Customer Reviews

Richland Woman Blues

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Those of us aging folkies who have been listening to Maria Muldaur since her days with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band during the "Sixties Folk Scare," will immediately recognize "Richmond Woman Blues" as a return--as well as a tribute--to her folk and blues roots. I mean, what more perfect way to start this acoustic blues album than with the fine finger-picking of John Sebastian, who was also part of that old New York jug band scene (too bad we don't get to hear his fine blues harp here...oh, well).

As Maria writes in her extensive and interesting liner notes, this was "a labor of love." That's obvious from start to finish the way she carefully selected tunes and visiting artists to pay tribute to the blues of the 20s and 30s. Like Maria, I got to see a few of the songwriters represented here in their old age. The blind street preacher, Reverend Gary Davis, inspired many of us budding guitar players to take a good look at our finger-picking technique. He continues to inspire me in the way he combined the gospel with this rootsy music.

My favorite tunes here are those from the gospel blues tradition. Here Maria "had church" with Bonnie Raitt and her slide guitar in her living room on Mississippi Fred McDowell's "It's a Blessing." On Blind Willie Johnson's "Soul of a Man," Marie is joined by a growly voiced Taj Mahal and Roy Rogers on slide guitar. This rendition is quite a bit grittier than Bruce Cockburn's version on "Nothing But a Burning Light," but either way it's a powerful tune about the condition of every person's soul. Ernie Hawkins joins Maria with his fine finger-picking on Gary Davis' "I Belong to that Band." Hallelujah!

This is one fine acoustic blues album. It reminds me of many nights in the 60s sitting around someone's kitchen table playing the blues until our fingers were raw. Here the same atmosphere is present, but the quality of the singing and playing has gotten better with age.

Thanks, Maria, for bringing to a new generation (and to us aging folkies) this "timeless and most eloquent expression of the human condition and the human spirit."

I don't understand the review by Ms. Williams of Amazon.com, who calls this album a "surprise." This suggests a very limited familiarity with Maria Muldaur and her career.

"Richland Woman Blues" is no surprise to me; through the years, Ms. Muldaur has nearly always included what is now called "roots music," including Appalachian and classic blues, on her records, and they have generally been highlights of those records. The difference here is that she has finally recorded an album devoted entirely to such material, and it's delightful.

The selections consist entirely of blues from the 1920s and 1930s: Memphis Minnie, Bessie Smith, the Reverend Gary Davis, Lead Belly and Mississippi Fred McDowell among them. The arrangements are acoustic throughout. On most of the tracks, the basic instrumentation consists of one or two guitars (fingerpicked or slide) and upright bass, with an occasional additional instrument such as mandolin. The classic blues numbers, such as the Bessie Smith tunes, rely on piano.

Maria is one of our generation's finest interpreters of this kind of material, and the album is among the best of her career. Her voice has grown huskier over the years and, being the very intelligent singer that she is, Maria takes full advantage of the changes in her voice. She's not just a singer, she's a musician.

Three nights ago, I saw Maria perform an all-blues show at the Rosebud club in Pittsburgh that included most of the songs from "Richland Woman Blues" as well as others from earlier albums like the excellent "Sweet And Slow" and "Jazzabelle." If you get a chance to see her during her current tour, by all means give yourself a treat.

As much as I love the blues, IÕve rarely liked contemporary versions of early blues, from the 20s and 30s. They usually sound fake to me, and worse than that, just about sacrilegious. Why cover Robert Johnson or Bessie Smith or Mississippi John Hurt when those artists themselves created perfection that can never be equaled let alone surpassed?

I thought long and hard before buying Richland Women Blues which consists of nothing but covers of 20s and 30s blues songs. I wouldnÕt even have considered it except that I love Maria MuldaurÕs voice, and Taj Mahal, who is a guest on here, is one of the very few contemporary musicians who really can do old blues convincingly.

Thank God I took a chance, because this is a great album. The best blues are always less about bad times than about the ability to survive them, and MuldaurÕs earthy, donÕt-mess-with-me voice is perfect for getting that across.

There are four songs originally recorded by Bessie Smith on this album and every one is great. I canÕt believe IÕm saying that because I have NEVER heard a Bessie Smith cover that I thought was any good, but while Muldaur misses Bessie SmithÕs vulnerability, sheÕs got the same toughness in her voice, and itÕs so fine, so rare. It rings true, and any singer who can do a Bessie Smith song justice is the real deal.

There is not a single bad track on Richland Woman Blues, and every time I listen to it, I have a different favorite song, but the gospel-tinged blues of Soul of A Man (with Taj Mahal), I Belong To That Band, and especially ItÕs a Blessing (with Bonnie Raitt) make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. It will be a long, long wait before you hear another duet as good as Muldaur and RaittÕs.

Beginning to end, this is a terrific album.

Byrdfan's review of this album already sums up most of what I might say. But there's a bit more I could add . . . This album is right in line with much of Maria's earlier work, including "Waitress in a donut shop" (1974), "Pottery pie," and her self-titled album (1973). She even includes a new version of "Chauffer Blues" (by Memphis Minnie, which was on Pottery Pie).

All these songs are old blues tunes and they're full of the soul and energy of those scratchy old Robert Johnson and Leadbelly recordings, but with clean sound and more careful arrangements. Interestingly, there are no drums in the arrangements. Piano, tuba, acoustic bass, etc. keep the rhythmn supurbly.

Maria's voice now has a more mature, throaty sound. None of the high, sweet innocence of the 70s which sometimes seemed almost incongruous with the sexy lyric content. She sings strongly and sounds like a woman who knows what she wants and how she's going to get it.

My favorites are "Grasshoppers in my pillow," by Leadbelly and "Goin' back home," by Memphis Minnie. Both are full of rhythmn, first rate acoustic guitar, and the bluesy angst of a songwriter who needs to be somewhere other than where he/she is.

If you like Maria's singing, or if you like pre-electric blues, this one is a must. Jim Otterstram, this one has your name all over it.

Kudos to Maria Muldaur for paying tribute to the rich music of the Mississippi Delta in a way that maintains the respect and integrity for the music, but appeals to the modern ear. Helping her in this are many artists with similar roots and love of the blues music as musical veterans Bonnie Raitt , Taj Mahal, John Sebastian, Tracy Nelson, Angela Strehli, Roy Rogers and Alvin Youngblood Hart.

Maria received inspiration for this venture after a spontaneous performance with street musicians on Beale Street in Memphis. She sang Me and My Chauffeur Blues a Memphis Minnie tune filled with delightful innuendo and having the same chord progression as Good Morning Little Schoolgirl. For Maria this experience was enlightening and inspiring. This music is vital and tangible years after it was first performed.

Maria Muldaur, a seasoned musician has been performing since the 60's where she got her start in a jug band in the Greenwich village folk seen. She sharpened her teeth on such artists as Mississippi John Hurt, Leadbelly, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Bessie Smith and Memphis minnie. After performing various styles of folk, pop, blues and rock over the years, Maria returned to pay tribute to the roots of the blues. In Richland Woman Blues she sings the pared down style of the delta, having only acoustic, slide guitar or piano for backup.

Throughout the cd Maria Muldaur exhibits her expressive vocal skills. She can vary from sweet and melodic to gritty and tough as is required by the songs which she sings. Choices of songs range from gospel with It's a Blessing, to saucy double entendre in Put it Right Here, to a fun cat fight in My Man Blues to lonesome laments in Far Away Blues.

While this will be appealing to blues traditionalist, I would encourage newcomers to blues music to listen to this to understand what all the fuss is about. This cd illustrates why people love the blues years after it was first performed.

After Maria Muldaur's 3 amazing CDs "Fanning the Flames," "Southland of the Heart," & "Meet Me Where They Play The Blues," and Telarc's conglomerated mishmash of these 3 CDs into "Music for Lovers," Maria released this gorgeous "Richland Woman Blues" on Stony Plain. What a treat!

The opening title track is a sexy blues # with John Sebastian's happy guitar, "Give me red lipstick & a pot of red rouge." Her voice squeals with the emotion of a woman who's so worked up she can't eat, can't sleep and can't stand still on "Grasshoppers in My Pillow," "The man I've been loving for 20 years said he don't want me no more." Bonnie Raitt's voice blends joyfully as Raitt's guitar plucks the melody on "It's A Blessing." "Me & My Chauffeur Blues" is playfully naughty with Roy Rogers' tasty guitar. Dave Matthews lends a great jelly roll piano on "Put It Right Here," "The bee gets the honey & brings it to the comb, else he's kicked out of his home sweet home." Alvin "Youngblood" Heart sounds like Loudon Wainwright III on "I'm Going Back Home." "My Man Blues" unfolds like scene from a play with Maria in a cat fight with Angela Strehli. Angela sings, "That's my man & that's a fact"; Maria sasses back, "I ain't seen your named printed up & down his back." My favorite track is the peppy melody of "In My Girlish Days." For me, Tracy Nelson sounds churchy rather than bluesy on Bessie Smith's "Far Away Blues." The sweet roll of a Jimmy Reed-style guitar propels "I Got to Move." "Lonesome Desert Blues" has great Dave Matthews piano, "Temptation he can't refuse, that man of mine I know I'm bound to lose." Taj Mahal joins in on "Soul of a Man." I think I've heard this tune listed as "Angel Band," but "I Belong to that Band" makes you want to rise up & praise the Lord, "Hallelujah, I belong to that band, halleloo..." The CD concludes with a reprise with Bonnie Raitt. This CD is great both for Maria's artistry and passion and because it makes the blues live much as it must have been sung by Memphis Minnie in her day. The grammy nomination was well deserved. Don't miss out!

When I think back on the best of the 70's and all the styles of music we were fortunate to have been immersed in before the money grappers finally took hold of what was so special about it all, Maria Muldaur had her little 15 mins of fame and sputtered out, or so it seemed but for thousands of fans she never went away, and has kept making collections of music and getting better and better and this set is a high-light of her more than 28 years since I first heard THAT VOICE. The opening cut "Richland women blues" is so perfect for her whole persona, as well as the "church" get together she has with Bonnie Raitt on "Its a Blessing", just the two of them in Maria's kitchen and Bonnie and her slide, what a treat! and One of my favorites " My Chauffeurs Blues". Many hand picked quests who also carry the torch for these country blues of the greats from the early part of the century jell into quite a musical story. This is one of the many exceptional Maria Muldaur Cds quitely put out over the past 10 or more years, Maria is out there and it still performing and still shining bright! This is a very worth while musical adventure to seek out.

Oh, my! MM's 25th album is a traditional blues lover's delight. Very sparse, simple recording; MM's great, mature voice, backed up with a single instrument or two. For example, the duet with Bonnie Raitt is just MM and BR on vocals, with BR playing slide guitar for accompaniment. And what a lineup of contributing artists; John Sebastian (great guitar!), Angela Strehli, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dave Matthews (playing a mean blues piano), Taj Mahal, and others. By all means, put this one on your list!

AWESOME! Pretty much is an understatement! If you're a blues lover, you have to get this! The only thing better than listening to the music here is seeing Maria sing the songs live. What a performer!

On this CD, she goes back to do some early blues songs and she does them with instrumentation similar to the original recordings.

Thanks Maria for a great CD and for a great show at Mountain Stage! (She was there the week the CD was released....and I had my order in the day it came out!)

If you like the early Blues and like Maria, BUY this CD! Also, watch for Maria in person to see a show that is beyond compare!

What can I say about this CD that hasn't already been said? I've been madly in love with Maria Muldaur since she was Maria D'Amato and singing with the Kweskin Jug Band. "Richland Woman," a tune she recorded over thirty years ago with the Jug Band, is something of a signature song for her, moreso, in my mind, than the more pop-oriented "Midnight on the Oasis" that catapulted her to the pop charts in the seventies. It's instructive to compare the earlier version of the song with the one that appears on this album, backed up by John Sebastian (who was also madly in love with her back in the sixties when they worked together in the Even Dozen Jug Band). The arrangements are essentially the same, but the sixties version is animated by a saucy innocence, whereas the current version is animated by years of experience. Both work well because Muldaur honors the source from which the song came, Mississippi John Hurt. She is not just singing a song here; she is paying tribute.

What is true for the title song is true for everything else on the album.

It's her honor and respect for the traditions that make this album work so well and have merited a Grammy nomination. If Maria doesn't win, there is no justice.