look: Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen - Live in Dallas - The Blue Shoe Project - BUY

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Got To Find Me A Woman

For You My Love

C.C. Rider

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On October, 16th 2004 Pinetop Perkins, Honeyboy Edwards, Henry Townsend and Robert Lockwood Jr. convened in Dallas, Texas to perform at the historic Majestic Theater for the Blues Shoe Project with intention of educating area youth on the history of the blues. Headed by Mike & Jeff Dyson, it soon became clear that a recording of this performance was essential. Each of these great songsters had mostly reached the 90-year-old mark by then, with nearly 330 years of blues experience between them! Each performed his own show backed by a band, with the exception being Honeyboy. The play list jumps from one performer to another, giving an unequivocal variety to the project. It opens with Lockwoods "King Biscuit Time." He uses his "All Stars," the largest ensemble here complete with a stunning horn section woven within his versatile guitar patterns that can be at times both flashy and stylish in composition. "Hangin' On," "For You My Love" and "Got to Find Me a Woman" all hint to the jazz infusion Robert Jr. gently applies to his blues.

Pinetop seems at the top of his game with his staple renditions of "Down In Mississippi," "Chicken Shack," "Kansas City" and "Got My Mojo Working," featuring Diunna Greenleaf on back up vocals. Henry Townsend was the elder of the four, and the only living bluesmen to have recorded in every decade since the 1920's. His songs seem to stir the soul as they are both heart warming and sadly emotional. Songs like "Its Got to End Somewhere" and "If I Asked You." At 94 years old his skill at the piano is both limber and precise. He also plays guitar on tracks like "If You Don't Want Me." The lyrics are haunting on "All My Moneys Gone," seemingly a rhetorical metaphor sadly pointing to the fact that his time may be nearing. Honeyboy plays solo, and at times using a bottleneck slide against the amplified tone of his acoustic guitar. Here he plays "Catfish Blues," "Sweet Home Chicago," "Country Boy " and "Apron Strings." The CD ends with a rendition of "CC Rider" by Lockwood. A beautiful version that is both subtle yet quietly dynamic. Whether you are a purist, traditionalist, historian or just plain love the blues, this CD should appeal to all with regards to the history of this great American artform.

*Note: Henry Townsend died in October and Robert Lockwood Jr. passed away during the writing of this review. They were 96 & 91 years old respectively.

(©) 2006, Dirk Wissbaum
BluesSource.com