Typical of the time and wider, enduring misunderstandings around trans rights, Jackie Shane’s career, though still colourful, was stunted. This live album asks why such a vivacious talent had only one top 10 hit in Canada; it then lets the answer hang in the air for a moment. Shane’s soul-singing is curved and raspy atop its tonal perfection, emphasising an aptitude for performance over perfectly honed craft. She was ‘at home’ in a carnival in Cornwall, Ontario—the brio that enabled her life translated across theatrical communications. She turned down the Ed Sullivan show, quit in the early 70s, and remained consistent until her death in 2019.
25/30
A favourite: ‘Any Other Way’
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