Bar Band Blues Par Excellence

Another award winning cd but in a totally different field to the last string quartet post. This is an album from last year by bluesman Charlie Musselwhite called Delta Hardware. Performers like Musselwhite born and bred in Mississippi transcend old arguements about whether white men can sing / play the blues. He's now of an age where he has life and music experiences to impart soul and authenticity into the songs but is still at the height of his powers. His harmonica playing has graced many records as a sideman and dominates the soloing here although guitarist Chris Anderson is allowed plenty of space too. The music has a Texas feel as well as that of the delta. Standout tracks are Black Water, another of those post Katrina epics that many perormers felt moved to write, and Clarksdale Boogie which is an irresistable take on that regular boogie form. Even the tracks that might be taken as being routine develop into a nice steady hypnotic groove and the whole album is very atmospheric and reeks of the south.