129.00 PLN

LP-180G 33rpm:

Nr kat.: SP1270
Label  : PURE PLEASURE

Review by Hal Horowitz [-] Best known for that ditty about camels, Maria Muldaur has since established herself as one of the finest folk/country/jazz/blues/gospel interpreters ever to have a Top Five single. After 26 years and 24 solo albums, Muldaur -- inspired by a trip to Memphis' Beale Street -- digs deep into her roots and pays tribute to the classic blues women of the '20s and '30s. Aided by the similarly inclined Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, Muldaur breezes through 14 tunes from icons Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie, as well as obscurities from the Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Blind Willie Johnson. Keeping the unplugged accompaniment stripped way down to a single guitar or piano and occasional bass, Muldaur has room to maneuver her evocative vocals that shift from gritty groans to a high-pitched edgy trill. Far from a dry history lesson, these songs are performed with the strength and tenacity of the women who originally sang them. Whether spinning saucy, double entendre lyrics in "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" ("the way you ride so easy, I can't turn you down") or longing for her Southern home after moving north during the Depression in Bessie Smith's "Far Away Blues," the singer remains invigorated and inspired throughout. By returning to her late-'60s Jim Kweskin Jug Band coffeehouse days, Maria Muldaur has discovered her middle-aged oasis with Richland Woman Blues. And there's not a camel in sight. **** By Bill Milkowski Maria Muldaur celebrates the blues of the 1920s and 1930s on Richland Woman Blues. Inspired by a trip to Memphis Minnie's gravesite in Walls, Miss., Maria's third album for Stony Plain features special guests John Sebastian on guitar on Mississippi John Hurt's title track, guitarist Amos Garrett on Leadbelly's "Grasshoppers in My Pillow" and guitarist Roy Rogers on two Memphis Minnie tunes, "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" and "In My Girlish Days." Taj Mahal joins Muldaur on Blind Willie Johnson's "Soul of a Man," Bonnie Raitt joins her on a stirring rendition of Mississippi Fred McDowell's "It's a Blessing" and Alvin Youngblood Hart appears on two other Memphis Minnie tunes, "I'm Goin' Back Home" and "I Got to Move." Other highlights on this sparse, revealing and profoundly moving collection of early blues include a heart-wrenching vocal duet between Maria and Tracy Nelson on "Far Away Blues," accompanied by Dave Matthews on piano, and a searing duet between Maria and Angela Strehli on Bessie Smith's "My Man Blues." A must for roots blues fans. Maria Muldaur - w naszej ofercie