Arbuckle & Long – Gonna Be Justified
Independent
www.facebook.com/arbuckleandlong
10 tracks – 31 minutes
Although Dustin Arbuckle and Wayne Long have been playing together for over a decade, this is their debut album. The duo first met in 2008 when each was playing as separate acts at the legendary Murdock Theater in Kansas City, Missouri. At that time Dustin was playing with Aaron Moreland in a trio named accordingly Moreland and Arbuckle. Wayne was playing as a solo with Arthetta Long. The two got together at the end of the show and their talk led to their mutual admiration of Mississippi John Hurt. They subsequently got together sporadically both to perform as a duo and to record an occasional single release.
Their love of the music of Mississippi John Hurt led them to record this album of predominantly pre-WWII blues. The Hurt influence is heard in the finger-picking style Wayne provides as accompaniment to the songs. Their research of the old songs found variations from what might be well-known or in verses that vary from one version to the next. In some instances, Dustin inserted a new line or two into a song because he momentarily forgot the words. Most of the songs have been performed and recorded by numerous musicians over the years.
An example of the modern switch in a song is in the seventh track on the album, “Jesus on the Mainline”. the duo originally learned the song as recorded by Mississippi Fred McDowell around 1960, but in playing the song, one verse they heard from Ry Cooder was added.
The opening song “Payday” has that definitive old country blues sound that you can identify from someone playing on the porch of an old home in the country. “Jack of Diamonds” is an old Texas gambling song about a railroad man that lost money playing cards. The first known recording of the song was by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1926. Next up is “I Am a Pilgrim”, a Christian hymn that shows up in songbooks from the 1800’s. It was first recorded in 1924 by the Norfolk Jubilee Band and subsequently by Bill Monroe, The Byrds and Johnny Cash among others. The verses are also frequently changed and performed as “I’ll Fly Away”.
“Moonlight on the Mountain” is an original song written by Dustin with a very folky sound. “Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me” from Mississippi John Hurt is a song with a bouncy, happy feel but is dealing with death as the performer is saying to just “cast my body out in the sea, save on the undertaker bills”. “Snappin’ Blues” is an instrumental permitting Dustin to concentrate on his harmonica with Wayne strumming along. A mentioned above, “Jesus on the Mainline” has had many variations, but the duo’s version is well done and certainly of their own direction.
“Frankie & Albert” is another variant of the story of murder that is frequently told as “Frankie & Johnny”, but the song has a long history with major variations and disputes of who first wrote it. “Sittin’ On Top of the World” was first recorded by The Mississippi Sheiks in 1930 and was inducted as a song into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2008. “Children of Zion” is a spiritual song written and originally performed by Reverend Gary Davis.
Dustin’s baritone voice is always strong and appealing. His harmonica and Wayne’s guitar work are also very fitting to the music and the history of the songs they are performing. The album has rightfully been nominated for the 2024 Blues Blast Award for best “Acoustic Blues Album”.
