Tag: Blues

Amythyst Kiah: “Wary + Strange” (Short Review)

Amythyst Kiah positions her unique voice and songwriting with one of the best albums of the year with “Wary + Strange.”

One of my favorite albums from 2021 is Amythyst Kiah‘s Wary + Strange. The Tennesseean’s first nationally distributed album defies categorization, with many finding indie, alt-rock, roots, folk, country-blues and other sounds in it, with a deep voice that may remind some of Tracy Chapman. Kiah, though, is an experienced artist making her own music, with experience that includes time spent in Our Native Daughters, a talented supergroup that includes Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell.

Wary + Strange shows an artist continuing to develop since 2013’s debut Dig and the 2016 EP Amythyst Kiah And Her Chest of Glass. The newest album is packed full of memorable songs. One stand-out is “Black Myself.” The New York Times called the song “a down-home, defiant testimony to Black pride that earned a Grammy nomination for best American roots song.” Check it out.

Kiah wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, which was produced by Tony Berg. Another powerful song is “Fancy Drones (Fracture Me),” a song about being cut off from your emotions. Another favorite song showing a softer bluesy side is “Tender Organs,” revealing both strength and vulnerability in dealing with internal struggles.

Notice here, notice here,
These tender organs rotting inside me;
Notice here, notice here,
The hands that healed me, now they’re writhing.

With such a talent for songwriting and a distinctive powerful voice. Kiah should be around for a long time adding to the soundtrack of our lives. Give the album a spin.

What do you think of the album? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Lonnie Johnson: “Another Night to Cry”

    Another Night to Cry

    Singer-songwriter-musician Alonzo “Lonnie” Johnson was born on February 8, 1899 in New Orleans. Johnson was a musical pioneer for, among other reasons, his work with the electric guitar and the electric violin.

    Besides the fact he created some great music, he has been credited with creating the note-by-note guitar solo style that became common in many kinds of music. His career spanned decades, starting with his jazz and blues work in the 1920s and 1930s. And after World War II, he had some success as an R&B performer, although he eventually ended up taking other labor jobs to support himself.

    Below, Lonnie Johnson performs “Another Night to Cry.”

    Johnson died on June 16, 1970 in Toronto.  He had been in poor health following getting hit by a car in March 1969. Because he had no money when he died, in 2014 the Killer Blues Headstone Project paid for the headstone on his grave.

    What is your favorite recording by Lonnie Johnson? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Amythyst Kiah: “Wary + Strange” (Short Review)
  • Barbara Dane’s Cool Musical Legacy: “Wild Woman,” “Gasser,” “Hard-Hitter”
  • Skip James: “Hard Times Killing Floor Blues”
  • Steve Earle Sings the Blues at KEXP
  • Blues Legend Johnny Winter Live in Copenhagen
  • Dion’s Tank Full of Blues (CD Review)

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    Buy from Amazon

    Barbara Dane’s Cool Musical Legacy: “Wild Woman,” “Gasser,” “Hard-Hitter”

    Dane Barbara

    Folk, blues, and jazz singer Barbara Dane was born in Detroit on May 12, 1927.  Smithsonian Folkways recently released a retrospective of the singer and political activist who has worked with many musical giants of the 1950s, 1960s, and beyond.

    In her long career, Dane performed and recorded with artists such as Louis Armstrong, Memphis Slim, Otis Spahn, Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, Pete Seeger, Mose Allison, Big Mama Thornton, Lightnin’ Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, and many others. Below she sings with Louis Armstrong on the Timex All-Star Jazz Show, which was broadcast on CBS on January 7, 1959.  Armstrong famously described Dane with the compliment, “She’s a gasser!”

    She also made a wonderful album with The Chambers Brothers. Here, they perform “I am a Weary and Lonesome Traveler” from Barbara Dane and the Chambers Brothers.

    A new album from Smithsonian Folkways collects a number of Dane’s recordings into a retrospective. Below is a promo for the two-CD retrospective, Hot Jazz, Cool Blues & Hard-Hitting Songs (2018).

    More on Barbara Dane

    Dane has had a long career with great music while also being active politically for such causes as the civil rights and anti-war movements. If you are unfamiliar with her work, her website is a good place to start. And another resource is the audio documentary, A Wild Woman Sings the Blues: The Life and Music of Barbara Dane.

    Finally, fortunately for us, Dane continues to be active. Below is a video of her performing and talking about her career at the San Francisco Library in 2014.

    Happy birthday Ms. Dane!

    What is your favorite Barbara Dane recording? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Skip James: “Hard Times Killing Floor Blues”

    Skip James Live

    Nehemiah Curtis James was born on June 9, 1902 in in Bentonia, Mississippi.  But he became famous as a blues guitarist-singer-songwriter named Skip James.

    James first recorded “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” and other songs in 1931. The recordings, however, did not sell well record buyers lacked disposable income during The Great Depression.  So, James gave up performing for awhile.

    In the early 1960s, though, blues fans rediscovered James. And he began recording and performing again until he died in Philadelphia on October 3, 1969

    Below, Skip James performs “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” at the American Folk and Blues Festival in Cologne, Germany on October 9, 1967.

    In the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, singer and actor Chris Thomas King sang “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” around a campfire.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Amythyst Kiah: “Wary + Strange” (Short Review)
  • Lonnie Johnson: “Another Night to Cry”
  • Barbara Dane’s Cool Musical Legacy: “Wild Woman,” “Gasser,” “Hard-Hitter”
  • Steve Earle Sings the Blues at KEXP
  • Blues Legend Johnny Winter Live in Copenhagen
  • “I’ll Fly Away” and the Prisoner

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    Buy from Amazon

    Steve Earle Sings the Blues at KEXP

    Earle KEXP

    Singer-songwriter Steve Earle has been singing the blues as of late to promote his latest album Terraplane. Recently, he appeared on KEXP and played several songs from the album, including “Ain’t Nobody’s Daddy Now,” “You’re the Best Lover That I Ever Had,” and “King of the Blues.”

    In the video of his performance, in between songs he also talks about his blues influences. Check it out.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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