of variation on display. Musicians going rootsy often means they’ll either add more country or more gospel to the mix. Fuchs and her band do just that, but they are more like spices added to an already tasty mix of rock, soul and blues. The title track that opens the album is undoubtedly the most traditional blues track on here, but when it is followed up by the Rolling Stones-inspired rock grooves of the fantastic ‘How Did Things Get This Way’, you simply know that you are in for a treat.

Despite not being a big fan of country music, my favorite track on the album is ‘Rodents In The Attic’, which presents a chicken-picking guitar pattern typical of the genre by Diamond, but it’s combined with a driving force in the rhythm section more reminiscent of rock music and a spine-chilling vocal performance by Fuchs. ‘Keep On Walkin” and ‘Livin’ On Sunday’ emphasize her soulful side, while ‘Handful Too Many’ has is built on a cool low-key guitar riff and some sneakily shuffling swing rhythms. The ballads tend to be the most rootsy tracks on here, with the excellent ‘Vagabond Wind’ especially finding the middle between country and southern rock effectively.

Although Dana Fuchs has the kind of voice that could sing over the busy tone of a phone and still be compelling, the albums on which the songwriting is well above average are her albums I tend to revisit most. ‘Bliss Avenue’ made an immense leap in songwriting quality that to me proved beyond any doubt that Fuchs is more than just a good voice and a production team. This upward trajectory was continued on ‘Love Lives On’, which I might enjoy even more, and I am very hopeful about ‘Borrowed Time’. Until then, ‘Bliss Avenue’ is well worth your time if you like American music.

Recommended tracks: ‘Rodents In The Attic’, ‘How Did Things Get This Way’, ‘Vagabond Wind’