Mahalia Barnes & The Soul Mates To Release Betty Davis Covers Album

Acclaimed songstress Mahalia Barnes and her talented band The Soul Mates are joining forces with US-based blues-rock luminary Joe Bonamassa to release Ooh Yea! — The Betty Davis Songbook, a 12-track covers album paying tribute to the legendary stage performer.

With a release scheduled for 24 Feb, 2015, the album is produced by lauded desk-man Kevin Shirley and reimagines an array of Davis tracks from the early '70s, a period during which the renowned chanteuse's works were still edgy and sultry and raw in the kind of fashion that only comes with yet-unpolished talent. You can hear an example of how the collab has worked out with Steppin' In Her I. Miller Shoes, which originally appeared on Davis' 1973 self-titled debut full-length. Other highlights include favourites such as If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up, He Was A Big Freak, Game Is My Middle Name and Walking Up The Road, featuring a guest spot from Jimmy Barnes.

"I have been a fan of Betty Davis for years now," Barnes said of the new album in a statement. "I can remember the first time I heard her stuff, I was hooked! She is wild, free, nasty, raw, funky, intense, powerful and sexy. I love the instrumentation, I love the backing vocals. I've always wanted to make a record that sounds like what she was doing."

Joined by Soul Mates players Franco Raggatt (guitar), Clayton Doley (organ, piano), Lachlan Doley (clav, rhodes), Ben Rodgers (bass), David Hibbard (drums), Yanya Boston (congas) and backing vocalists Darren Percival, Jade MacRae and Juanita Tippins, Barnes and Bonamassa created Ooh Yea! — The Betty Davis Songbook in all of three days, recorded live at Sydney's Freight Train Studios.

"Making this album was a real joy," Barnes said. "I love the realness. Recording it the way we did kept it really exciting and raw — no tricks or fix-ups, old-school and real. A perfect take is one that means something and feels great."

Find out more about the release at Mahalia Barnes' Facebook page, or spend a little time getting to know and love her with this sublime performance of Never Loved A Man, below.