Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul: Old Highway 61 Revisited

Maria Muldaur | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 2, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Stony Plain Music
• ASIN: B0009X75VK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,884 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul (Old Highway 61 Revisited) continues Maria Muldaur's salute to women blues singers such as Memphis Minnie, Bessie Smith, and Lucille Bogan. Guests include Taj Mahal, who duets with Maria on two songs: "Ain't What You Used to Have," originally recorded by vaudeville/blues duo Butterbeans and Suzy; and "Take a Stand," a gospel song originally recorded in 1929 by Blind Willie Johnson. Taj also plays guitar and banjo on several tracks. Old friend and fellow blues singer Tracy Nelson joins Maria on the Bessie Smith/Clara Smith duet "I'm Goin' Back," and Alvin Youngblood Hart sings with Maria on the Memphis Minnie/Kansas Joe song "She Put Me Outdoors." Recent Grammy lifetime achievement award-winning blues pianist Pinetop Perkins performs on "Decent Woman Blues," a tune originally recorded by Julia Lee. Other guests on the CD include guitarists Del Rey and Steve James, Chris Isaak bassist Rowland Salley (who also painted the album's cover art), pianist Dave Mathews, and jug player Fritz Richmond, who played with Maria in one of her first groups, the Jim Kweskin Jug Band.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How sweet it is! Highest recommendations., February 10, 2006

By 

Jonathan Lyness (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul: Old Highway 61 Revisited (Audio CD)

I haven't reviewed an album here in ages, but was moved to do so after hearing Maria Muldaur's wonderful new album, Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul.

Simply enough, this is one of the best albums in any genre that I've heard in ages. The album pays tribute to some of Maria's blues heroines of the 1920s and 1930s, but the music itself sounds incredibly fresh (not dated or forced) and the lyrics have a great deal of timeless/contemporary resonance. All of the tracks shine for different reasons, but her duet with Taj Mahal on Ain't What You Used To Have is a real showstopper, with the combination of its very funny lyrics and their soulful, poignant vocals. Throughout the album, the expressiveness of Maria's vocals will absolutely take your breath away, and the instrumental backing and production on each track is top-notch.

My very highest recommendations for this one. (Just hurry up and buy it already!) :)

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful, September 30, 2005

By 

SoftwareGuy (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul: Old Highway 61 Revisited (Audio CD)

In this day when the blues has been largely forgotten or, when remembered, is remembered only as something that was played by skinny little english guys with really loud guitars, this CD is truly a gift. The songs, the playing, the singing are timeless, fresh, comforting, charming--in a word, wonderful. The songs reach deep into american root music, but are played and sung as naturally and enthusiastically as if they were written yesterday. The interplay, in particular, between Muldaur's voice and Del Rey's guitar on songs like I Am Sailin' is truly amazing. It's great driving music, it's great beach music, it's great music to play at your next cocktail party. It lifts the spirits in a very special and genuine way. If you want to hear some real music, played and sung about as well as anyone has ever played and sung it, you need to buy this CD.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maria and the blues, September 26, 2005

By 

byrdfan "byrdfan" (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul: Old Highway 61 Revisited (Audio CD)

I'm surprised that no one has reviewed this album yet. Put simply, if you liked Maria's "Richland Woman Blues," you'll like this one as well. The new album's material comes from many of the same sources (e.g., Memphis Minnie, Bessie Smith), and Maria is joined by many of her same friends (e.g., Taj Mahal, Alvin Youngblood Hart) as on the earlier album. "Richland Woman Blues" was, in my opinion, one of Maria's very best efforts, and "Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul" is right up there with it. I probably prefer this new album ever so slightly, but that's just a matter of taste -- they really are cut from the same fine cloth.