AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head
Pure Pleasure - PPAN SP1270 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl -
Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering by Ray Staff at Air Mastering London
Limited Edition - Pressed at Pallas Germany
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.
Richland Woman Blues is a wonderful album, one that doesn’t hide behind fancy production (Muldaur and John Jacob are the producers). Instead, it’s about timeless music, lyrics, and musicianship. As Muldaur observes, “This is still a bluesy world, and the songs remain timeless and articulate expressions of the human condition and the human spirit.”
If there’s anyone who’s had a diverse musical career, it’s Maria Muldaur. Now, she has well and truly got the blues. And we are all the richer for it.
Tracklisting
Side A
1. Richland Woman Blues
2. Grasshoppers In My Pillow
3. It's A Blessing
4. Me And My Chauffeur Blues
5. Put It Right Here
6. I'm Goin' Back Home
Side B
1. My Man Blues
2. In My Girlish Days
3. Far Away Blues
4. I Got To Move
5. Lonesome Desert Blues
6. Soul Of A Man
7. I Belong To That Band
8. It's A Blessing (Reprise)
Personnel:
Bass – Roly Salley
Guitar – Alvin Youngblood Hart, Bonnie Raitt, Ernie Hawkins, John Sebastian, Roy Rogers (2) / Mandocello – David Wilkie
Piano – Dave Mathews
Slide Guitar – Bonnie Raitt
Twelve-string Guitar – Amos Garrett
Vocals – Alvin Youngblood Hart, Angela Strehli, Maria Muldaur, Tracy Nelson
Produced by John Jacob, Maria Muldaur
Engineer – John Jacob