Friday, June 23, 2006

Blues that don't give them to me

If guy Davis is anything like his music and his liner notes, I figure he must be a pretty good dude. I like him for that, and for his voice, which I think of in terms of gravel smoothed by a river of whiskey; for his guitar, banjo and harmonica playing; and for the stories his songs tell.

He's a blues singer in the Piedmont, Blind Willie McTell vein with bluegrass sensibilities whose latest CD, "Skunkmello" from Red House Records, also uses elements of gospel, R&B, rock and, on one amusing cut, hip-hop. As a musical story teller, I rate him with a couple of my old favorites, Harry Chapin and John Prine. "Legacy" from Red House is a good compilation of his stuff up to "Skunkmello." The song "We All Need More Kindness in This World" makes me want to be a better dude whenever I hear it.

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