The Blues Blog (4) A regular round-up of new releases The Postman has time to chat this morning, mostly about the Credit Crunch. Unlike the rest of us he’s not complaining, more philosophizing, with the view that it will be good for all our souls to manage on a more limited budget. Given that he is delivering a parcel of CD’s on labels ranging from the small to the positively micro, that sentiment also becomes the theme of this week’s Blog. At a time when the giants of the recording industry are suffering serious profit shortfalls, the traditional marginalization of Blues artists suddenly doesn’t seem so bad a thing. In a context where young rock bands posted over the cover of NME one moment are unceremoniously dumped the next, shattering dreams and careers simultaneously, the prospect of shifting twenty cheaply pressed home-spun albums of a night to top off the door money at least connotes a degree of sustainability and self-control. And even in this digitised virtual age it’s likely that possession of the artefact will remain important to the average Blues fan as a vital link with the performer. So while Axl Rose is bankrolled to the tune of $18m plus (allegedly) to perfect his decade-delayed “Chinese Democracy”, what can we expect by way of quality from those acts documenting their work with more modest resources? Cathy Ponton King has twenty years of gigging experience on the American East Coast, and “Undertow” (Long Gone Records) is her second release. The material is all new, written by herself and producer/husband Jeff, and moves away somewhat from her original intention of playing Muddy Waters-inspired electric blues, incorporating as it does gospel (“Little Bridge”), jazz (“Since You’ve Been Gone”), funk (“Champagne Days Are Over”), guitar-led rockers (“Dark Shroud”) and Fleetwood Mac-style ballads (“Can’t Let You Walk Away”). With precise, mature singing backed by a band sometimes numbering up to ten players (including a full brass section) the collection is consistently competent if maybe overly eclectic and sometimes a little safe. Southern man Davis Coen also tips his hat to a diversity of stylistic approaches, mostly drawn from African and Creole traditions, on “Blue Lights for Yours and Mine” (Soundview). He takes on Professor Longhair’s “Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand” traditional spiritual “Since I Laid My Burden Down”, and folk ballad “Jack of Diamonds”, alongside self-penned material invoking Memphis soul (“Basement With a Blue Light”) and the darker, swampier “Accelerated Woman”. Despite the attempted range there’s a marked tendency to merge everything into a more restrained singer-songwriter idiom which stifles the real depth expected from the Blues, and the nearest thing to authentic expression of feeling ironically comes with acoustic closer “C.C. Rider”, which may be a pointer for future efforts. Members of The Baddest Blues Band (Ever) claim impressive past associations; as a band, however, they have but recently come together in their present form. This self-titled debut was recorded over just forty-eight hours with only one or two takes per song, and was clearly made for fun rather than profit. Original numbers supplemented by standards from Ray Charles, Willie Dixon, Nina Simone and Mose Allison are played with commendable enthusiasm, often Hammond-organ dominated, with one or two “moments” such as Rob Korals’s guitar solos on “Do I Move You” and “It’s Alright to be Blue”. The overall effect however is of something that may go down best with a Sunday lunchtime pint in a pub without necessarily making the journey home. As the only artist listed to the Cattail label, Scott Ainslie’s “Thunder’s Mouth” seems to suggest a self-release; if so, his considerable recording experience after five similar efforts speaks volumes. A serious student of Delta Blues, Ainslie is also presenter of an instructional DVD on Robert Johnson’s slide guitar techniques, and his debt to Johnson, Son House and J.B. Lenoir is on full view here. His treatment of traditional material is both respectful and stylish, but he also makes genuine efforts to include more contemporary elements, including “It’s Gonna Rain”, which was written shortly before Hurricaine Katrina struck New Orleans and stands as an effective paean to the beleaguered city. While his own songs are generally folkier, carefully avoiding the trap of mimicry, the record’s most effective passages come in his darkly atmospheric take on Vera Hall’s 1938 field recording “Another Man Gone Down” and in the working of the title track, both of which combine acoustic and electric slide guitars with cello to produce a pointedly modern take on the blues not dissimilar to Dylan’s classic “Blind Willie McTell”. One way of avoiding the restrictions of a limited studio budget of course is to record live. While many of the Blues’ classic recordings were captured such (“At The Regal”, “Newport Festival” etc), the practice remains high risk and can easily leave less skilled practitioners woefully exposed. Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen make no such mistake. Clearly in thrall to Professor Longhair and heavily influenced by Dr John, James Booker and Allan Toussaint the band build up steadily to a funky storm which finally reaches full fury on title track “Mo Hippa”. Along the way they showcase Cleary’s first rate and soulful singing voice (on “Help Me Somebody” in particular), delicate guitar playing (try “When U Get Back”) and storming piano boogie (“Port Street Blues”). The Kent-born band leader has lived in the states since turning seventeen and has a long association with Bonnie Raitt and songwriting credits with Taj Mahal to underline his bon fides; on this showing (on FHQ) he and his boys could be just the thing to save us from twelve-bar hell. As home to such emerging luminaries as Phillip Walker, Sean Costello, Ana Popovich and The Mannish Boys, Delta Groove could hardly be considered a minor label where the Blues is concerned. Despite its impressive catalogue and effective operation however it will have nothing like the financial resources of the big players. This new issue from vocalist Jackie Payne (ex Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, T. Bone Walker and Lowell Fulson) and guitarist Steve Edmonson (Buddy Miles, Van Morrison, Maria Muldaur) shows very clearly the difference that association with a professional set-up can make. The whole disc benefits from producer David Z’s fine balancing of the sweaty gospel/soul/funk/r&b/blues mix provided by the six piece band (whose other members have history with B.B.King, Jimmy Witherspoon, Gladys Night, Jimmy Rogers and countless more), giving full expression to seasoned vocals, superb performances and accomplished material. Much of this skilfully invokes the best of Sam and Dave and Rufus Thomas, while echoes of Freddy King are found in shouter “Mother-in-Law Blues”, Little Walter in “I Got A Mind To Go To Chicago” and splendidly Al Green in “Midnight Friend” and “Take A Chance On Me”. Delta Groove is owned by musician Randy Chortkoff, who as Executive Producer takes a personal interest in nurturing his stable of talents. His organisation has over thirty staff and provides back-up from studio to management to promotion and retail, and occupies an essential place between the D.I.Y. approach and the cut-throat profiteers. Taking “Overnight Sensation” as an example of what this approach can achieve, we must hope that Delta and their like continue to prosper. Neil B. www.cathypontonking.com/blog www.daviscoen.com http://cattailmusic.com www.joncleary.com www.deltagrooveproductions.com Next