The Blues as Protest

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The blues emerged in the context of the oppression and suffering of Black communities in the southern US, and singing the blues was a means of responding to that oppression – of giving voice to great sorrow, lamenting the current state of affairs, but also of expressing dignity in the face of injustice. The blues also were a means of protest against this injustice.

That’s worth noting at this time when the United States is facing a reckoning for the systemic racism that has dogged it for such a long time. The push-back against white supremacy, police brutality and a myriad of social barriers faced by Blacks and other people of colour can’t be ignored or written off – notwithstanding Trump’s attempts to do so.

There have been plenty of today’s artists protesting the current lamentable state of affairs and all that has led to it – Leyla McCalla has just released Vari-Colored songs, an album’s whose centerpiece, Song for a Dark Girl, is a stark account of a lynching “way down south in Dixie,” a powerful reminder of the relatively recent history of terrorism against Black communities.

Gary Clark Jr.’s This Land is a howl of protest which rails against the suspicion he gets as a Black man in Trump’s America; Shemekia Copeland’s Would You Take My Blood on her America’s Child album gets to the heart of racism; Otis Taylor’s trance blues in Fantasizing About Being Black, a history of African-American life, from slavery onwards, has Jump Out of Line, an edgy piece about civil rights marchers’ fear of being attacked; and Eric Bibb’s last album had What’s He Gonna Say Today, protesting the “bully in the playground,” aimed directly at Trump.

But the history of the blues is littered with songs protesting inequality, discrimination and White violence against Blacks. Given the huge inequality that existed, and the whole structuring of society that existed under Jim Crow, it would have been impossible for blues artists to sing protest songs in the way that they were sung in the 1960s when the Civil Rights’ movement had gathered momentum. Often the protest was coded, although sometimes it broke through the surface quite clearly. Although the majority of blues songs are about the troubles of love, there is a steady stream of social protest from the early days right through to the present.

In 1930, Huddie Ledbetter – Lead Belly – recorded a song entitled simply Jim Crow, in which he bemoans the state of affairs facing him every day of his life, everywhere he goes:

I been traveling, I been traveling from shore to shore
Everywhere I have been I find some old Jim Crow.

He can’t get away from the racial discrimination he faces – it’s there even when he goes to the cinema to be entertained:

I want to tell you people something that you don’t know
It’s a lotta Jim Crow in a moving picture show.

And finally he pleads with his hearers, “Please get together, break up this old Jim Crow.”

In the early 1930s, nine Black teenagers from Scottsboro in Alabama were accused of raping two white women aboard a train. The case highlighted the racism of the Jim Crow system and the injustice of the entire Southern legal system. In a series of trials and re-trials, which were rushed, and adjudicated on by all-white juries and racially biased judges, the nine boys suffered incarceration in the brutally harsh Kilby Prison in Alabama, and attempted lynching and mob violence.

After three trials, during which one of the young white women who were alleged to be victims had confessed to fabricating her rape story, five of the nine were convicted and received sentences ranging from 75 years imprisonment to death. The one who received the death sentence subsequently escaped, went into hiding and was eventually pardoned by George Wallace in 1976. The case was a landmark one and led eventually to the end of all-white juries in the South.

Lead Belly recorded Scottsboro Boys in 1938, where he warns Black people not to go to Alabama lest they suffer the same fate as the Scottsboro nine:

I’m gonna tell all the colored people
Even the old n* here
Don’t ya ever go to Alabama
And try to live

Lead Belly was clearly not afraid to voice his protest against what he experienced. He also wrote Bourgeois Blues, perhaps the most famous example of 1930s blues protest songs. Leadbelly here sings about his experience of discrimination in the nation’s capital city:

Well, them white folks in Washington they know how
To call a colored man a n* just to see him bow
Lord, it’s a bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around

Lead Belly talks about looking for accommodation and being turned away by the white landlord:

Well, me and my wife we were standing upstairs
We heard the white man say “I don’t want no n*s up there.

America, according to Lead Belly may have been hailed as “The home of the Brave, the land of the Free,” but it was just somewhere where he was “mistreated” by the “bourgeoisie.”

The Great Depression hit black communities in the South particularly hard. Skip James’s 1931 Hard Time Killing Floor Blues captures the grim reality of the time for many people, with James’s high eerie voice and his D-minor tuned guitar. “The people are drifting from door to door” and they “can’t find no heaven.”

Hard time’s is here
An ev’rywhere you go
Times are harder
Than th’ever been befo’.

One of the blues artists who was most articulate about civil rights during this period was Josh White, who was born in 1914 and recorded under the names “Pinewood Tom” and “Tippy Barton” in the 1930s. He became a well-known race records artist during the 1920s and 30s, moving to New York  in 1931, and expanding his repertoire to include not only blues but jazz and folk songs. In addition, he became a successful actor on radio, the stage and film. White was outspoken about segregation and human rights and was suspected of being a communist in the McCarthyite era of the early 1950s.

In 1941 he released one of his most influential albums, Southern Exposure: An Album of Jim Crow Blues. The title track pulls no punches:

Well, I work all the week in the blazin’ sun,
Can’t buy my shoes, Lord, when my payday comes
I ain’t treated no better than a mountain goat,
Boss takes my crop and the poll takes my vote.

The album of mostly 12 bar blues songs, included Jim Crow Train, Bad Housing Blues, and Defense Factory Blues. White attacked wartime factory segregation in the latter with, “I’ll tell you one thing, that bossman ain’t my friend, If he was, he’d give me some democracy to defend.”

In Jim Crow Train, he addresses the segregation on the railways:

Stop Jim Crow so I can ride this train.
Black and White folks ridin side by side.
Damn that Jim Crow.

On White’s 1940 Trouble, he leaves no doubt about the cause of black people’s problems: “Well, I always been in trouble, ‘cause I’m a black-skinned man.” The rest of the song deals with the failed justice system of the time and the inhuman conditions which black inmates suffered when incarcerated:

Wearin’ cold iron shackles from my head down to my knee
And that mean old keeper, he’s all time kickin’ me.

As a black man under Jim Crow, all White could expect from life was “Trouble, trouble, makes me weep and moan, Trouble, trouble, ever since I was born.”

Big Bill Broonzy was one of the most popular and important of the pre-World War II blues singers, who recorded over 250 songs from 1925 to 1952, including Key to the Highway, Black, Brown, and White, Glory of Love and When Will I Get to Be Called a Man. He was a very talented musician, song writer and singer, who Eric Clapton said was a role model for him in playing the acoustic guitar.

Broonzy claims in his autobiography that he joined the army sometime after 1917, and fought in World War I in France, and on returning to the South, he found conditions there quite intolerable. A more recent biography of Broonzy doubts his story of joining up, but there can be no doubting the injustice which Broonzy encountered as a black man in the South. He refers to the way in which black men were referred to disparagingly as “boy” by whites in his 1951 song, I Wonder When I’ll Be Called a Man.

When I was born into this world, this is what happened to me
I was never called a man, and now I’m fifty-three
I wonder when…I wonder when will I get to be called a man
Do I have to wait till I get ninety-three?

Black, Brown and White, recorded in 1951, rails against the discrimination that Broonzy found everywhere, be it getting a drink at a bar, being paid less money for doing the same job, or even just getting a job:

They says if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, stick around
But as you’s black, m-mm brother, git back git back git back.

Muddy Waters also highlighted the patriarchal attitudes of whites to blacks in his 1955 release Manish Boy, which on the surface is a rather sensual blues song declaring, “I’m a natural born lover’s man,” and “I’m a hoochie coochie man.” (The hoochie coochie was a sexually provocative dance that became wildly popular in Chicago in the late nineteenth century. The dance was performed by women, so a “hoochie coochie man” either watched them or ran the show). In the context of a black man never being recognized as anything other than a “boy,” however, the song asserts black manhood in the face of white suppression. “I’m a man, I’m a full grown man,” sings Muddy, “I spell M-A, child, N”

Another major and influential blues artist from Mississippi was John Lee Hooker, son of a sharecropper, who came to prominence in the late 1940s and 50s. His House Rent Boogie from 1956 protests the all too familiar tale for black American of losing a job and not being able to make the rent payment; “I said fellows, never go behind your rent, ‘cause if you did it, it will hard so it’s cold in the street.”

The wail of protest in the blues continued on into that decade most associated with protest songs, the 1960s. From 1961 we have the guitar – harmonica duo of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee singing Keep on Walkin’ which takes up again the theme of Blacks being worked hard for little pay:

The bossman was so mean, you know, I worked just like a slave
Sixteen long hours drive you in your grave
That’s why I’m walkin’, walkin’ my blues away.

And then we have Vietnam Blues by J.B. Lenoir, from 1966. Drawing an elegant parallel between the US’s presence in Southeast Asia and the Jim Crow South, Lenoir demanded of President Lyndon Johnson, “How can you tell the world we need peace, and you still mistreat and killin’ poor me?”

Lenoir came to Chicago via New Orleans and became an important part of the blues scene there in the 1950s, performing with Memphis Minnie and Muddy Waters. He was a fine singer and a great showman, sporting zebra striped costumes and nifty electric guitar licks.

But Lenoir composed a number of political blues songs bringing sharp social commentary to bear on events going on around him. Songs like Born Dead, which decries the fact that “Every black child born in Mississippi, you know the poor child is born dead,” referring to the lack of opportunity in his home state; or Eisenhower Blues, which complains that the government had “Taken all my money, to pay the tax.” Lenoir also composed the haunting “Down in Mississippi,” which he performed on his 1966 Alabama Blues. “Down in Mississippi where I was born, Down in Mississippi where I come from,” sings Lenoir,

They had a huntin’ season on a rabbit
If you shoot him you went to jail.
The season was always open on me:
Nobody needed no bail.

He concludes about the place of his birth, “I count myself a lucky man, Just to get away with my life.” The definitive version of the song, however, was to come some 40 years later, when Mavis Staples recorded it on her album We’ll Never Turn Back, Staples adding a little to the song about segregated water fountains and washeterias and how “Dr King saw that every one of those signs got taken down, down in Mississippi.”

Mavis Staples had already made her protest against three hundred years of injustice in 1970 with the no-punches-pulled When Will We Be Paid? The song demanded an answer to the exploitation of Black Americans in the construction of America’s roads and railroads, in the domestic chores their women have done and the wars in which their men have fought. Despite this contribution to the making of America over 300 years, all the remuneration Staples’s people got was being “beat up, called names, shot down and stoned.” “We have given our sweat and all our tears,” she sings, so, “When will we be paid for the work we’ve done?”

In a similar vein, complaining about the discrimination they faced, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee & Earl Hooker in Tell Me Why in 1969 sang,

Every war that’s been won, we helped to fight
Why in the world can’t we have some human rights?
Tell me why?

They give the cruel answer themselves – “It’s got to be my skin, that people don’t like.”

And one of the most hard hitting of songs in the blues genre is Mississippi Goddamn, written and sung by Nina Simone in 1964.

Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day’s gonna be my last.

The song was Simone’s response to the murder of Medgar Evers in Mississippi and the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four black children. She performed the song in front of 10,000 people at the end of the Selma to Montgomery marches.

The blues chart the history of the indignities face by African Americans over the decades. The blues allowed Black Americans to assert their humanity and dignity in the context of an oppressive system that declared they were less than human. Whether the songs expressed explicit protest at this or not (and most blues songs didn’t), the blues, nevertheless, was Black music and, whether they were complaining about unfaithful lovers or problems with the landlord, whether they were performed as dance music in the juke joint or sung on the street corner, they reflected the abuse and indignities suffered by blacks under Jim Crow and beyond. No wonder Black theologian and writer, James Cone, said, the blues are “the essential ingredients that define the essence of black experience.”

Willie Dixon gets it spot on when he says “The blues are the true facts of life expressed in words and song, inspiration, feeling, and understanding.” In telling the truth about the misery of black experience, but as well as that, a hope for change, the blues were a part of the endurance and resistance of the Black community.

For many white listeners to the blues, the blues are at heart a genre of music, a certain musical form, twelve bars, flattened notes, blue notes. But if we listen carefully, we can hear the history of people who have been sorely mistreated; we can, perhaps, get some understanding of what it means to be Black. But it does require careful listening. And that listening is as urgent as ever just now.

Finally, to help us stop and listen, here is the ultimate protest song written by Abel Meeropol and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. Strange Fruit.

Adapted from The Gospel According to the Blues by Gary W. Burnett

Happy Juneteenth!

So, the President of the United States and those surrounding him didn’t know what Juneteenth is. Trump said that “a black Secret Service agent” had to tell him what the day meant. He’s now claiming, because he’s decided to move the date of his campaign rally, that he “made Juneteenth very famous…nobody had ever heard of it.” Utter nonsense, of course.

An incredible show of racial ignorance and insensitivity at the very top of white America, which speaks volumes about the systematic racism that exists.

But on this year’s Juneteenth, more Americans than ever before will be celebrating the day which marks the end of slavery, with many major companies adding it as a paid holiday. Juneteenth celebrates the 19^th June, 1865, when Union soldiers read the announcement in Galveston, Texas, that all enslaved African-Americans were free, two months after the South had surrendered in the Civil War, and more than two years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

It’s widely thought of as African-Americans’ Independence Day and has traditionally been celebrated with barbeques, parades and parties. The struggle for equality, of course, is clearly not over for African-Americans, as demonstrated by recent and on-going events and the racist-fuelled resistance to change at the very top. But perhaps the marking of Juneteenth by more than the black community is some grounds for hope.

Down at the Crossroads celebrates Juneteenth with two songs. The first is Juneteenth Jamboree, first recorded by Gladys Bentley, a Harlem singer, well known in the 1920s and 30s.

There’s no shirking, no-one’s working
Everybody’s stopped
Gums are chompin’, corks are poppin’
Doing the Texas hop

The second song, Uncivil War, has just been released by Shemekia Copeland. It was written by Will Kimbrough and John Hahn, who said in a recent Forbes interview “I didn’t want to write something that added to the divisiveness. I wanted to say ‘come on guys, we’re better than this, we’ve gotta stop fighting.’”

Copeland’s new album isn’t due to be released until August but she wanted to put this song out sooner because of what’s been happening in the United States.

Copeland says she does feel anger at what faces her community, but that she doesn’t “misdirect my anger…that’s why you don’t see me being just angry; I’m more interested in systemic racism. I’m more interested in our system being infiltrated with supremacists like the Senate and Congress and the police force. Those are the types of things that I think about: the system and figuring out how to change it in some way. And those are the things that I get angry about – I’m just not walking through my daily life being p*****d off at people; because I don’t have that kind of hate or anger in my art.”

Here’s her Uncivil War, which is both challenging and hopeful. Happy Juneteenth!

Blues in the Time of Corona #8

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, some of us are still in lockdown, some are beginning to see an easing of restrictions, but all of us can look forward to a near future significantly different to what we’re used to.

So, we’ve been choosing a few songs to reflect on, maybe to lift our spirits a bit as things progress.

This week’s song is Jessie Mae Hemphill’s – Lord, Help the Poor And Needy, first released in 1990, and then covered by Cat Power, Tom Jones and Shemekia Copeland.

Lord Help the Poor and needy
In this land
Oh Lord Help the Poor and needy
In this land.

It’s a good reminder of the suffering that the coronavirus has caused. Some of us have lost loved ones, some of us may have been ill, some of us have been hit financially.

But the people hit worst have been those living in poverty, both on our own doorsteps, but especially in the developing world.

I think of India, where my wife works, helping desperately poor children. Here millions of people make their homes in slum communities, living cheek by jowl, with families crowded into small shacks, and they have no possibility of social distancing.

Migrant labourer, his face contorted with anguish as he sits on the roadside in Delhi speaking to his wife about their sick baby boy,

And poor people who work in the homes of the wealthy now have no means of earning money – we’ve had first hand reports of people on the brink of starvation and who are much more concerned about that than catching the virus. And there are millions of migrant workers who suddenly lost their jobs because of the lockdown who have been stranded, penniless, with no shelter and no way of getting home. (Check out this Guardian story)

The same desperate picture is repeated in many other parts of the world. For many of us, sheltering during the lockdown has been, let’s face it, no real hardship. We’ve decent homes, have plenty to eat, and are spoilt for choice for entertainment. We can manage.

Yet still you hear people grumbling about their situation. Conspiracy theories are rife, and if only we could get back to the Mall, we could put our dreadfully restricted lockdown lives behind us. (Check out this disturbing piece from the Washington Post).

Compared with the real suffering out there, most of us, I guess are OK. But Jesse Mae Hemphill’s song reminds us of the solidarity we share together, rich and poor:

Lord help the human race
‘Cause we all die together
And we face the morning sun.

In the end we all face the same enemy. We’re all members of the human race, so we need to stand with each other, particularly in these difficult times.

There are plenty of ways to make a contribution. Here’s one:

Saphara Covid-19 response – Help us to help the most vulnerable.

Click here to make a difference

Here’s Shemekia Copeland’s version of Lord Help the Poor and Needy

 

And Jesse Mae Hemphill’s original

 

Best Americana Albums 2018

What a year it’s been for roots music. So much wonderful, high quality work by a host of artists in a diversity of styles – variously with country, blues or folk to the fore. That being the case, it’s hard to suggest a best of list. But here goes. We’ve grouped them into two sets of ten and then a group of six. Each set is in alphabetical order.

Here’s our Top 10

Amy Helm This Too Shall Light

In an album produced by Joe Henry, Amy Helm, daughter of late Band drummer Levon gives us ten songs tinged with soul and gospel, featuring uplifting lyrics and beautiful nuanced singing. A wonderful set of interesting, sometimes obscure covers and lovely originals.

 

 

Birds of Chicago: Love in Wartime

This is simply an outstanding album of classic Americana. JT Nero and Allison Russell’s vocals and rich harmonies, as usual, meld wondrously, and the song arrangements are innovative and imaginative while, at the same time, warm and inviting.

 

 

Eric Bibb: Global Griot

Double album of wonderful songs, brilliantly presented by the blues troubadour. As much world-music as Americana or blues, this is surely one of Bibb’s best accomplishments. There’s joy, love and hope inhabiting these songs, as well as a dose of righteous protest – whether it’s at the materialism of the age or the frightful tweeting of number 45.

 

 

Jayhawks: Back Roads and Abandoned Hotels

Reworking of some of the songs Gary Louris, has co-written with other artists, including the Dixie Chicks and two new songs. It’s a great Jayhawks album, with the band in great form over the course of 11 songs of magnificent alt-country.

 

 

John Hiatt: The Eclipse Sessions

In his first album in four years, Hiatt is in fine form, his crusty vocals accompanying a largely pared back band. This is an album that draws you in and enchants you the more you listen to it.

 

 

Larkin Poe: Venom and Faith

Quite simply this is an extraordinary album from the very talented Lovell sisters in their 4^th studio album. The two sisters play every instrument, aside from some wonderful slide guitar in one song by Tyler Bryant, creating a wonderful variety of sounds and textures. Classic but innovative, with traditional, primal sounds mixed with electronic beats.

 

 

Lori McKenna: The Tree

Lori McKenna is a brilliant song writer. Here she gives us 10 songs about family life and the tensions of everyday existence in a fabulous, understated record, produced by Dave Cobb. Outstanding.

 

 

Parker Millsap: Other Arrangements

Melodic and bluesy, rock and roll-ish outing from Oklahoma born singer, songwriter and bandleader, Parker Millsap. The depth and range in Millsaps vocals are terrific, across twelve rollicking, pulsating songs.

 

 

Paul Thorn: Don’t Let the Devil Ride

Unabashed album of gospel music, with Paul and his band, and a group of top notch collaborators including the Blind Boys of Alabama, the McCrary Sisters, Bonnie Bishop and New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Horns, all in scintillating form. Check out our interview with Paul Thorn here. 

 

 

Ry Cooder: The Prodigal Son

An album of wonderfully reinterpreted old gospel songs and hymns, from the guitar virtuoso. Cooder’s first album for six years has been hailed as “destined to become an instant classic” the produce of a “musical mastermind” and “completely fresh and contemporary.” These are songs that will speak to anyone, believer or unbeliever. There’s humanity, decency, inspiration, hope in these songs, that anyone can feel. You can find more comment on this album here: 

Here are our picks for 11-20, again in alphabetical order:

Ashley McBryde: Girl Going Nowhere

 

 

 

 

Brett Cobb: Providence Canyon

 

 

 

 

Brooks Williams: Lucky Star

Find our full review of Lucky Star here

 

 

 

Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour

 

 

 

 

Mark Knopfler: Down the Road Wherever

 

 

 

 

Milk Carton: Kids Monterey

 

 

 

 

Pistol Annies: Interstate Gospel

 

 

 

 

Rosanne Cash: She Remembers Everything

 

 

 

 

Shemekia Copeland America’s Child

Check out our interview with Shemekia here 

 

 

Various Artists: Johnny Cash: Forever Words

And the rest of these excellent albums:

Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You

 

 

 

 

Calexico: The Threads that Keeps Us

 

 

 

 

Don Flemons: Black Cowboy

 

 

 

 

I’m With Her: See You around

 

 

 

 

John Prine: The Tree of Forgiveness

 

 

 

 

Wood Brothers: One Drop of Truth

Best Blues Albums 2018

2018 has seen so many fabulous blues albums released – whether it’s acoustic blues, blues rock, gospel blues, funky blues, Chicago-style blues, Memphis-style blues…whatever, it’s been a remarkable year for the blues. Down at the Crossroads has chosen 30 albums that we’ve enjoyed listening to and that we consider exceptional. (Click on the links as you go through to find full reviews or interviews).

Here’s our Top 10

Ry Cooder: Prodigal Son
An album of wonderfully reinterpreted old gospel songs and hymns, from the guitar virtuoso. Cooder’s first album for six years has been hailed as “destined to become an instant classic” the produce of a “musical mastermind” and “completely fresh and contemporary.” These are songs that will speak to anyone, believer or unbeliever. There’s humanity, decency, inspiration, hope in these songs, that anyone can feel. If you are a person of faith, however, you’ll find an extra dimension of faith, encouragement and challenge here too. Further comment on the album here. 

Larkin Poe: Venom and Faith
Quite simply this is an extraordinary album from the very talented Lovell sisters in their 4^th studio album. The two sisters play every instrument, aside from some wonderful slide guitar in one song by Tyler Bryant, creating a wonderful variety of sounds and textures. Is it Americana or blues, or pop even? We’ll plump for a modern interpretation of traditional blues. Classic but innovative, with traditional, primal sounds mixed with electronic beats. It all works wonderfully well – not least in what is possibly the best version I’ve ever heard of Skip James’s Hard Time Killing Floor blues. More comment on the song here.

Joe Bonamassa/Beth Hart: Black Coffee
You really can’t go wrong with an album of music from guitar genius Joe Bonamassa and vocal tour de force Beth Hart. Individually brilliant. Together, they make magic.

 

 

Ana Popovic: Like it on Top
Ana Popovic, top-notch guitarist, singer and song-writer with her 11^th studio album. Recorded in Nashville, and produced by four-time Grammy winner Keb’ Mo’, it features guest appearances from Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robben Ford and Keb’ Mo’. It’s a terrific piece of work, featuring some beautiful and truly exceptional guitar work, and funky, bluesy arrangements. It’s an important piece of work about the empowerment of women. Our interview with Ana is here.

Buddy Guy: The Blues is Alive and Well
15 tracks from the veteran bluesman, with Guy’s still formidable vocals and blistering guitar work aided and abetted by the McCrary sisters, Mick Jagger, James Bay, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards.

 

 

Paul Thorn: Don’t Let the Devil Ride
Unabashed album of gospel music, with Paul and his band, and a group of top notch collaborators including the Blind Boys of Alabama, the McCrary Sisters, Bonnie Bishop and New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Horns, all in scintillating form. Our interview with Paul is here.

 

 

Paul Cowley: Just What I Know
The Mississippi Delta via Birmingham, England and Morbihan in Brittany. They’re all in the mix in Paul Cowley’s wonderful album of classic-sounding acoustic blues, Just What I Know. Deft and delightful acoustic guitar work, including lovely, tasteful slide playing, along with Cowley’s nicely phrased vocals, make up a hugely satisfying selection of acoustic blues. See our full review here.

 

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite: No Mercy in this Land
Vibrant collaboration of no-nonsense blues which delivers all you want from the blues – lament, joy, emotion – but never sounds dated. Musselwhite’s harmonica playing is exceptional throughout, complementing Harper’s versatile vocals and cool guitar work.

 

 

Various: Strange Angels: In Flight with Elmore James  
Top notch tribute album to Elmore James featuring Bettye LaVette, Keb’ Mo’, Warren Haynes, Shelby Lynne/Allison Moorer and others.

 

 

Dana Fuchs: Love Lives On
Fine album of bluesy American from the talented singer-songwriter, which features her utterly engaging, raspy vocals and a wonderful set of 13 songs, including a blues-soaked, stripped back version of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire.  “Love Lives On is about hope and perseverance…I hope in some way this album can give some of that back to you,” said Fuchs. See our interview with Dana here.

 

And here’s the next 10:

Shemekia Copeland: America’s Child
Shemekia Copeland has a stack of blues music awards to her name and several Grammy nominations. Her new album, America’s Child, produced by Nashville’s Will Kimbrough, is a compelling piece of work that sees Ms. Copeland branch out beyond the blues in which she’s made her name. To be sure there are great blues numbers here, but there’s rock and country too – overall it’s a great piece of Americana. Our interview with Shemekia is here.

Luke Winslow-King: Blue Mesa
Wonderfully upbeat, positive album of rocking blues. Luke Winslow-King is one very fine guitarist, singer, composer and songwriter. Formally trained in musical composition and an accomplished jazz guitarist, he is able to fuse blues, gospel, R&B, folk and jazz into a hugely entertaining and quite original rootsy style. Our interview with Luke is here.

 

Van Morrison The Prophet Speaks
Van the Man is in a rich vein of form with his 40^th release, giving us six new tracks of his own and blues classics from the likes of Willie Dixon and John Lee Hooker in a 14 song set. He continues his collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Joey DeFrancesco in some quite wonderful, jazzy blues, all with a classic, big band feel. “Change your thought and it will change your mind,” sings Van. The prophet speaks.

 

Chris Smither: Call Me Lucky
Double album of terrific acoustic songs from the gravel voiced and rhythmic guitar picker. As you’d expect on a Chris Smither album, the lyrics are sharp and laced with wry humour, without ever being cynical, the new songs demonstrating once again the importance of Chris Smither as a songwriter and artist. Our interview with Chris is here.

 

Janiva Magness: Love is an Army
Twelve hugely enjoyable songs which tap into a deep well of bluesy Americana and Memphis soul. Magness is joined by a number of guest luminaries, such as Charlie Musselwhite, Delbert McClinton, Texas singer-songwriter Bryan Stephens, Poco frontman Rusty Young, Mississippi hill-country blues artist Cedric Burnside, and bluegrass guitar and banjo virtuoso Courtney Hartman. These are stirring songs of protest, empowerment and hope which will capture your soul and move your feet. Our interview with Janiva is here.

 

Mark Harrison: The Panoramic View
Mark Harrison’s new album, The Panoramic View is an entertaining treat of modern acoustic blues, full of wondrous finger-picking and slide playing, and giving full vent to Harrison’s compelling story-telling and wry humour. Mark Harrison is a supremely accomplished song writer, guitarist and performer and The Panoramic View a satisfying feast of modern acoustic blues. Our full review is here.

Rory Block: A Woman’s Soul: A Tribute to Bessie Smith
Block turns her attention to the Empress of the Blues, after her set of 6 tribute albums to the founding fathers of the blues. Everything on the album is played by Rory Block, and as ever, the guitar picking and slide work are masterful. The songs, clearly, are very differently treated to the originals, but make for a fine and hugely enjoyable tribute to Bessie Smith.

 

Joe Bonamassa: Redemption
Rock blues guitar icon Bonamassa’s 13^th studio album delivers great song-writing, excellent vocal work and, of course, exceptional guitar work, accompanied by a hugely talented, veteran band. The title track, complete with heavenly choir and huge production, is an epic track to be savoured.

 

Keeshea Pratt Band: Believe
One very fine album of soul-soaked blues, featuring an outstanding 7-piece band and the wondrous Ms. Keeshea Pratt, whose soaring and thrilling vocals sparkle on each of the twelve tracks. Our full review is here.

 

 

Brooks Williams: Lucky Star
Brooks Williams, a jaw-droppingly good guitar player, has a sweet, but versatile voice, and is a great song-writer with a ready wit. Lucky Star is a terrific album of bluesy Americana, with twelve tracks and two additional bonus songs which feature Brooks along with blues maestro Hans Theessink. The combination of Williams’ tenor voice and Theessink’s gravelly bass works tremendously well. Our full review is here.

 

And our final set of 10:

Matty T Wall: Sidewinder
Make no mistake – Matty Wall is an extraordinary talent and deserves a massive amount of recognition for this terrific album. It’s blues rock, but it shimmers with passion, originality and top-notch musicianship. The combination of Wall’s artistry, his excellent band and legendary Grammy-winning producer-engineer, Bob Clearmountain, has resulted in one of the best blues rock albums of the year. Our full review is here.

 

Ian Siegal: All the Rage 
Ian Siegal rages against the poison in the veins of the world in a very fine album of blues rock. His trademark rasping vocals never felt so menacing and appropriate.

 

 

Joe Louis Walker & Bruce Katz & Giles Robson: Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues
Traditional stripped down blues featuring some sparkling boogie-woogie piano, lovely guitar work and wailing harmonica from three blues masters. Great versions of some blues standards in a thoroughly satisfying set.

 

 

Paul Oscher: Cool Cat
Oscher was member of Muddy Waters band, of whom Waters said “Paul Oscher plays the soul I feel,” This is an exceptional album of time-honoured, classic blues, from a man, whose life in the blues oozes from every musical phrase. According to Oscher, “The real gift of talent is not the ability to be able to play, it is the gift of the love you have for the music.” Our full review is here.

 

Billy F Gibbons: The Big Bad Blues
No surprises in this one; every phrase is characteristic Billy Gibbons. But what’s not to like? Four classic blues covers and seven new songs to get your toes tapping and your engine revving.

 

 

Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio: Something Smells Funky Round Here
Worth it for the title track alone: “I’m not talkin’ ‘bout funky like a groove/Really funky…like pee-uuuuh!” The stench comes from the nation’s capital – “funky like some old politicians.” Great fun throughout, including the spoken “Lookin’ Good,” with its three stages to life: youth, middle age and “you’re looking good.”

 

 

Bryan Lee: Sanctuary
BMA Award winner and Grammy Nominee, Bryan Lee has had a lifetime in the blues. In his mid-seventies, the bluesman, who lost his sight at the age of 8, is still playing consistently and this very fine collection of unabashed gospel blues shows his vocal and guitar playing powers are still very much in evidence. It’s a top-notch blues album, well produced, recorded and mastered. Our interview with Bryan is here.

 

Victor Wainwright and the Train
Boogie woogie, as you might expect, but a lot more besides on this fine album, driven by Wainwright’s raw, powerful vocals and top notch piano playing. Watch out for the excellent BB King tribute, “Thank You Lucille.”

 

 

Danielle Nicole: Cry No More
Guitar work from guests Sonny Landreth, Walter Trout, Luther Dickenson and Kenny Wayne Shepherd sets off Nicole’s stirring, emotion-laden vocals.

 

 

 

Mike Zito: First Class Life
Rocking, honest 15th album from Zito who sings about his “second chance at a first class life,” charting his journey from addiction to sobriety to a life in music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Down at the Crossroads’ blues artist interviews: 6 things we learned

 

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Down at the Crossroads’ artist interviews: 6 things we learned

We interviewed 11 artists this past year. Here are some of the things they told us:

Hans Theessink

1. The blues legacy: A common theme in the artists we interviewed was the debt they owed to the blues legacy they have inherited. Veteran New Orleans bluesman Bryan Lee told us about how hearing Freddie King as a young man first hooked him on the blues. He went on to say that “the blues is a universal language…it goes to our make up in our soul.” Acoustic blues maestros Brooks Williams and Hans Theessink talked enthusiastically about playing the blues together, “combining some country blues, a little bit of Texas blues, some of the Delta, some really nice Broonzy-style finger picking.” Eric Bibb talked to us about “connecting the history and the situation in the American South and the blues tradition with what’s going on in the rest of the world,” and when we interviewed Mandy Brooks she spoke about the healing and connection that comes in the music of people like Blind Willie Johnson and Fred McDowell, and about the truth that we are able to connect with in these artists. Brooks Williams noted the way that the early blues artists were trying “to make some sort of living, to make a way in the world playing music, and that is powerful, considering what some of those players would have been up against, socially, economically. Those were some pretty huge mountains to cross, and just the fact that they did it and we’re still listening to it. And it’s still vibrant!”

2. We love what we do: All 11 of the artists we talked to this last year are hard-working musicians, touring constantly, giving their best, no matter what the size of audience is, night after night. Can’t be easy, especially as you get older, yet Eric Bibb said that “the joy of performing never goes away.” Blues guitar virtuoso, Ana Popovic, talked about playing with her great band and the wonderful fans that support her, while Chris Smither said that “as soon as I get on stage I realize, this is what I do, this is what makes me happy.”

3. The touring life: Eric Bibb told us he doesn’t “want to stop touring. It’s an essential part of what I’ve enjoyed and still enjoy doing” The physical side of it, however, “especially the hauling of your instruments around from place to place and so on – that can be a strain.” Chris Smither who still plays over 100 shows a year says he’s slowed down some, but admits in some ways it’s become easier – “I can afford nicer accommodation!” Luke Winslow-King, way younger than both these artists, confessed he’d “like to settle down and lead a more normal life, have a more stable relationship, have a home life as well. But I’ll never stop touring and taking this music around.” It’s the love of the music, the love of performance which keeps these fantastic people going – for which we are all grateful.

4. The state of the world: There’s a lot to be discouraged about looking around the world – not least in the United States. Some of the artists were quite outspoken: Eric Bibb spoke about racism – the “tremendous prejudice against what is referred to in the news as people of colour…[an] orientation [that] is so ingrained, so institutional, that people don’t think about it.” Shemekia Copeland talked about the song she has recorded called Would You Take My Blood which directly addresses the problem of racism. “All I want is some respect,” sings Shemekia. How can the problem be addressed, we asked her: “An incredibly difficult question,” she replied. “A good start might be if people actually lived according to beliefs espoused by their religion. The golden rule would be a good place to start.”

Janiva Magness spoke about the need for more gun control – she said, “thoughts and prayers and all that – it’s the time for action and not simply platitudes,” while Chris Smither spoke about a song in his new album which references the “clown with a comb over, tweeting on his phone.” Eric Bibb drew attention to the fake news consumed by many people, saying, “with a diet of that and little else, it’s very possible to get a very distorted view of the world – where a guy like Donald Trump could be appealing.”

5. Women in the blues: The history of the blues is peppered with misogynistic lyrics and the abuse of women. Thankfully things are changing and two of our women interviewees made important points. Janiva Magness said that “there are certain disadvantages because I have different plumbing than you – that’s real. That’s not based on skill, or ability, it’s certainly not based on talent, so those prejudices are based on some very old distorted thinking and philosophy. And I have to raise my hand on the #metoo movement…I have absolutely dealt with sexual harassment my entire life. I’m a woman in the world. Anyone who is surprised by that is either not paying attention or is on some level some kind of perpetrator.” Ana Popovic told us the theme of her new album, Like It on Top is “female empowerment,” which leaves us in no doubt that women should have equal pay and equal benefits. “There’s nothing crazy about it. It’s just the new world.”

6. Faith, hope and spirituality: Dana Fuchs spoke about her song, Faithful Sinner, and said, “Ultimately, aren’t we all just flawed beings who are trying (I hope) to do the right thing?” Paul Thorn, who grew up the son of a Pentecostal minister, hit the same note: “Whoever you look up to the most in life, your hero, whoever that may be, you have to understand, that person is very flawed. We’re all flawed. Nobody is all good and nobody is all bad. That’s the thing I think this record also says – we’re all in it together.”

Photo: Mike White

Despite the difficulties we face inside ourselves or without, our artists expressed hope for the future. Eric Bibb said, “I see no choice but to hold out in my music and my songs a message of hope because otherwise, everything becomes pointless.” And when we asked Shemekia if, as she looks around at America today, she has cause to be hopeful, she replied, “Totally, it’s still the greatest country on earth. I love it and it will always be my home.”

Talking about the need for faith, Bryan Lee said that “we just need to go to that place of sanctuary, where it’s real still, it’s real quiet, where you can really touch the good Lord and find answers to your problems,” while Mandy Brooks insisted that “God gives us the strength to “press on” and “move on up”.”

Bringing it all down to the personal and practical, Janiva Magness said that love is an action – “it begins with us, it begins at home. Helping someone who is in need. It begins there. Do it. Do something every day to help someone else.”

Check out the interviews:

Ana Popovic

Brooks Williams & Hans Theessink 

Bryan Lee 

Chris Smither

Dana Fuchs

Eric Bibb 

Janiva Magness

Luke Winslow-King

Mandy Brooks 

Paul Thorn

Shemekia Copeland

Shemekia Copeland: America’s Child and her hopes for the future

“Shemekia Copeland is one of the great blues voices of our time” Chicago Tribune

Photo: Mike White / Alligator Records

Shemekia Copeland is a blues powerhouse, with a stack of blues music awards to her name (Blues Music Awards, Living Blues Awards) and several Grammy nominations. She burst on to the scene in 1998 with Turn the Heat Up and has been lighting up stages and recording studios with the force of her personality, her incredible vocals and song-writing ever since. She’s opened for the Rolling Stones, and graced stages with B B King, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana, and played for President and Mrs. Obama at the White House.

Her new album, America’s Child, produced by Nashville’s Will Kimbrough, is a compelling piece of work that sees Ms. Copeland branch out beyond the blues in which she’s made her name. To be sure there are great blues numbers here, but there’s rock and country too – overall it’s a great piece of Americana.

When Down at the Crossroads asked Shemekia how she would describe the album musically, she replied, “It’s rootsy. All American music is based on the blues, so I felt free to borrow from other genres like country and bluegrass.”

The album has a stellar cast of collaborators on the album – John Prine, Mary Gauthier, Emmylou Harris, Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Cropper and others. Shemekia clearly enjoyed working with each of them and told us, “Each one was incredibly generous. John Prine was so much fun to duet with, and Mary Gauthier is a wonderful person who happens to be one of the best writers in America.”

Gauthier has returned the compliment by saying, “America’s Child is a ground-breaking, genre-bending work of beauty. Shemekia is one of the great singers of our time…Her voice on these songs is nothing short of magic.”

Shemekia told us: “Rhiannon’s banjo took our song to a whole other level. Emmylou has the voice of an angel. I was so honoured. And Steve Cropper is my old friend and happens to be one of the greatest, most soulful guitarists in the history of music. I was blessed to have each of them.”

When asked about the background to the album – why this set of songs and what she was setting out to achieve with it, Shemekia said that last year she had given birth to Johnny Lee Copeland and that the album is her vision of the world she is bringing him into – “my vision of life in America today, and my hopes for the future.”

Shemekia Copeland is no stranger to biting social commentary in her work – in her 2015 album, Outskirts of Love, she addressed victims of date rape in Crossbone Beach and of domestic violence in Drivin’ Out of Nashville, the homeless, in Cardboard Box, and those living in poverty in Lord Help the Poor And Needy. And no less in American Child, she offers a social commentary and critique of the way things are in the United States at the moment in the songs I Ain’t Got Time for Hate, Americans and Would You Take My Blood. When asked how much it matters for artists and musicians to comment and make people think about what is going on, Shemekia said that for her it was important. “Music,” she said, “reaches people in ways that speeches and politics cannot. It’s emotional.”

There’s no shortage of emotion on this album, driven by the conviction and clarity of Ms. Copeland’s vocals, which range from tender in the closing lullaby to playful in One I Love to sassy on The Wrong Idea to earnest in In the Blood of the Blues, and everything in between. Although it’s not an out and out blues album, there’s a fine bluesy feel throughout, driven by the excellent guitar skills of Will Kimbrough and Steve Cropper. The song arrangements and tight band work combine with Ms. Copeland’s voice to make this an authentic and memorable album.

Would You Take My Blood written by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough directly addresses the problem of racism. “All I want is some respect,” sings Shemekia, and then pointedly asks someone who’s a racist if they’d be willing to take your blood if they were dying and needed it? It is appalling that these sorts of attitudes still seem to be so ingrained in the fabric of American life, and it’s sometimes hard to see how the problem be addressed. “An incredibly difficult question,” replied Shemekia. “A good start might be if people actually lived according to beliefs espoused by their religion. The golden rule would be a good place to start.” Ain’t that the truth?

Terry Abrahamson’s and Derrick Proce’s In the Blood of the Blues, is an outstanding blues song, with great guitar work from Kimbrough, who has played guitar with Emmylou Harris in recent years.  It’s a stark reminder of the way the blues is rooted in the suffering of the black community – in slavery, sharecropping and Jim Crow injustice.

“I’m the twist in the wire tying every bale of cotton

I’m the shout in the field that echoes across the sea

I’m the newsprint walls in a one-room shack in Stovall

And the blade on the knife that cut my brother from the tree.”

Despite every week’s dispiriting news cycle seeming to confirm the need for the United States to properly come to terms with its past with respect to African Americans, when we asked Shemekia if, as she looks around at America today, does she have cause to be hopeful, she replied, “Totally, it’s still the greatest country on earth. I love it and it will always be my home.”

As well as the serious side to the record, there’s a sense of playfulness and joy here too. Shemekia told us, “Now with the birth of my son (born just two years ago), I’m a more joyful person than ever. And grateful.” She said in a previous interview with Forbes that, in fact, America’s Child is completely about Johnny Lee, who had changed her life. “You immediately become frustrated with the world you live in but you’re also hopeful for your child and hopeful that things will get better for him. That’s kind of what America’s Child is about.”

Thank you Shemekia.

Sidemen: Long Road to Glory.

(Dir: Scott D. Rosenbaum)

Hubert Sumlin

Sidemen, narrated by Marc Maron, is a splendid tribute to three legendary bluesmen – pianist Pinetop Perkins, drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and guitarist Hubert Sumlin. Over an hour and twenty minutes we get brief life histories of the three men, interviews and live performances by them, and tributes from a who’s who of the blues world, including Bonnie Raitt, Greg Allman, Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, to name but a few. It’s a beautifully crafted film, utterly engaging and an overdue appreciation of three musicians who left an indelible mark not only on the blues, but on rock’n roll. Their role was to support, and yet their contribution was foundational for both Muddy Waters’ and Howlin’ Wolf’s bands. Today’s musicians interviewed in the film leave us in no doubt that these three helped redefine modern music as we know it.

The beauty of the film is in the intimate interviews and live performances shot shortly before Perkins, Smith and Sumlin passed away in 2011, though there is a wealth of concert footage of Waters, Wolf, Hendrix and the Rolling Stones over the years too. Both Perkins and Smith died a few months after their Grammy success for the “Joined at the Hip,” album. Perkins was 97, the oldest Grammy winner, and Smith 75. It was indeed a long road to glory.

The film strongly makes the case for Hubert Sumlin’s induction into the Rock’n Roll Hall of Fame. Not only was he an outstanding guitarist – number 43 in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Guitarist list, but rated by Derek Trucks as much, much better than that – but he was, according to Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “an extraordinary example of a human being.”

Sidemen is an affectionate, but never sentimental, tribute to three top class musicians who were overshadowed by two titans of blues history, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Any music fan ought to enjoy this film; any blues fan will be delighted – indeed for them it is required viewing.

 

 

Best Blues Albums 2015

2015 was another excellent year for new blues albums. Here’s our pick of 21 of the cream of the crop.

Shemekia Copeland: Outskirts of Love. Down at the Crossroads’ number one pick this year. Fabulous music, brought alive by Shemekia’s outstanding vocal performances, which vary between understated, powerhouse, sultry and downright bluesy. But it’s an album where she makes us take a long hard look at the world and its ills in what is an almighty fusing of blues and gospel.

 

Buddy Guy: Born to Play Guitar. The legendary pioneer of the Chicago blues scene, who has just turned 79, proves he is still a master of the genre. His guitar work is as top-notch as ever and oh, he’s in fine voice here.  A star studded guest list includes Billy Gibbons, Van Morrison, Kim Wilson and Joss Stone. Van Morrison duets with Guy on the poignant Flesh & Bone, a tribute to the late BB King. A fine set of classic blues tracks.

 

Hans Theessink & Terry Evans: True & Blue. Recorded live in Vienna, this album captures two of the world’s finest acoustic bluesmen at the top of their game. Theessink’s guitar work is rhythmic and masterful throughout, and the contrasting timbres and styles of both men’s voices – Evans’ soulful, tenor, with judiciously injected falsetto, and Theessink’s rich, lazy baritone – combine to enrich and enliven the songs.

 

Gary Clark Jr.: The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. This album pushes forward Clark’s continued modern take on the blues, with hints of R&N, funk and gospel as well as the blues. The guitar work is outstanding as is Clark’s expressive vocals. If the album has a theme, according to Clark, it is simply, “Through all the b*s*, there’s always hope.”

 

 

Amy Helm: Didn’t It Rain. Not 100% blues, but certainly blues infused throughout. This is one very fine album from the daughter of Levon Helm that has a mixture of original songs and covers, with a rootsy, bluesy and gospel feel to the fore. Ms. Helm is a terrific singer and this album one of the finest I’ve listened to all year.

 

 

Sonny Landreth: Bound By the Blues. Driven by Landreth’s always excellent slide guitar, Bound By the Blues, sees the artist return to his blues roots with ten classic blues numbers, including “Walking Blues,” “Dust My Broom,” and “Key to the Highway.” The album is a complete delight, simple as that.

 

 

Guy Davis: Kokomo Kid. A largely acoustic mixture of classic blues songs, Dylan and Donovan numbers and Davis originals. Davis is a fine, rhythmic guitar picker and the songs are reminiscent of classic country blues. He’s also a great story teller and the album transports you to another time, when things were not so hurried or harried.

 

Harrison Kennedy with Colin Linden: This is From Here. Canadian singer/songwriter in collaboration with compatriot guitar-slinger Colin Linden offers up an outstanding set of acoustic blues songs. Heartfelt blues with a nice hint of sould.

 

 

Eric Bibb: Lead Belly’s Gold. A new album from acoustic blues troubadour Eric Bibb is always welcome. This one is a collaboration with harp player J J Milteau. The album is a tribute to Leadbelly and includes Midnight Special, Bourgeois Blues, Pick a Bale of Cotton.  Most of the songs were recorded in a Parisian jazz club, and the bonus edition of the album you get three live  version of Eric Bibb songs thrown in. Bibb’s picking is wondrous, as usual, and the harp playing, though on every song, is tastefully done.

 

Samantha Fish: Wild Heart. The 3^rd studio outing from the 25 year old Ms Fish, and it’s a good ‘un. Fish’s guitar chops are on display throughout and are, as usual, terrific and her vocals put her in the company of Susan Tedeschi and Bonnie Raitt. Tweleve songs, 5 self-penned all brilliantly arranged show off a fast-developing talent. Excellent instrumental contribution from Luther Dickinson.

 

Mike Zito & The Wheel: Keep Coming Back. Great good-time driving blues rock, with more than a hint of country. An excellent set of twelve songs that will keep your toes stomping or your fingers tapping the steering wheel. It’s top notch stuff, with some highly enjoyable guitar work throughout.

 

 

Keith Richards: Crosseyed Heart. This is one fine album from Richards with a mixture of old blues, touching ballads, and rocking Stones-like numbers, Richards’ voice is cracked and worn but always interesting and there are some killer guitar riffs throughout. Vintage Keef.

 

 

Colin Linden: Rich in Love. The first new studio recording from 8-time Juno Award-winning singer/guitarist Colin Linden since From the Water in 2009. Linden is an outstanding guitarist and this is a fine set of rootsy, bluesy numbers helped along by a number of special guests which include Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Reese Wynans on keyboards, Amy Helm on harmony vocals and organist Tim Lauer on organ.

 

Eliza Neals: Breaking and Entering. Great songs, fine arrangements, a superb group of musicians – and Neal’s fabulous vocals – there’s so much to admire here. And most of all enjoy. This is one to put on in the car music player and hit the open road, with a big smile on your face.

 

 

Walter Trout: Battle Scars. Trout’s miraculous escape from death and recovery from a liver transplant is well documented. Battle Scars reflects his new joy in and zest for life, documenting his journey from death’s door to new man. “I feel that I’m reborn as a songwriter, a singer, a guitarist and a human being. I have a new chance at being the best musician and the best man that I can be. And I’m incredibly happy and grateful.”

 

Beth Hart: Better Than Home. Hart’s 12^th album is another excellent addition to her catalogue, though perhaps more mellow and reflective than some others. It’s perhaps also somewhat less blues-infused than previous work, but is no less enjoyable for that. Better Than Home showcases well Hart’s remarkable talents as a singer and songwriter.

 

 

Billy Gibbons & the BFGs: Perfectamundo. It’s ZZ Top meets Santana with a bit of dance and R&B thrown in for good measure, in a mixture that works surprisingly well. Gibbons’ characteristic rasping voice suits the mood admirably and although it may not be “perfectamundo,” it’s great fun throughout.

 

 

JP Soars: Full Moon in Memphis. An excellent album. Every track is a joy, with divergent blues styles which show off Soars’ fabulous guitar chops which are always entertaining, engaging and enjoyable, as opposed to just technical.

 

 

Dave & Phil Alvin: Lost Time. Twelve tracks which cover artists and songs that had an early, formative influence on the brothers.  It’s a blues album, covering a range of styles including Texas, Piedmont and ragtime. Artists covered include James Brown, Leadbelly, Willie Dixon, Blind Boy Fuller, Leroy Carr and Big Joe Turner.

 

 

Dani Wilde: Songs About You. Probably a stretch to call it a blues album, admittedly, but this is a really fine record. What a fine voice this woman has – at once sweet and rasping. And a great set of beautifully arranged original songs.

 

 

Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans: That’s What They Say. A romp through a thoroughly enjoyable range of blues, Americana, roots, rock n’roll and ragtime, all with a great old-timey vibe. This is just the sort of album that makes you smile the whole way through

The blues are evolving: new interview with Shemekia Copeland

She’s been dubbed “a ball-of-fire vocalist with a voice that’s part Memphis, part Chicago and all woman,” she’s sung for the President of the United States, and Billy Gibbons recently said she was the “reigning Queen of the Blues.” With her new album Outskirts of Love winning her critical acclaim and loads of new fans, Down at the Crossroads was delighted to catch up with her…

DATC: Shemekia, thanks for talking to us. First of all, congratulations on the new album (Outskirts of Love), we think it’s terrific! Have you been pleased at the reception it’s had?

Shemekia: Absolutely !! I couldn’t be happier. It’s gotten the best reaction of any CD I’ve ever done.

DATC: You cover a lot of ground in the songs, from violence against women to homelessness to poverty to politics. This goes against the grain of the majority of songs you hear these days, whether blues or otherwise; most are about love gone wrong or about something fairly trivial. So why has it been important to you to address these topics in your music?

Shemekia: Aside from being important issues on their own,  I think it’s very important that the blues evolves. That it grows. To do that it has to stay relevant and address contemporary issues. I try to do that.

DATC: Does it concern you that some people might say, “Look I just want to be entertained; if I want to think about issues, I’ll watch the news on TV?” Or do you find your audience is more sophisticated than that!?

Shemekia: I always try to entertain and never lecture. It all depends on how an issue is presented. I’m just following in the blues tradition of telling stories. Some of my stories happen to be about topics that give women the blues…today. And yes, thankfully my audience is sophisticated enough to not only get it but thank me for talking about things that really do concern them.

DATC: There’s some gospel and faith in the record as well. You cover ZZ Top’s Jesus Just Left Chicago with its “You might not see him in person but he’ll see you just the same” and  “You don’t have to worry ’cause takin’ care of business is his name.” And there are faith themes in Long As I Can See the Light and Lord Help the Poor and Needy. So is faith an element in your life and art and if so, where did that come from?

Shemekia: Definitely. My Grandma Jesse was a big church goer and I used to go with her. I’m not overly religious but I do believe in the power of redemption. And that in a world of troubles, Jesus offers hope, help and solace.

DATC: The blues and the music business generally can be pretty androcentric and at times misogynist. How have you found making your way to a successful career, as a woman?

Shemekia: I have benefited greatly from strong women who have gone before me…the Koko Taylors…the Ruth Browns…who paved the way for women today. Most people treat me well. I have no complaints .

DATC: You’ve been a professional singer for, what, maybe 15 years? How would you summarize how you have developed as a song-writer and as an artist over that time?

Shemekia: When you start out singing in your teens, it can be difficult to sing what you really feel in your heart. You’re so young that you may not even know yourself.

Now I feel like I’ve found my voice. I’ve grown and have had a chance to develop my own options and point of view . I’ve traveled.

I’ve played everywhere from India to Iraq to Brazil, every state in the Union…even played the White House for President Obama. It’s helped me see the world and its people in my own way. I’m just lucky that I get to express it. But it takes time for any person to really formulate who they are and what they want to say.

DATC: Finally, Shemekia, you’ve achieved a lot of success – Grammy nominations, headlining at major festivals, opening for the Rolling Stones, performing at the White House, and being dubbed the new “Queen of the Blues.” What is important to you, as an artist, going forward, what more do you aspire to?

Shemekia: I’d like to change people’s lives in a positive way. To give a voice to some people who don’t have one. And to help people have a good time at the same time.

Thanks for asking, Gary. Good talking with you.