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5.0 out of 5 stars
Rooted in acoustic blues, but drawing on a broad array of folk traditions, June 23, 2009
This review is from: Conqueroo (Audio CD)
There are plenty of acoustic blues revivalists around. Very few are anything more than recreationists. William Lee Ellis understands the roots of folk music, but recombines them in new and interesting ways, always keeping things lively. As a guitarist, he is quite skilled, but not on the level of players like Kelly Joe Phelps, Martin Simpson, or other giants of folk and blues guitar. However, his playing is always interesting and tasteful, particularly with a slide. Most importantly, though, he understands the common roots of folk, blues, country and gospel, and each track on this album is a slightly different balance. The arrangements are varied as well, and even include an a capella gospel song, with backing vocals. The lyrical content of that track would probably bother religious traditionalists, but the music is always exciting. Ellis has two other albums out as of the writing of this review-- The Full Catastrophe, and God's Tattoo. This is my favorite, largely because it is the most eclectic. The base here is in the blues, but the sound is far more adventurous than most acoustic blues.
Further listening:
Anything by Bob Brozman
Alvin Youngblood Hart, Territory. This is Hart's most eclectic album.
Hazmat Modine, Bahamut. Don't even try to classify it. Blues, jazz, klezmer, Tuvan throat singers... I don't know what it is, besides brilliant.
Tony Furtado, Roll My Blues Away. A bluegrass musician starts to dip his toes into blues, and a variety of other forms.
Zubot and Dawson, Strang. Blues, bluegrass, jazz, and everything else by a duo that sometimes backs Kelly Joe Phelps.
Anything by Tri-Continental. Folk, blues, and African forms, particularly from Madagascar.
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