Aki Kumar – God Bless The USA
Little Village Foundation – 2025
13 tracks; 50 minutes
Aki Kumar was born in India and came to the States to study computer science, ending up working in Silicon Valley after graduation. Always interested in music, he had dabbled with harmonica when young but took to the instrument anew when he first got into the blues. He made a debut album with Kid Andersen in 2014 and has produced two further well-received albums with Little Village, both blending his Indian heritage with the blues and other American music styles, Aki Goes To Bollywood and Hindi Man Blues. During the Covid Pandemic Aki taught himself a lot about recording in his home studio and the resulting dream of making a record in his own time and in his own studio has now come to fruition. The disc contains eight originals and five covers and boasts an impressive list of musicians. The core band is Aki on harp and vocals, Bob Welsh on guitar and piano, Randy Bermudes on bass and June Core on drums; also involved are Tony Stead on organ, Rome Yamilov and Pete Fazzini on guitar, Jack Sanford on sax, Kedar Roy on acoustic bass, Vicki Randle on percussion, Julia JD on backing vocals, Will Marsh on sitar and Jim Santi Owen on tabla and khanjira. Aki is credited with producing, recording and mixing the album.
First up is a startling makeover of The Clash’s “Should I Stay”, subtitled “(Immigrant Song)”, thus making clear just what Aki is debating in this cover. The song is completely transformed into a straight blues with driving piano, terrific drumming and Aki’s harp. Aki’s vocals sound a little distant on “A Plea To Be Free” which has some interesting time changes and references other blues tunes in the central guitar solo. So far there has not been much Indian influence but Aki’s cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want To Make Love To You” certainly does, the tabla, flute-like sounds (is that Aki’s harp?) and his vocal style taking the song well away from the Etta James version we all know and love. The fast-paced shuffle “Jarvos Woman” apparently references a Swedish person and brings Aki’s harp to the fore before another radical re-working of a familiar tune: “Desi Strut” is a reggae and Indian-infused version of The Meters’ “Cissy Strut”, ‘Desi’ being a slang term for people from South India. The tabla and sitar carry the tune along as Aki plays the main theme on his harp, the whole concept working very well, different but interesting.
“Time Will Tell” brings a touch of doo-wop in the backing vocals, Aki singing half the lyrics in his native tongue while sounding every inch the archetypal 50’s crooner! Next up come two tracks that will undoubtedly cause controversy as Aki gets highly political. “Thoughts And Prayers” is a jaunty tune with a hint of country but the lyrics belie that with bitter sarcasm towards the president who responded to a crisis with “thoughts and prayers, that’s how you show you really care”. Not surprisingly, when asked for financial contributions to his later campaign, Aki replied in kind! Equally explicit is the title track, played to a marching band rhythm: “the rich shall inherit the earth, that’s what our scriptures say, you’re measured by your money’s worth, God Bless The USA!”. On the basis of these two tracks, Aki will not be selling many records in strongly Republican areas!
“It Is What It Is” is a classic slow blues with Pete Fazzini’s slide and rolling piano behind Aki’s expressive harp stylings before a straight cover of “Man Of Constant Sorrow”, a song covered by Dylan on his first album, though Aki’s version is quite country in style, probably closer to the 1950’s Stanley Brothers version. “Hard To Get” moves into Rn’B territory with Jack Sanford’s sax involved before another sharp turn in direction with “Save A Bread”, a 1991 track from Ska band Justin Hinds & The Dominoes, given an Indian twist. The final cut is a bright harp instrumental entitled “Harp Tuah”.
I have not heard the two previous albums but the current release does combine influences from both Indian and American cultures though there are plenty of ‘orthodox’ blues tunes here too. On that basis it is a definite success and deserves to do well for Aki and Little Village.
