Blues: By Al Hensley

ALBUMS: Blues

BY AL HENSLEY

MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT MR. HURT GOES TO WASHINGTON Sunset Blvd. Records/Planet Co.

Discovered in 1928 in his hometown hamlet of Avalon, Mississippi, John Hurt that year made his first recordings for OKeh Records which became exemplary country blues cornerstones when re-issued on the album Avalon Blues after his re-discovery during the early 1960s folk music revival. In the intervening years Hurt worked as a labourer around Avalon. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Hurt was not a rambler who sang in noisy Delta juke joints. A self taught finger-picking guitarist with a soft baritone voice of grace and beauty, Hurt’s style was unique without lacking dynamic rhythmic impetus. His repertoire combined fluid original compositions and pre-blues folk ballads performed with a high level of syncopation and finesse. This massive 40-song compilation was recorded for the Library Of Congress in 1963 during the resurgence of Hurt’s musical career that followed his relocation to Washington DC. It has an intimate ambience as Hurt paints stark musical portraits narrating tales of love, violence, working life, salvation and redemption. One of the great storytellers of folk-blues, by the time he died in 1965 aged 74 Hurt had enjoyed at least four years of deserved acclaim.

MICK FLEETWOOD & FRIENDS CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF PETER GREEN AND THE EARLY YEARS OF FLEETWOOD MAC BMG

Peter Green, founder of Fleetwood Mac as a blues band in 1967, died in July 2020 aged 73. Often referred to as “The Green God”, Green was regarded by many as without equal in the pantheon of British blues guitar. Band drummer Mick Fleetwood brought out the big guns of Anglo-American blues and rock to pay homage to the ailing musician in February of 2020 for an all-star concert at the London Palladium. The who’s who of musical household names who performed is a testament to the esteem in which Green was held. The house band led by Fleetwood included blues-worthy singer/guitarists Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low and Rick Vito. Matching of guest artists to respective selections was well allocated. From Billy Gibbons’ ‘Doctor Brown’, John Mayall’s ‘All Your Love’, and Christine McVie’s ‘Stop Messin’ Around’, to Steven Tyler’s ‘Rattlesnake Shake’, Pete Townsend’s ‘Station Man’, and David Gilmour’s ‘Oh Well (Pt. 2)’ and ‘Albatross’, the reverence of Green was visceral. Danny Kirwan’s ‘Like Crying’ by Noel Gallagher was exceptional, while Jeremy Spencer returned with Bill Wyman on bass for two of his Elmore James staples.

NEW MOON JELLY ROLL FREEDOM ROCKERS VOLUME 2 Stony Plain/Only Blues Music

The New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers project brought together two generations of elite blues musicians in 2007 in an informally convened blues jam with the tape rolling at the Mississippi hill country ranch of pianist/producer Jim Dickinson. This title is a companion to Volume 1 of the the sessions’ recordings which remained in the vaults until their release last year. Harmonica virtuoso Charlie Musselwhite, guitarist/mandolin player Alvin Youngblood Hart and guitarist Jimbo Mathus sat in with Dickinson and his North Mississippi Allstars sons guitarist Luther and drummer Cody, together with their bassist Chris Chew. The music has an air of spontaneity that puts the listener right in the moment. Musselwhite, Hart and Mathus brought two songs each to this session, while the elder Dickinson sang the lion’s share, Luther contributing the fiery Earl Hooker instrumental ‘Blue Guitar’. Original compositions resemble vintage juke joint classics and Hart’s take on Doug Sahm’s ‘She’s About A Mover’ is down-home gut-bucket blues. Dickinson senior’s Mississippi Sheiks, Junior Wells and Jimmy Reed covers and his reading of Charles Mingus’ cold war anthem ‘Oh Lord, Don’t let Them Drop That Atom Bomb On Me’ are inspired.

CHRIS CAIN RAISIN’ CAIN Alligator/Only Blues Music

It’s no coincidence Chris Cain’s full-bodied baritone voice and masterful guitar chops evoke the sound of B.B. King. The late blues icon was a major influence on Cain during his early childhood years growing up in San Jose, California. Jazz greats Wes Montgomery and Grant Green also informed Cain’s signature playing style along with Albert King and Albert Collins. In the same manner as Collins and the Kings, since his 1987 debut album Cain’s sound has been fattened by including horns in his backing band, giving his music a sophisticated uptown vibe. This album, Cain’s fifteenth overall and first for Alligator Records, continues on the same path. Like his self-titled 2017 release, it was recorded at Greaseland studios in San Jose with owner Kid Andersen producing. The alloriginal program is a melting pot of recognisable blues structures from west side Chicago shuffles to funky R&B and Memphistinged soul blues. Cain’s songs, mostly narratives on relationship problems and life’s struggles, are steeped in insistent grooves. The slow-burn of the autobiographical ‘Born To Play’ gives way to high voltage swing on ‘Out Of My Head’, while five sides also showcase Cain’s accomplished keyboard skills.