Rating:
Genre:
Jazz
Release Date: 09/09/2003
What a glorious mess this album is.
No Escape From the Blues assembles the same team that issued the brilliant and soulful
Memphis Blood for a second chapter, assembling in the legendary
Electric Lady Studios in New York. In making their second stop on the legendary studio tour --
Memphis Blood was recorded at
Sun --
Ulmer and company move through a program of
blues standards and originals that come off as mysterious and oddly organic considering the numerous textures and sounds in the home of Hendrixian adventure. The band includes
Vernon Reid (who act as co-lead guitarist and producer),
Odyssey violinist
Charles Burnham, pianist and keyboard whiz
Leon Gruenbaum, harmonica player
David Barnes, and the rhythm section of
Mark Peterson and
Aubrey Dayle, as well as guests like
Olu Dara, vocalist
Queen Esther, tap dancer
Maya Smullyan Jenkins, and
John Kruth. Opening with a laid-back
country rag blues tune like
Mary Lee Reed's
"Goin' to New York" with
Reid on banjo already makes the listener look twice, but to follow it with
Eddy H. Owens' Chicago-style piano
stride blues "The Hustle Is On" done in
T-Bone Walker fashion is even more bizarre -- especially with
Reid's screaming electric guitar solo in the break -- is a freak out. Surprises like this keep the entire album experience off-kilter for the listener. Arrangements are unique and mix and match from the many
blues subgenres, from
juke joint to
jump.
Burnham's wah-wah violin on
"Who's Been Talkin'" keeps the deep-talking
blues from sounding maudlin or comical. The read of
Johnny Copeland's
"Ghetto Child," with
Ulmer's guitar and
Gruenbaum's spooky keyboards, echoes
the Animals version of
"House of the Rising Sun," and
Burnham makes the ghost factor rise by ten. The nearly acoustic
Delta blues take of
"Are You Glad to Be in America" is one of the more startling versions of the song
Ulmer has recorded. The most rollicking track on the set has to be
Earl King's
"Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)," which evokes both
King's intention and
Jimi Hendrix's spirit in
Reid's guitar playing twinned with
Burnham's wah-wah rave up. Interestingly, these loose, party
blues that goes way over the
acid rock top is a beautiful tribute to
King, to whose memory the album is dedicated. The gorgeous version of
Muddy Waters'
"No Escape From the Blues," and the haunted, lonely version of
"Trouble in Mind" (complete with fills by
Reid on electric sitar and
Gruenbaum on Fender Rhodes piano) set up for a killer finish, with a barrelhouse read of
"The Blues Had a Baby and Called It Rock N Roll." No Escape From the Blues features
Ulmer in a unique role, that of the
blues singer and shouter. Never has he sounded so expressive, emotionally compelling, or convincing vocally; and his guitar playing, while less present here than on his other recordings, is still there, snaking its way through this weird yet wonderful set. Highly recommended. This recording is indeed "future
blues."
~Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
;)
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