San Francisco-based Americana-rocker Stefanie Keys may have nabbed a record deal with her gutsy, carefree version of Janis Joplin's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)," but her own songs on the debut CD Say You Will-including the acoustic, catchy and organ-driven I-found-my-man affirmation of "Whiskey Bottles," the slick blues rock of "Freight Train" and the jazzy rocker "Hover"-are what should give Keys an edge in the crowded adult-alternative market. The singer-songwriter-guitarist's bold delivery and musical muscle recall Melissa Etheridge, and she tapped members of RatDog and Spearhead to assist her in the studio. Despite the rock, jazz and blues on this all-too-short nine-song disc, Keys' finest moments come on Say You Will's most introspective, laid-back cuts: the title track and the chilling slow-burn opener "Girl, I Don't Know," which deserves to be mentioned among the best songs of 2008.
