Balling it up.

The title says it all; Peace, Love, & BBQ. Marcia Ball's tenth studio album is all about priorities.  She addresses some of the troubles in her native region of East Texas and Louisiana, but makes sure that the table is set and there's plenty to eat.  One of the top blues and boogie piano players and vocalists over the last twenty years, Ball's first album of new material in five years never mentions the dreaded "K" word. She's moving on and thinking about dinner.

Not that there aren't some great songs about hurricanes and their aftermath. "Where Do We Go?" reunites her with Tracy Nelson in a powerful tale of misplacement and "Ride it Out" adds a Wizard of Oz element to this song of defiance. But it's the rest of the album that stocks up on the good times for the road to recovery. "Party Town" is a New Orleans anthem on par with "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Bon Ton Roulet"  A couple of Cajun tunes, "Married Life" and "Watermelon Time" celebrate the joy of simple pleasures. A Duet with Dr. John on "I'll Never Be Free" revives this big band standard with wailing horns and melancholy piano. The rocker, "Right Back In It" bursts with boogie woogie piano and Chuck Berry style guitar in a story about wayward souls who never quite learn their lesson.

Atypical of the rest of the album is a song about a gospel tent revival called "Miracle in Knoxville." Ball sings about a young preacher who is confronted with temptation and finds a unique way out of it. As she bounces effortlessly from one genre to another she keeps up the high standard that her last seven albums have set. Don’t forget the slaw. 

Listen for songs from the Marcia Ball's album Peace, Love,& BBQ all this week on Paul Shugrue’s new music show “Out of the Box” on Hampton Roads public radio 89.5 WHRV Monday through Thursday from 7pm until 9pm, Saturday afternoon from 1pm to 5pm and on-demand at www.whrv.org/outofthebox.