Acclaimed Blues Artist Rory Block Salutes Skip James on
Her New CD, Hard Luck Child, Coming October 21 on Stony Plain
Records
Latest Album Is the Fifth in Her “Mentor Series” Paying
Tribute to Those Blues Masters Who’ve Influenced Her
Music
EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records announces an October 21
release date for Hard Luck Child: a Tribute to Skip James, the
fifth in acclaimed acoustic blues artist Rory Block’s “Mentor Series” of
recordings saluting those blues masters who’ve had a profound influence on her
music. On her latest album, the multi-Blues Music Award winner pays tribute to
Skip James, one of the most important country blues artists in history, whose
songs have been recorded by a host of contemporary musicians over the years
including Cream, who covered perhaps his most famous song, “I’m So Glad,” on
their debut album in 1966.
The 10 tracks on Hard Luck Child include nine
original Skip James songs and the Rory Block original composition that opens the
album, “Nehemiah James,” which is her telling of James’ story and his impact on
others. Throughout, the lines between gospel and blues are crossed, blurred and
intertwined, showing the derivation of the original country blues sound of James
and the others Block has previously saluted in her earlier albums: Mississippi
John Hurt (Avalon), Rev. Gary Davis (I Belong to the
Band), Mississippi Fred McDowell (Shake ‘em on Down) and
Son House (Blues Walkin’ Like a Man).
“This is
the fifth recording in my Mentor Series—musical tributes that celebrate the rediscovered blues
masters I met in person as a teenager,” Rory Block writes in the album’s
incisive liner notes. “These five great artists to whom these recordings are
dedicated are the blues masters with whom I spent the most meaningful time, and
they have, as a result, affected me the most deeply. There were others, such as
Bukka White, who I sat next to, but really never interacted with on a personal
level—thus these five are the true core of
this series.”
In Rory
Block’s remarkably talented fingers, she caresses and alternately attacks the
strings in a slide guitar virtuoso performance that brings the soul and meaning
of Skip James’ songs to life, as if heard for the very first time over the many
decades since they were first written and performed by the man,
himself.
“Skip James
is often referred to as a man of mystery,” she writes of her experience meeting
him. “Some people have described him as melancholy, even unfriendly. But in my
15 year-old eyes he was deep, soulful, and beautiful. I did not question his
serious demeanor. After all, I was aware of the history, the horrors and evil
treatment he had endured. I did not expect him or any other rediscovered blues
player to be anything but serious. Skip James also had cancer when I met him,
and very few people are cheerful in a hospital.
“To me, his
music, with its intensity and haunting quality, was central to the incredibly
powerful style we called Country Blues. After all, blues was often about sorrow,
hard times, and heartache. But it was also about joy, survival, and even success
in some cases. Skip James was the quintessential blues player; he had it all: style, power, grace,
depth—the ability to change your life and
your way of experiencing the world with a single song. This was the inspiration
and the example set by the masters—the gauntlet that was thrown down. I had to
follow the sound and the passion. While the rest of the world was busy with
modern things, I wandered down the dusty path towards the past in bare feet. I
didn’t have a choice. This is what called to me.”
The liner
notes for Hard Luck Child also include an excerpt from Rory’s
autobiography, When a Woman Gets the Blues, about her encounter
with James in that hospital room, where she was accompanied by her fellow blues
traveler, noted guitarist Stefan Grossman.
Produced by
Rory Block and Rob Davis, the new album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Rob
Davis in the Aurora Productions mobile studios in Kentucky and Upstate New York.
Throughout, Rory plays her signature model Martin Guitars and a 14 mm deep well
socket for a slide. Well-known for her love of animals, Rory’s critters even
make guest appearances creating background noises on some of the tracks, and a
faint phone rings from time, adding further authenticity to the
proceedings.
Rory Block
will support the release of Hard Luck Child with consistent
touring and is booked by Folklore International Artists (www.fli.com). For more information, visit www.roryblock.com
and www.stonyplainrecords.com.
Hard
Luck Child- A Tribute to Skip James – Track Listing
1. Nehemiah
James
2. Special
Rider Blues
3. Cypress
Grove Blues
4. If You
Haven’t Any Hay, Get On Down the Road
5. Little
Cow and Calf Is Gonna Die Blues
6. Devil
Got My Woman
7. Jesus Is
a Mighty Good Leader
8. Hard
Time Killing Floor Blues
9. I’m So
Glad
10. Hard
Luck Child
Rory Block Tour Itinerary
9/27 Valatie
Theater Valatie,
NY
10/3 Historic Blairstown
Theater Blairstown,
NJ
10/4 Godfrey
Daniels
Bethlehem, PA
10/5 Jammin’
Java
Vienna, VA
