Patti Sciafa is the red-headed singer who has assisted Bruce Springsteen in the E-Street Band since 1984. Before that, she worked as a backing singer for Southside Johnny & The Ashbury Jukes and The Rolling Stones. As a solo artist she released the virtually unnoticed album Rumble Doll in 1993. More than eleven years later, the successor 23rd Street Lullaby appears. The rock songs of Scialfa
… are less muscular than those of Springsteen, but still a lot stronger than the roots rock of kindred spirits like Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt. Scialfa has a recognizable voice, which unfortunately gets a bit whiny with the less catchy songs. Lyrically she often refers to the uncertain but exciting period before her fame, when she was a novice musician in the artistic circle of New York. Among the names of the musicians we find many of her old friends like T-Bone Burnett, Marc Ribot, Nils Lofgren, Willie Weeks and of course husband Bruce Springsteen. 23rd Street Lullaby is a solid record by a singer / songwriter who deserves to step out of the shadow of her famous husband. (MS)more
