Rockin’ the blues!
With Charlie Musselwhite wailing on the harmonica, teamed with guitarists Alvin Youngblood Hart and Jimbo Mathus as well as a rhythm team of Jim Dickinson/p, Luther Dickinson/g-mand-b, Cody Dickinson/dr, Chris Chew/b and Paul Taylor/tb, the NMJRFR mix blues standards, traditional tunes and some surprises on this honey dripper of a set. Musselwhite howls on the shuffling “Blues, Why You Worry Me” and boogies on “Shake It And Bake It” with some snarling work by Mathus with the two trudging through “Night Time”. Hart two steps through Charlie Patton’s “Pony Blues” while Dickinson pounds away on a saloon tuned piano on “Come On Home”. Most fun is the take of Jimi Hendrix’s “Stone Free” that rocks the blues away as well as a “Stop and Listen Blues” that sounds like something out of Sticky Fingers. A hoot and nanny!
Telecaster master Ronnie Earl teams up with Dave Limina/p-B3, Forrest Padgett/dr, Paul Kochanski/b, Peter Ward/g and vocalist Diane Blue for smoking covers and originals. Limina’s Hammond is humming on Jimmy Smith’s “Blues For J” and the team swings the KC beat for the earth toned Blue for “Higher Love”. Limina’s piano gets into a Memphis stew for “Mess Around” and gospel toned on “Lord Protect My Child”. Earl himself gives clean lines on a gorgeous tribute with blue for the recently departed legend in “Blues For Lucky Peterson” and makes the strings cry on “All Your Love”. A couple political statements are posted on “Blues For George Floyd” and “Black Lives Matter” with the playing and sounds sounding longer lasting less controversial (and Marxist) and unifying than the subjects at hand. Soulful sounds.