Working Girl's Guitar

There’s no denying that singer/songwriter/guitarist Rosie Flores has paid her dues and then some. Her resume goes back over 40 years, embracing everything from psychedelic pop to country-punk and Texas-style rockabilly. Working Girl’s Guitar reflects both her eclectic experience and the energy she continues to bring to her music. The title track recounts Flores’ own story as a hard-working axe-slinger, told from the viewpoint of her banged-up Telecaster. The feisty “Little But I’m Loud” and a cover of Janis Martin’s kinetic “Drugstore Rock and Roll” are equally exuberant workouts. Ballads like “Yeah, Yeah” (a wistful number paying homage to the late Duane Jarvis) and “Love Must Have Passed Me By” (a downbeat country tune worthy of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant) show off Flores’ more somber side. The bluesy “If (I Could Be with You)” allows Rosie to smolder vocally and let loose some of the album’s tastiest guitar lines. A jazz-inflected treatment of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” closes the set on an elegant note. From first lick to last, Working Girl’s Guitar feels like a labor of love.