PATRIOT LEDGER, Jay Miller
"Dylan Tops Our List of Year's Best CDs" (December 21, 2001)
"The Norwell resident has long tread a stylistic path between folk and blues, forging her own unique blend. But here she does 16 acoustic blues numbers in a bare bones solo setting, recorded in JP Jones' home studio in Rhode Island. Sampou's guitar work is breathtaking-her six-string mentor Paul Rishell must be proud. Most notably her vocal work is thrilling, adding layers of emotional depth to this eclectic mix of four Sampou originals, old classics by the likes of Mississippi Fred McDowell and Blind Willie McTell and some surprises, like Bob Dylan's Meet Me in the Morning. An understated triumph."

TELEGRAM & GAZETTE, Scott McLennan
" ...stunning combination of voice guitar and material! Sampou aims for the listener's gut with every note on Borrowed & Blue."

WATD, Joan Orr
"Natural and good and solid and real!"

WORCESTER MAGAZINE, Charlene Arsenault
"A creamy rich collection of country blues... magnificently bluesy voice and artful slide and pickwork..."

PATRIOT LEDGER, Steve Ide
"The reason that this 16-song CD has gotten heavy airplay on folk radio is obvious--Sampou's honest, guttural, passionate inflections, captivating slide guitar and haunting melodies cut to the roots of the music."

THE RECORD, Don Wilcock (Author of Buddy Guy's biography)
"Borrowed & Blue, released this year on her own label, was recorded in J. P. Jones' spare bedroom in Rhode Island where she drove back and forth from Boston for six days straight. It's got it. You can hear it on the first notes. This is finger bleeding raw picking with guts, and a voice that sounds a lot like Rory Block. There's one interesting difference, however. Rory can't write blues songs that sound like the traditional songs she covers. Les Sampou can."

BOSTON HERALD, Daniel Gewertz
"Sampou's Gritty Classics Prove Less Is More" (January 18, 2002)
"Fans of local songwriter Les Sampou have long known that the girl can sing the blues. But her new CD, Borrowed & Blue, will still hit like a revelation.

It's Sampou's fourth album, but her first devoted to classic country blues and her own blues-inflected originals, and it's an intense, utterly persuasive CD. It's also Sampou's first unadorned album, made with just her guitar and vocals. And it was made the old-fashioned way: with no edits or overdubs, recorded in a mere six days in the home of Newport, R.I., musician/engineer JP Jones.

"My fans have been asking me to do a blues album for years, and I felt I had finally reached a place, technically, where I'm comfortable doing an album recorded live and bare. I used to cringe when I heard myself solo, without support from others," said Sampou, who'll be at Newton's Namaste Cafe on Jan. 25.

Sampou's lived-in songs flow right along with the works of John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Blind Blake and Tommy Johnson. There's a beautifully mournful version of You Are My Sunshine, and a sinewy take on Bob Dylan's Meet Me in the Morning. Her own Chinatown is a gem of revivified blues language. The guitar work is up to snuff, and the vocals are knowledgeable of the tradition, yet still personal.

"I don't want to sound like an old guy from Mississippi," she said. "I'm this white chick from the North in the year 2002, so it's gonna sound different. But I sing from the heart, I give 110 percent, and the passion is what I have in common with the old blues singers."

In the CD's liner notes, Sampou calls her soul "little and white." It sure doesn't sound little here. "I'm not going to compare the troubles I've gone through with the child of a slave who grew up penniless, living in a shack," she said. "But I also don't want to discount the emotional suffering that anyone, even a white, middle-class girl from Connecticut, can go through. I've had a relationship with depression, but nothing I couldn't deal with. I've never gone on drugs for it."

Music has been her drug, ever since she began playing on Boston streets and subway stations in the '80s. At one time she'd sing 50 to 60 cover songs a night at Plymouth and Quincy bars.

After two albums on the Rounder label, this one is self-released. "It took me a long time to realize what a folk career means. It's not about fame or fortune, but you can make a nice little living. Now, for me, my career is about writing, and my audience. Radio airplay and prestigious gigs come and go. The sustaining part is the concerts, and connecting to your audience. Selling records off the stage and doing it on your own can be the most lucrative way to go."

SING OUT!, MR
"In a completely solo album of acoustic blues, some of her own alongside familiar classics, Les Sampou reveals herself to be a formidable interpreter of the genre, reminiscent of a young Bonnie Raitt or Rory Block. Her guitar playing is authoritative and she sings with a voice that understands the nuances and poetry of the blues. Depending on the song, she sounds tough, sweet, sexy or sly."

FOLK FURY, Dan Alloway, KTEP El Paso, TX
"Les Sampou's new CD, Borrowed & Blue, simply floored me. It was like Les came right through the speakers and hit me with a roundhouse right hand. She sings with conviction and accompanies herself deftly on the guitar. Check out the wicked slide parts. The songs convey the message that in this world of everyday toil & trouble, music is the key to ease a worried mind. This CD will be spinning on FOLK FURY for sometime to come."

BOSTON GLOBE, Scott Alarick
"Borrowed & Blue is the CD Les Sampou's fans always hoped she'd make. Armed only with her guitar, searing mezzo, and a Monday-morning-size case of the blues, she delivers a solo set of folk blues. She takes classics by Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt, and Bob Dylan, reinventing and reinvigorating them until they fit her style like a tight pair of jeans; and her own tunes crackle with modern sensibility."

LIVE365, Midnight Rider
"Now, here is some acoustic blues that I can really sink into. Les Sampou has put together these 16 songs, and every one is a pleasure to hear. One of my favorites is a song called "Lorraine", the first track, a catchy and memorable tune. From there, the album goes from one good song to another."

KEOS, John Roths, KEOS Music Director, College Station, TX
"WOW! This is gutsy blues with great slide guitar. She mixes her own songs with those of classic bluesmen, and even one from Dylan, and delivers them with a catchy alto voice."

PATRIOT LEDGER, Jay Miller
"The emotional intensity of her best work (Borrowed & Blue) shines through, and her rich vocals were never warmer or more expressive."

FOLKS IN NELSON CONCERTS, David Pyles
"An aggressive performer, an insightful songwriter, and a downright mean guitar player...I was once sitting in the audience with Chris Smither at the Kerrville Folk Festival when Les was there performing in the songwriter contest (which Les won). Chris looked at me and said 'Damn, where did she learn to play that guitar?' If you know Chris Smither's music, you know that's high praise. He's one of the best. Even though she was born in Connecticut and lives in Massachusetts, she seems to channel a mountain woman from west Tennessee when she sings the blues."

AMERICANA BACKROADS, Rik James, KGLT-FM, Bozeman, MT
"I just love it! Beautiful vocals, great playing. Spectacular material. What more could anyone ask for? I will talk it up, but mostly will play it -- loud, and often."

TAUNTON DAILY GAZETTE, Charles Winokoor
"Sampou knows how to express loss, longing and good times remembered. She tackles (the) blues like a full-blown rushing hurricane, her slide guitar and voice pushing against each other... Sounds like some of what Jimmy Page had going on... Sampou manages to distill that essence of blues power with just her voice and guitar."

FOLK & ACOUSTIC MUSIC EXCHANGE, Roberta B. Schwartz
"Les Sampou is not only Boston's best known girl with guitar, she is also one of the area's most versatile blues artists. Early in her musical career she hooked up with legendary bluesman Paul Rishell, and developed the chops she wows audiences with today. Among her idols are Bonnie Raitt, with whom she shares a powerful slide guitar style. For years Sampou's fans have clamored for an all blues album. Borrowed & Blue, Sampou's self-produced effort on her own MoNando Music label, is a labor of love - a gift to her fans who cannot get enough of her bluesy voice and slide guitar.

"Borrowed & Blue gives us nothing but Les Sampou and her guitar. Recorded live in an upstairs bedroom at engineer J.P. Jones's home, it is a remarkable achievement for the way it captures Sampou's sound, and for its honesty, directness and simplicity. All of the emotions contained within the songs are laid bare.

"The recording opens with a recent Sampou original called Lorraine. Sampou likes to tell of the circumstances that led to the writing of this song. She received a grant to stay at one of the famous dune shacks out in Provincetown, Massachusetts. It did nothing but rain during her stay there, and she had a bad case of writer's block to boot. But the rhythm of the rain and the beauty of the landscape at the tip of Cape Cod brought forth one of her best tunes. Here's a bit of rain, a bit of the blues, and a snippet of the song's lyrics:

It rained on my birthday
be raining when they put me in the ground
started raining on Monday, be raining when Sunday comes around
the sun don't impress me, the clouds are just the same
I'm at my best when it's pouring rain.

"The recording contains classic blues as well as Les Sampou originals. Among the classics are Tommy Johnson's Big Road Blues, which states, "I ain't goin' down there...been a long, lonesome road...be all by myself...if I can't carry you sugar, I'm goin' to get me someone else." There's something wonderful about having Sampou stand this tune on its head by singing it from an assertive woman's point of view. Other covers include Bob Dylan's Meet Me in the Morning, which Sampou makes completely her own with her signature vocals. But my favorite cut is Sampou's cover of Blind Willie McTell's tale of moving down the road, Statesboro Blues. The powerful vocals, nimble guitar playing and gutsy delivery are all here. It's pure Les.

"And it wouldn't be a blues album without Sampou's original composition, Chinatown, which opens with the best slide guitar chords this side of heaven.

"Even You are my Sunshine receives its proper downbeat, bluesy delivery. This is not the happy ditty that we remember from childhood. Just listen to the lyrics....

"One of the best musical treats in any genre is hearing Les Sampou sing and accompany herself on slide guitar. Even better is being a member of the audience when she belts out the blues. Borrowed & Blue gives us all of this and more. It is remarkable in that the recording reaches out to a wider audience, introducing the blues in a way that is fresh and new, yet remaining respectful of its traditional forms. Les Sampou, the blues, and slide guitar. It just doesn't get any better. Borrowed & Blue Is a stellar recording; a classic."

INNER VIEWS, Kenneth J. Souza
Les Is More
"I've always maintained the sign of a good musician is someone who can appreciate other musical styles and filter that work through their own life experience, resulting in a healthy homage - not this rampant trend of remakes and rip-offs which has become the norm in American pop music. And the basic building block of most contemporary music remains the blues ... a sadly under appreciated and forgotten genre.

"Thankfully we have artists like the Boston-based Les Sampou to remind us of this fact and help us get back to the basics. A longtime area concert favorite, Sampou has released her fourth CD, Borrowed & Blue, a raw, stripped-down, live-to-two-track session recorded at the home of friend and fellow musician J.P. Jones in Newport, RI. This genuine and refreshing recording benefits solely from the seasoned singer's heartfelt vocals and searing steel-string slide acoustic guitar chops. No band, no edits, no sampling, no overdubbing, no nonsense.

"The compelling CD features sixteen country-blues songs, both inspired originals and classics like Big Road Blues by Tommy Johnson, Kokomo Blues by Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Statesboro Blues by Blind Willie McTell. "I call it Borrowed & Blue because I borrow most of the songs from other artists and even a few from my own past albums," Ms. Sampou said. "'Blue' is self-explanatory. There is however a double entendre: I got married recently, and everybody knows the old saying: 'something old, something new, something borrowed something blue'... well, I couldn't resist."

"Among the standout original tracks on Blue are Lorraine, the rousing disc-opener, the local-flavored Chinatown, and the upbeat love song Sweet Perfume. My favorite track, however, remains Les' sad-but-touching take on You Are My Sunshine, a sing-songy ditty that kids usually latch onto and refuse to let go. Ms. Sampou's more somber and reverent version of this old Jimmie Davis/Charles Mitchell standard echoes her approach to all of the session's blues numbers: keep it simple and real.

"That seems to be Ms. Sampou's mantra. A self-taught musician, she listened to records that ranged from Sarah Vaughn to the Talking Heads in order to learn how to sing and play. As a result of this varied repertoire of "teachers", Ms. Sampou's music is somewhat eclectic and hard to categorize. She is a musical chameleon, singing like the "old timers" when she presents her classic country blues renditions, and then switching her elastic vocals to include dramatic nuances in her rock originals, twang in her country sing-alongs and velvet in her folk ballads. The thread is the conviction she displays in her passionate delivery.

"It's interesting to note that Ms. Sampou has returned to her roots for her latest recording. She first got her start in Boston's Haymarket subway stop in 1985 where she went down into the tunnels to perform her small repertoire amid the shrieks of subway trains and the din of pedestrians, repeating her songs over again between stops, while people asked for directions and borrowed token money. It was there in the tunnels that Sampou met Ellie Mae Higgins and together they started a duo called Double Edge.

"Higgins and Sampou traded off guitar leads and rhythms, and lead and harmony vocals on classic songs like Irene by Leadbelly, and various R&B and Motown tunes by the likes of Percy Sledge, James Brown, Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett, along with a wide variety of country blues covers by musicians including Memphis Minnie, Robert Johnson, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and many more. Some of Ms. Sampou's early influences also include Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and Lowell George of Little Feat.

"It wasn't until 1989 that she began writing and performing all of her own material and within a year Les Sampou was touring across the country, in Canada, and then off to Europe. Despite her early yearnings to be in a rock 'n' roll band, it was Ms. Sampou's solo act that caught on. By her second CD, Fall from Grace, Ms. Sampou was drawing widespread acclaim in the singer-songwriter market from Boston to California.

"Since 1993, Ms. Sampou has released four albums - two on her own label, MoNando Music, and two with the well-known Cambridge-based Rounder Records. Her 1993 Sweet Perfume grabbed the attention of DJs and press people in the Boston area who gave her unanimous praise and support culminating in the Best New Artist award from WUMB. Rounder Records signed Sampou shortly after that, and her second album, Fall from Grace was released in 1996. Her third album, also on Rounder, was released in 1999 under the self-titled Les Sampou, and it represented a sweeping change stylistically for her, producing a modern rock arrangement that garnered high praise.

"Now comes Borrowed & Blue, an addictive collection perfectly suited for a lazy Sunday afternoon with a brimming hot cup of coffee. Ms. Sampou will celebrate the release of her latest CD with a concert at The Hardware Cafe/Sippican Hardware Store in Marion on Saturday, November 10 at 8:30 pm. Admission is $15 at the door. For more information on the concert, please call 508-748-6700, or for information on Les Sampou or to purchase Borrowed & Blue, be sure to visit www.LesSampou.com."

"The bitter end of a relationship made Sampou write some very personal lyrics. As a consequence she searched for an equivalent sound in her music. Raw emotions sometimes need powerful backing, and neither the electric guitar nor the Hammond organ are strangers on this release. Sampou has strayed away from what used to be her music, adding alternative sounds now. Some arrangements could come from a top notch chart song.

"Melissa Etheridge is named quite often as a comparison; this is not wrong, but doesn't do justice to the Sampou's music. Etheridge goes for sheer power because she's got not much else to deliver. Sampou's music though is of a different fabric, even if the texture may seem similar at first glance."
Read more ...

MUSIC MATTERS REVIEW, Roberta B. Schwartz
"Les Sampou rocks. And she rocks in a big way on her new self-titled CD "Les Sampou". To say that it's her breakthrough recording is simply not praise enough. Les Sampou's music defies categorization. She has covered everything from pop, to the blues, to rock, to traditional singer/songwriter fare... "Les Sampou" is her crowning achievement...While it has its lighter moments, there is a lot of darkness here. It clearly comes out of a great deal of pain, healing and self-discovery. But out of great pain often comes great art, if not great wisdom....Whether your preferred mode of listening is rock, pop, or folk, it's just great music. And no one spins a tale like Sampou. Take a listen. She rocks with the best of them."
Read more...

THE BOSTON GLOBE, David Wildman
"When it comes to fiery singer/songwriters with dramatic melodies and clever turns of phrases, Les Sampou can certainly compete with the best of them."

METRONOME MAGAZINE, Karl Baldrate
"Razor sharp songwriting skills and impassioned performances."

DAY & NIGHT MAGAZINE, Joe Burns
"Self-titled albums often indicate a debut recording, and though "Les Sampou" follows "Sweet Perfume" and "Fall from Grace," it is in many ways a debut for Sampou, an Olympian leap that leaves the past in a pile labeled "before"..."

THE BOSTON HERALD, Daniel Gewertz
"A new Les Sampou is evident on her third album. Her blues have toughened into a smoldering rock...the vocals glow and quaver, making Sampou resemble a rock diva more than a folk-pop songwriter...lacerating songs that look hard and straight at fear and weakness."

WBUR-BOSTON, Scott Alarick
"Les Sampou represents the next generation ... taking the musical architecture and earthy imagery of the blues as tools with which to write her own very modern, very individual and very forceful music ... rock fired, lyrically fierce, ... drawn to the swaggering sexuality of the blues as she is to its strutting self reliance... expressions of defiance, pride and above all, resilience..."

DIGITALCITY BOSTON, John Black
"Les Sampou" is a remarkable CD full of the kind of songs you play over and over again. Listening to songs like "I Want You" -- and believe me I've listened to it enough to wear a groove in my CD -- you can only wonder why Sampou isn't in regular rotation on radio stations across the country. Sampou's mature voice and intelligent heartfelt lyrics make the current flavors of the month on the radio sound like the lightweights they are."

SONGWRITER'S MONTHLY, New York City
"This album just can't seem to stay out of the CD player. It's one of those that you just can't get enough of. Sampou is one of the best lyricists to be found in this era of the singer/songwriter. She has a mastery that many accomplished writers can only marvel at and possibly secretly envy. Les really understands that it's not about using big words and alienating her audience, she speaks eloquently in a simple, conversational tone that is brilliantly constructed. Her voice reaches a new level of enchantment with its husky soulfulness this time around as well. Simply put, this is the best work of her career and a must have album...."

CITY PAGES, Wisconsin
"Be prepared to love Sampou's angst."

TOTALLY ADULT, John Schoenberger
"At a time when female artists are clearly at their apex, there remains room for another who's got the right talent and message. Les Sampou is certainly at the front of the line for increased awareness and popularity....Exquisite multi-level-meaning lyrics, excellent guitarist and an emotional vocalist. With "Les Sampou, " these three qualities stand proudly in the light. "

CDNOW, Drew Wheeler
"This ambitious, expansive effort from Les Sampou shows how the Boston blues-folkie has graduated into the creation of more complex tunes, with a broader-based appeal.

"Her song craft is evident from the mounting, stirring harmonies of the glistening tune "Hanging By a Thread"; the yearning, multitracked vocals and pure-pop guitars of "I Want You"; and the dramatic, declarative strains of her admirable folk-rocker "Same Fine Line."

"Wiry guitars attend the bluesy stomp of "Sitting on Jupiter," which carries a barely perceptible strain of Brecht/Weill-styled drama, and her blues background comes to the foreground on "Afraid of the Dark," with her Bonnie Raitt-like delivery.

"But "Baby" finds Sampou accompanied solely by piano in an emotional, torchy duet. To some ears, this potent pairing may offer one prediction of her vast, creative future."

ALL-MUSIC GUIDE, Cub Koda
"Sampou takes a left turn from her usual folk-blues sound to embrace a bit more of modern rock arrangements and guitar sounds to cushion the brutal reality of her often pointed lyrics. It all works magnificently, with songs "Broken Pieces," "Hanging by a Thread" and "I Want You" all resonate with music and production every bit as fine as the songwriting they frame. Plenty of raw emotion and great sounds."

APPEL FARM MUSIC FESTIVAL, Sean Timmons, Producer
"I was knocked out by the CD ("Les Sampou"). Every so often an album comes along in a particular genre that ups the ante for everyone else. This is a powerful artistic statement with commercial potential....These days it's rare to find an album that holds my attention from beginning to end. Albums have their high points and low points. On the CD player it's easy to skip the bits that don't excite. (Les's) album is a complete work that sustains throughout. It is a powerful achievement... and it stands out among the best things I've heard in a long while."

CATIE CURTIS
"Gorgeous...top-notch....attitude and powerful voice..."

BUG MUSIC PUBLISHING, David Hirshland
"A stunning CD! A breakthrough album...."

""Alibis" is a butt-kicking ain't taking no excuses rocker in which she belts out in the chorus, 'Don't tell me people can't change.' That's pure, in your face, good attitude! On another level is "Flesh and Blood", a power ballad about a schoolgirl and her blood sister whom she abandons when she finds out she is gay. She learns one of the hard truths about herself, 'They say that water is not as thick as blood/ But I know fear can betray love.'

"Sampou's powerful delivery of "String of Pearls", is perfect, for the story of a strong-willed daughter who rejects her mother and the string of pearls that she wants her to have. Their significance is in the fact that, 'They've seen birth, they've seen death/ They've seen sons off to war/ An endless chain of joy and pain.' The sound of this strong voice singing the daughter's part when she is reunited with her mother is all the more poignant as we sense the strength it takes to say yes and accept a precious gift.

"This is remarkable music from a woman who can sing the blues and write the grays!"

SILVER PLATTERS, Steve Witt, Seattle
Review of Fall from Grace
"When I first started listening to this disc, Michelle Shocked's "Short, Sharp, Shocked" immediately came to mind. I know, it's not polite to compare. But this was a pleasing comparison, as I'm quite fond of the great folk/blues/country mix of "Short, Sharp, Shocked". Sadly, Michelle does not do much of that sound anymore. But Les does, and I think that is just fine.

"If the notion of folk music triggers your Snagglepuss gland ('Exit.... Stage Left') at the agonizing thought of one more sensitive folk singer, listen up right now! Les Sampou has the deep, resonant voice of a blues singer, and that same tough approach to her songwriting and guitar playing that a blues player would have. You may trust me about this. Your stereotypical image of a warbling folk singer doesn't fit here. This is muscle and blood; this is folk with fangs (mammalian, not reptilian), which is not to say that we're talking about the Snow Queen, but we're not talking about Snow White either.

"As this title isn't likely to get a lot of attention in the mainstream press, I would like you to run out and buy it right now lest you forget about it. You may never hear of it again, and your life and your CD collection could both wind up less than fulfilled. It ("Fall from Grace") and she (Les Sampou) are the real enchiladas with a pitcher of DoubleHook. Bon appetit."

SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
"This Boston-bred singer-songwriter brings a blues-tinged Bonnie Raitt/Rory Block resilience to her original story-songs. Recorded with a full compliment of guitars, bass, drums, organ and piano, plus Jerry Portnoy blowing harmonica, Sampou's second album stands out in the rapidly growing catalog of modern folk. Her singing is straightforward and emotionally generous and her lyrics finely crafted into tales you want to hear again."

THE BOSTON GLOBE, CD PICK, Craig Harris
"A heartfelt blend of acoustic blues and folk music and a highly literate lyricism are combined by singer-songwriter-guitarist Les Sampou. With her second album, "Fall from Grace", the Cape Cod native takes another step forward. While Sampou's songs remain true to her musical roots, her affinity for verbalizing deep emotions continues to evolve... Sampou projects her darkest soul with conviction and believability."

VICTORIA (CANADA) TIMES-COLONIST
"Les Sampou has an earthy, soul-revealing directness and down-to-earth charm. The dozen original songs on "Fall from Grace" are well-crafted, finely detailed narratives that Sampou brings to life with her smoldering, passionate readings. They have the ring of truth. They sound like scars... She's a wise, honest writer whose most personal lyrics have a universal meaning and power. This is a great record. Highly recommended."

FMBQ
"New England singer-songwriter Sampou has a distinctive folk and blues style that has made her a favorite at folk festivals from Philadelphia to Kerrville. An American storyteller, Sampou is joined by guitarist Duke Levine and harmonica wiz Jerry Portnoy on "Fall from Grace". Produced by Mason Daring, "Holy Land", "The Things I Should've Said", "Home Again" and "Alibis" are great places to begin your introduction to this exemplary artist."

THE BOSTON PHOENIX, Seth Rogovoy
"Les Sampou's Flying Fish debut (her second album) highlights her sexy, muscular vocals and confident blues picking on a dozen carefully drawn originals that - in the tradition from which she stems - stick close to home.... When she really lets loose she hits the spot Melissa Etheridge must dream about. Far from being a 'fall from grace,' Sampou's latest is more like a great leap forward."

THE BOSTON HERALD, Daniel Gewertz
"If rock and roll singing is about attitude and contemporary folk is about feelings, then a blues-based singer-songwriter needs to be about both. With her new album, "Fall from Grace", Les Sampou has become one of those rare figures on the scene who merges depth with flamboyance. She combines true blues heat with a poet's expressiveness. "Fall from Grace" is a thrilling step forward. The commanding vocals and sinewy sound are immediate pleasures. The songs tell tales, reveal tough thoughts and turn terse phrases in a natural flow."

VERMONT VOX, Aimee M. Petrin
"...a talented, guitar-slinging blues mama... her release "Fall from Grace" (Flying Fish, 1996) achieves a wonderful balancing act, bringing together the lyricism of folk with the heat of the blues..."

SOUTHLOOK, Matt Whorf
"Les Sampou has impressed audiences and critics on a national level as one of the folk world's fastest-rising stars... Her voice is deeply and decidedly ingrained in the blues, tough, soulful and resonant... The lilting "Ride the Line" is a heartfelt but bittersweet tribute to adolescent friendships and breaking ties. All of the album's twelve songs offer similarly deeply emotive vocals and lyrics with a mind for rich, storybook detail."

SEVEN DAYS, Pamela Polston
"'When Sampou gets the blues, you get the heat' gushed one writer. "Fall from Grace" does have a way of getting under your skin - I mean that in a good way. You can imagine Sampou sharing a stage with John Lee Hooker on the bluesy "Weather Vane" or "Bull's-Eye", Cowboy Junkies on the melancholy "I Already Know", Emmylou Harris on the gentle mother-to-daughter "String of Pearls" or the Indigo Girls on the sassier closer, "Two Strong Arms". The title track is a mournfully gritty gem - Sampou's emotional depths are not for the faint of heart."

ENDANGERED FOLK SINGER SERIES (WI - USA), Cindi Morgan
"A must-have even for NON-blues lovers! Les Sampou is a wisp of a woman with a powerhouse voice. She also plays a fine, intricate guitar, and tells a story that will pick you up bodily and carry you miles away. In FALL FROM GRACE, her second release, each cut shows her finest gifts in the very best lights.

"The liner notes begin, "Les Sampou is tough. She's also tender, and smart. And she plays some very tasty guitar. And damn, can she write a song." Elijah Wald's essay suggests the same spare phrasing that hallmark the compositions on this album. From the opening Notes of "Holy Land," a lazy ballad of pretentious white trash, she hooks the listener and starts reeling. The broader strumming accompanying "Alibis" -- "My dad told me that you can't steal second with your foot on first / And I reckon he's right"-- opens out into full instrumentation as the passion builds. "Things I Should Have Said" takes the experience we've all had, of re-thinking a situation we could have handled better, and paints it in the context of a singer's angry musings on a cross-country drive. The soft yearning of a homebound traveller is delicately embellished in "Home Again." And again, you're right there with her, almost unconscious of the deft production so ably supporting the fine story-telling.

"Sampou is adept at vivid imagery, despite a bare minimum of flowery phrases. Whether it's the childhood exhilaration of "Ride the Line," or the bitter discovery of her best friend's homosexuality and her own betrayal ("Flesh and Blood"), she makes the experiences our own. The aching exhaustion of "I Already Know" paints a woman persuading her heart to let go when her mind knows she should. "String of Pearls" uses the metaphor of an heirloom necklace for the values we don't always appreciate until we've proven their worth to ourselves. "Two Strong Arms" is a gritty anthem of a woman giving herself a stern talking-to-- this one's a personal favorite. (An excerpt doesn't do it justice, folks: you just have to hear it.)

"I doubt we live in a world where a petite white woman will stand beside B.B. King as a blues icon-- and even Les herself might cringe at the pretension of that image. But for my money, this lady has the stuff of which legends are made. I challenge you to listen to the first cut. I doubt you'll be able to leave without wanting to take her home!"

ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN
"Les Sampou is not just another singer/songwriter! All too often we get albums overloaded with mediocrity... not so with Ms. Sampou's Flying Fish debut. The material is ALL TOP NOTCH. Les writes about real stuff for real folks. Watch for this one."

Les Sampou Crosses Genres with Intensity

Discerning music fans hearing Hingham's Les Sampou for the first time might wonder why her albums aren't selling in the millions.

A standing-room-only crowd of about 85 certainly went home entranced by Sampou's on Saturday night show at the Wessagussett Coffeehouse in Weymouth's Unitarian-Universalist Church.

Few of today's top songwriters produce more compelling or distinctive music than Sampou

Sampou has always straddled genres, battling stereotypes as a folk singer rooted in the blues who's able to craft some memorable rock pieces. Her latest album, on the Flying Fish division of Cambridge's Rounder Records, is widely hailed as her most fully realized, but her first two CDs were certainly arresting for their unvarnished honesty of expression.

Sampou's lyrical gifts might even be a bit too sharp for the Top 40, her cinematic eye for detail balanced by incisive wit and unflinching candor. As a musical storyteller, Sampou crafts vivid tales and delivers them with passion and flawless intonation.

Saturday's show was enhanced by the Wessagussett's new sound system, which allowed a true appreciation of Sampou's soaring alto, as well as her multifaceted guitar work. At one point, she spoke reverently about taking lessons from acoustic blues virtuoso Paul Rishell of Cambridge. As she played, it was obvious she's not far behind him in her mastery of acoustic guitar dynamics. Whether it was delicately finger-picked filigrees, heart-rending slide segments, slashing chords or sweet single-note melodies, Sampou created enough sound for a quintet all by herself.

The setlist encompassed all three of Sampou's albums in two sets that totaled 105 minutes of music. "Hanging by a Thread," from her latest album, came the closest to being a pop ballad, but its lyric about coping with life's travails is direct and thoughtful.

The title cut from her second album, "Fall From Grace," used some gorgeous descending vocal arpeggios in the chorus to maximize the haunting quality of the tune.

A traditional blues segment of three tunes closed the first set with some of Sampou's most riveting guitar work. In all three cases she delivered the classics with respect, yet with a contemporary flair more suited to a 1990s version.

The second set opened with a rollicking folk-rock rendition of "Holy Land," Sampou's weirdly fascinating take on a Southern Gothic family. Next came "Ride the Line," a sweetly loping remembrance of Sampou's horseback rides along the railroad tracks in her hometown of Sherborn.

"String of Pearls" is one of Sampou's signature tunes. In it, a grandmother passes on a treasured necklace to a grandchild, a lyrical metaphor for generational change that resonated stringly with Saturday's crowd.

Sampou brought out Quincy percussionist Deb Blackadar to provide support on "Two Strong Arms," an ode to overcoming self-doubt. She closed the show with the quiet affirmation of "The Mystery of You."

Sampou's first encore was "Broken Pieces," an "anti-love song" with a deliciously lacerating wit. The finale was a request for "Skip to My Lou," Sampou's comic gem about her 85-year-old Italian grandmother's quirky individuality.

LES SAMPOU BAND LIVE AT THE LIZARD LOUNGE, WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 1999, ROUNDER/FLYING FISH ARTIST'S RECORD RELEASE PARTY, Joe Viglione
"Les Sampou performed to a standing room only crowd at The Lizard Lounge, They tell me Les was a folksinger for years, well this new setting suits her just fine.

"Hanging By A Thread"....here's the music that is missing from radio... and these songs! so perfect for AAA or Classic Hits radio... a nice blend of Robin Lane meets Tracy Chapman -this set is STRONGER than the Modern Lovers at the Stone Phoenix 24 years ago..

Les Sampou delivered a grand slam on the same night the new Red Sox player did the same...must be an omen.

Easily one of the best and most musical shows I've seen in this area in a long time.

When a rock act can floor you with songs, performance, vocals, and groove, all in a tightly crafted, fun evening, you wonder why it is such a rare occasion in these parts."

BERKSHIRE EAGLE, Seth Rogovoy
"After seeing her show on Sunday evening, about the only thing that Sampou lacks that Bonnie Raitt has is producer Don Was. Sampou played two sets of unerring musical and lyrical integrity... never lacking in honesty and always generous in its passion. Sampou was an engaging performer... switching between two acoustic guitars throughout her two sets, she varied the style and pace among deep bluesy numbers, upbeat pop-influenced tunes and warm ballads."
Read the complete review.

MAPLE BLUES, Lily Sazz, Toronto, Canada
"Singer? Sure. Songwriter? You bet. Guitarist? Absolutely. But the most compelling thing that makes New Englander Les Sampou stand out is her knack at telling a story through song. Sampou can spin a tale with the sincerity that most often can only be delivered by the person who penned the words, as she did. Her lyrics are descriptive without pretension; her approach sincere and intense."

THE PATRIOT LEDGER, Stephen Ide
"Sampou showed that her own music is full of rhythm and soul - and definitely has a sound of its own... (she) excelled at the kind of traditional guitar work that melds finger-picking, slide chords and single-note lines into a seamless whole that sounds like an entire acoustic band. Vocally, her vivid alto produced a spectrum of emotions from whispered confidences to effortless swoops, startling moans and exhilarating whoops... This is one singer who doesn't fit neatly into any one category - either blues or folk or acoustic rock - but she is able to command the stage as few acoustic solo performers can."

DIRTY LINEN, Michael Parrish
Review of live performance at Old Town School of Music, Chicago, IL
"...letter perfect country blues and slide guitar... strong emotive writer with a keen eye for detail... strong vocal skills, impressive guitar techniques and striking songwriting..."

MUSIC MATTERS REVIEW , Roberta B. Schwartz
Big Talent and Big Dreams
"Les Sampou is not just another 'girl with guitar'. Often compared with Bonnie Raitt for her bluesy style and powerful slide guitar, and to Melissa Etheridge for her passionate vocals, Sampou has a unique talent which is all her own. Deeply rooted in the blues, she easily shifts from folk, to acoustic rock and a bit of country. And like the best of contemporary singer-songwriters, she knows how to tell a story by building mood, character and place with the skill of a poet.

"Sampou's journey to music has been an interesting one. She grew up in small town, rural Massachusetts which led her to dream big dreams. College took her to the University of Colorado where she studied Italian, and later became involved in radio, producing a documentary covering the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. She got an early taste of life on the road while traveling 20,000 miles across America, pursuing the people and places on both sides of the ERA. debate. Settling back in Massachusetts, she went to work for the state government, working her way up to a job offer as Assistant Press Secretary to the Secretary of State, a job she eventually turned down to begin pursuing a career in music.

"Sampou is quick to name Ellen MacIlwaine as her earliest, most important musical inspiration. After hearing Ellen perform, she was inspired to learn to play guitar. Sampou found her way to blues legend Paul Rishell, whom she convinced to give her guitar lessons. She also played by ear, often imitating what she heard on record. Her first gig was on the subway platforms below the streets of Boston. From there she began playing in Boston area clubs and coffeehouses.

"Sampou quickly made a name for herself playing the blues, both covering the likes of Bessie Smith and Blind Willie McTell, and performing her own insightful, original blues compositions. Sampou's passionate, expressive alto, strong female presence and skill on the guitar brought her a following all over New England.

"Pursuing her dreams, and her personal truth keep Sampou motivated and focused on the quality of her performance and songwriting. Her songs tell real stories about real people that feel honest and authentic. Her recent work has begun to explore the darker places of the heart; the landscape of failed romance and dashed dreams. But she promises that there is light at the end of this particular tunnel. Keep tuned to these pages, your local radio, and wherever good music and great talent come together. The truth and passion of Les Sampou will be a big part of that mix. And the sublime sound of her slide guitar will follow you into your dreams!"

MUSIC MATTERS REVIEW, Roberta B. Schwartz (Full length article)
Les Sampou: A Bold New Sound
"Les Sampou rocks. And she rocks in a big way on her new self-titled CD "Les Sampou". To say that it's her breakthrough recording is simply not praise enough. It's creating excitement in every corner of the acoustic music community, from the Tin Angel, to the Birchmere, to the Boston Herald, to Baltimore radio. I'll say it again. This woman rocks!

"Les Sampou's music defies categorization. She has covered everything from pop, to the blues, to rock, to traditional singer/songwriter fare. But behind every song she writes is a rock diva waiting to strut her stuff. Her powerful, passionate vocals and her skill in spinning a tale have propelled her beyond the confines of contemporary folk music. Les Sampou is her crowning achievement.

"In a recent interview from her Boston-area home, I asked Sampou if she was pleased with the sound of the new recording. "I got the kind of sound I was looking for completely. I really wanted a contemporary sound that had interesting arrangements and was not limited to a folk kind of a sound. Typical folk production has a very soft background. We went with keyboards and all kinds of creative sound effects like really funky handclapping and a backwards guitar - a lot of arrangements that were much more pop-oriented and rock-oriented than the previous record.

"While it has its lighter moments, there is a lot of darkness here. It clearly comes out of a great deal of pain, healing and self-discovery. Asked about this, Sampou says "I think that this whole record is extremely vulnerable Even though my vocal performance is powerful, that's just a performance. And in a way, it was necessary for me to keep the songs from being too dreary. So you wrap an intense, heavy lyric around a powerful, stylized voice and upbeat arrangement, and it lightens the load a bit.

"But out of great pain often comes great art, if not great wisdom. In the song, "Hanging by a Thread," we have both: "Everybody's got some secret way to cope / Some religion, superstition, philosophy or dope / I bit off, chewed up, and swallowed everything I could digest / But I admit, I'm still hanging by a thread."

And in "Broken Pieces" we have stunning self-analysis without the pretension or the pity: "All my lovers are lost bad boys / I guess the broken pieces catch my eye / Like shiny glass they mirror back / Some part of me I try to hide."

"Asked about her way with a lyric, Sampou comments that "a lot of songs are kind of abstract flashes, or a jumble of images thrown together. For a lot of songs that really works because if you can get across an overall feeling with a jumble of words, then I guess you've done your job. But for me, I like it to be a lot more layered. I like people to be able to listen to a song five or six times and each time get to a new depth. A new understanding."

"But all is not dark and painful in Sampou's world. One of the recording's best cuts is the hook-laden, guitar-driven "I Want You." It's a playful tune about wanting that special someone who belongs to someone else, and knowing that it's just a flirtation anyway. I think it's top forty material and Sampou agrees. "It's got hooks throughout the entire song. It's just pure pop. It's pure hit material. And what's frustrating about this record is that I don't think, unless I shift into high gear and send out 5 million copies and call everybody just to listen, that it is going to get heard by the right people."

"But, in calling her attention to just how good the recording is, she says "I finished the record, it's my gift, and in a way, if you give a gift, you can't tell the world what to do with it. I'm just kind of taking a step back from my own ambition and from the world's expectations. It's kind of a funny feeling when people keep asking how's the record doing? Well, just listen to it. The record's doing great!"

"So take Sampou's advice and just listen to it. Whether your preferred mode of listening is rock, pop, or folk, it's just great music. And no one spins a tale like Sampou. In fact, her next project is writing a short story. I think Les Sampou is her musical story. Take a listen. She rocks with the best of them."

STAR-GAZETTE, ELMIRA, NY, Daniel Aloi
April 2001
Sampou finds better days in music, marriage

Boston singer-songwriter Les Sampou returns, by popular demand, to the Endicott Performing Arts Center on Friday.

Photo by Barry Berenson/Flying Fish Les Sampou admits the business is hard, but "the folk scene is probably the best. You can hear a pin drop. They're listening."

Sampou's string of area appearances include the theater in Endicott, the Cyber Cafe in Binghamton, and Bound for Glory on the Cornell campus in Ithaca. She also knows Buttermilk Falls very well.

"I hung out and climbed 'em," she says of the falls' gorge trail, south of Ithaca. "It's one of my favorite falls, probably one of the most beautiful anywhere. I always try to take a little ride if I have a day off."

Over the course of her three albums, Sampou has been anything but classifiable as strictly a folk or blues artist, the two genres she finds herself in most often.

"The first one was pop, the second one (Fall from Grace) was more Americana/traditional," she says. "It had everything from blues to country to folk, so it was very much like a roots album."

Sampou's most recent, self-titled CD is accomplished and diverse, veering from modern rock to blues and confessional acoustic music.

"One of the things that's always difficult for my record company is they always tried to put me into blues, blues, blues - 'cause they like the way I do the blues. But when I write, I don't think to put it in this little box," she says. "So I said this is going to be a way different album, to service the songs."

She and coproducer Adam Steinberg looked for sonic ideas on others' records, everything from Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 and Tom Petty's Free Fallin' to the moody guitar twang in Chris Isaak's Wicked Game.

"We did it to fit the mood," she says. "On Sitting on Jupiter, which is about the ozone, we wanted to do something silly. It's a serious song but we wanted to do it kind of tongue-in-cheek. So we get slap-happy and crazy and start hittin' stuff in the studio, slapping the tambourine."

The songs on Les Sampou are also, by design, intensely personal - full of deep emotions about love and the lack of it.

"I've always been that kind of writer, since I was a little girl," she says. "I write when I'm feeling bad or confused, and I'm searching and I can't get it no clearer than when I sit down with a piece of paper."

Songs like Baby and Broken Pieces cut to the heart of a doomed relationship.

"Sometimes you hang on to people because you don't want to be alone," Sampou says. But, she points out, "those songs are four years old now."

"I was in a bad situation. But I was trying to reach the end of it. I knew I'd get there somehow. It was a long-term relationship, and it was getting worse and worse instead of better and better. Not like my one now. I got married, and it's getting better and better."

Her next album, Borrowed & Blue, will be just as straightforward, but not as musically diverse.

"It's blues," Sampou says. "I wanted to get one out quicker than my usual three-year pattern. It's just me and a guitar, live to two-track, raw. It's cover tunes by Blind Blake, Mississippi Fred McDowell, even a Robert Johnson song."

"I think the blues are incredibly honest," she says. "You can dance to them, which is a remarkable testimony to the one who originally wrote it. It's like, life sucks, but aren't you glad that you're alive?"

Les Sampou performs at 8pm Friday at the Endicott Performing Arts Center, 102 Washington Ave., Endicott. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door. For information, call 607/785-8903.

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