| |
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
"American Blues"
is the second Putumayo collection devoted
to the blues. Many of the music's giants are here. Arthur Adams
and BB King set the ball rolling with "Get Next to Me",
brassy, swinging and full of BB's trademark liquid guitar licks.
There are classic cuts such as Otis Rush's hard-bitten Chicago
style "I Got The Blues" and Ruth Brown's " Good
Day For The Blues" while relative newcomers like Keb Mo swing
soulfully in the tradition.
Another outstanding track is "She's Into Something"
where Robert Cray's R & B (not the marketing term) vocals
and plucked guitar runs are rudely interrupted by some fiercely
slashing buzzsaw guitar from the late Albert Collins. It was lifted
off their landmark "Showdown" LP.
Taj Mahal, Raful Neal and lesser-known artists such as Henry Gray,
Chris Thomas King, Sugar Pie Desanton all give excellent performances
of varied blues styles. Well, maybe Taj Mahal's reputation is
a bit overblown, although his "Cakewalk Into Town" is
at the least entertaining.
I must confess I was unaware of Eric Bibb, a bluesman who has
lived in Europe for the last 15 years. His sensitive country-blues
rendition of that mouldy old hymn "Needed Time" is timelessly
beautiful and totally unexpected. Another seeming outsider is
Susan Tedeschi, a young lady who made it as a nominee for Best
New Artist Grammy 2000 alongside such vacuous icons as Britney
Spears and Christina Aguilera.
Her entry "Just Won't Burn", a slow to mid-tempo burner
with a touch of Janis Joplin raspiness in her delivery is a bona
fide roofraiser. "American Blues" closes with the gospel-soul
of Solomon Burke's "None Of Us Are Free" from his Grammy
Award winning album "Don't Give Up On Me"
|
|
|
