May 1997
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--- Art Tipaldi
Not to be outdone by MCA is Rounder Records, which is releasing many of the historic field recordings of Alan Lomax done for the Library of Congress' Archive of Folk Song beginning in the 1930s. Rounder eventually plans to reissue over 100 albums (wow!). To get a taste for this man's groundbreaking research, you might try The Alan Lomax Collection Sampler, taken from the first nine compilations. This isn't all blues, but there are blues and gospel cuts scattered throughout the collection. Notable are recordings from Mississippi Delta artists Sid Hemphill, Son House, and Fred McDowell, and Georgia Sea Island singer Bessie Jones.
Veteran blues cat Charlie Musselwhite is like Ol' Man River; he just keeps on rollin' along. Musselwhite's latest disk is Rough News (Poinblank), and it's another excellent collection of originals and well-chosen covers. The best cuts are the chromatic harmonica instrumentals, especially the brilliant "Harlem Nocturne." King Ernest is on the comeback trail, although he never really was a household name. Judging from his singing on King Of Hearts (Evidence), maybe he should have been! Ernest reprises one of his minor hits from 1965, "I Resign," a slow blues. And he breathes new life into Hound Dog Taylor's "Sadie," treating the song with an emotional gospel-drenched fervor.
Box Scaggs fans will love his new CD, Come On Home (Virgin); regular blues folks will say, "Why bother?" Scaggs pays tribute to some of his influences, with covers of Bobby Bland, Earl King, and Jimmy Reed songs. But he invites comparison with the masters by doing close renditions of the originals. Most embarrassing is his guitar solo on "T-Bone Shuffle." T-Bone Walker would turn over in his grave if he heard Boz's version.
Much has already been written about California singer Candye Kane's past endeavors. I'll instead just tell you about her latest album, Diva la Grande (Antone's), which is her best yet. After a strong debut release for Antone's in 1994, her second album focused more on her C&W side to be of much interest to blues fans. But now Ms. Kane's back belting out her bawdy blues songs, like longtime favorites "You Need A Great Big Woman" and "All You Can Eat (and You Can Eat It All Night Long)." Also interesting is her cover of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," featuring accordion, banjo, and washboard accompaniment.
Brickyard is a blues band from the most unlikely environs of Pajala, a small, remote village in northern Sweden. Blues In Pajala is a nice collection of 14 original tunes, all in English (perfectly unaccented English, at that!), with the emphasis on rockin' Texas blues. The vocals on this disk are better than on many American-made blues CDs. And the lead guitarist, Orjan Maki, has obviously been listening to a lot of Albert Collins records, as heard on "House Full Of Blues." You can get more info on Brickyard at their web site, which has both Swedish and English versions. New Moon Blues is a small, independent blues label based in North Carolina, and over the past five years they've released some great stuff. On The Rise is a strong collection of 15 selections representing nine different artists who have recorded for New Moon Blues. Blues legend Nappy Brown has two cuts, as does the wonderful Carolina artist Big Boy Henry. The highlights, though, are the two numbers from Skeeter Brandon & HWY 61, the title cut from Brandon's License To Thrill album and the gospel soul blues tune "The Truth." While you're surfin', take a visit to New Moon Blues' web site. Mick Clarke and Lou Martin were members of the 1970s British blues band Killing Floor, and Martin was later a member of Rory Gallagher's band. The two ex-mates now team up as a duo on Happy Home (Burnside Records). Clarke plays nice guitar throughout, but the killer tunes feature Martin's exquisite piano work, especially on "1st Avenue Swing" and "As The Years Go Passing By." Let's wrap up this very busy month of new releases
with a great collection of Janis Joplin covers, Blues
Down Deep (House of Blues). Blues and soul singers,
both famous and not so well-known, each take a turn on 13
of Ms. Joplin's songs. Tracy Nelson, Etta James, Koko
Taylor, Taj Mahal, and Lonnie Brooks all do nice
tributes, especially James on "Ball And Chain"
and Taj on the dirge-like "Mercedes Benz." But
it's the gritty soul singers who stand out the most. Otis
Clay's "Piece Of My Heart" and Syl Johnson's
"Me And Bobby McGee" are exceptional. The real
star is unknown Chicago songstress Lynne Jordan, who
gives "Turtle Blues" a real jazzy
interpretation. I'm anxious to hear more from this young
woman! --- Bill Mitchell |
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