Dan Auerbach Summons the Ghosts of Mississippi Blues
Dan Auerbach poses with the gem he used to record much of
Delta Kream: a Kawai Kingston S4T once owned by raw blues slide master Hound Dog Taylor. Note Taylor s name on the headstock, courtesy of the Dog himself, via a plastic-label punch.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
On
Delta Kream, the Black Keys and veteran slide master Kenny Brown dig deep to honor R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbroughâ two of the most important American musicians that ever were.
There s no more biblicalâNew Testament, of courseâintroduction to the raucous, bouncing, mesmeric sound of North Mississippi hill country blues than the new Black Keys album,
(Easy Eye Sound, 1/2) Polk Salad Annie by Elvis, Rainy Night in Georgia by Brook Benton, Steamy Windows by Tina Turner â Tony Joe White is probably best-known through others versions of his songs. But the Louisiana-born Swamp Fox, who died at 75 in 2018, was a mesmerizing performer in his own right. Smoke From the Chimney contains nine White guitar-and-voice demos fleshed out by producer Dan Auerbach with his usual stable of Nashville studio aces. The Black Keys frontman does a terrific job of capturing the deep-voiced singer s brooding swamp-rock essence, giving this American original a worthy send-off.
Of course, it helps that White is in top form as a writer. The title song is a poetic evocation of grappling with old age and mortality, Listen to Your Song imparts a hard-earned lesson, and Scary Stories conjures a goosebump-inducing sense of menace.
Dumpstaphunk –
Where Do We Go From Here (Funk Garage/Mascot): “Dumpstaphunk’s founding members Ivan Neville (vocals/keyboards) Ian Neville (guitar) Tony Hall (bass/guitar/vocals) and Nick Daniels (bass/vocals) along with newest members Alex Wasily (trombone) and Deven Trusclair (drums), have built upon the Neville family’s iconic NOLA legacy, as they’ve transformed into the city’s pre-eminent 21st-century funk-fusion export, after being birthed originally from a spontaneous set during New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2003.” Raging funk that will flat domino your lame act! It sure did mine! This is a
certified Professor Bebop
Chris Gill –
Adrian Spinelli May 20, 2021
Robert Finley, who began to take his music more seriously after going blind in his 60s, has recorded a fantastic lamentation of a hard life. Photo: Jordi Vidal, Redferns
The Chronicle’s guide to notable new music.
NEW ALBUMS
Robert Finley, “Sharecropper’s Son” (Easy Eye Sound)
Lately, I can’t take my attention away from Nashville’s Easy Eye Sound label run by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and new music from acts like Aaron Frazer, Shannon & the Clams and, of course, the Black Keys. Now we’ve been introduced to Southern soul singer Robert Finley, a man who only fully began to take his music career seriously after becoming legally blind in his 60s.