Jus’ Blues 25th Anniversary Legends Collection
Jus’ Blues Music Foundation
11 songs – 41 minutes
Based out of Atlanta, the 501(c)(3) non-profit Jus’ Blues Music Foundation’s mission is to safeguard blues history while honoring its creators and inspiring young artists, and they have good reason to praise everyone on this star-studded release. It celebrates the 25th anniversary of the organization’s annual awards show/conference, and it’s Southern soul and soul-blues at its absolute best.
The lineup here includes 11 honorees who’ve appeared at the group’s annual event, which draws droves of tourists to Mississippi, where it takes place. This set’s far more than a collection of covers. Four of the tunes are fresh-out-of-the-box: two of the treasures previously unreleased numbers by Trudy Lynn and Lucky Peterson. The two others are from Bobby Rush and Latimore, each of whom went into the studio earlier this year to put a new spin on one of their classics. And all of the other entries have been remastered.
Houston-born blues shouter Diunna Greenleaf kicks off the action with the funky “Sunny Day Friends.” It’s a cautionary, horn-fueled send-up that warns against putting your trust in people who’ll be at your side when things are going good and then abandon you when things go bad. Chicagoan Jimmy Burns demonstrates his picking prowess with “Stranded in Clarksdale,” a slow-and-steady lament about being locked behind bars after being accused of shooting another man. Despite his professed innocence, he fears, he’s “headed down Parchman way.”
Detroit-born alto Zakiya Hooker follows with tribute to her dad, John Lee Hooker, next with the medium-fast shuffle, “Bluesman’s Journey,” noting that he put all of his emotion into his songs. Listen carefully and you’ll hear his voice in the intro and some of the fills. Next up, Texas-born, Louisiana-based bassist Benny Turner’s stripped-down ballad “Who Sang It First” explains that journey’ from churches and the cotton-field to the biggest stages in the world while reminding listeners always to remember the music’s origins and the men and women who created it. He closes by enumerating some of them.
The mood changes dramatically with Trudy Lynn’s “Turning the Same Ole Corners,” a funky, full-band effort. She announces in no uncertain terms that she’s tired of the never-ending routine of “breakin’ up, makin’ up, messin’ up…we both know it gotta end.” It gives way to Bobby Rush for a fresh take on “Garbage Man,” one of his best known numbers, and a complaint about being abandoned by a lover. He sounds decades younger than he is while pouring out his heart, accompanied solely by his plaintive harmonica.
Georgian Theodis Ealey’s up next with “Blues Is Calling My Name.” He opens with a stellar guitar solo before launching into lyrics that find the music knocking on his window and falling down like rain. No matter what he does, he can’t ignore it. And it’s a very, very good thing. Petite Ohio powerhouse Teeny Tucker keeps the message going as she delivers “Ain’t That the Blues,” using the life of a tormented and troubled woman to describe many of the events in life that will leave you feeling down.
The mood continues as Latimore launches in on his familiar “Let’s Straighten It Out.” Anyone familiar with the original will find this new take even more haunting as Lat slows it down a notch and kicks up the emotion. But Mr. Sipp brightens things up from the downbeat of “Hold It in the Road,” a sprightly shuffle in which he assures his lady that he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her happy before Lucky Peterson announces he’s gotten himself straight as he takes you to church with the funked up “See My Way God” to close.
Available as a digital download from multiple vendors, Jus’ Blues 25th Anniversary Legends Collection would be a welcome addition to your collection, too. This one was available at the awards as a gold-colored LP, and it’s solid gold no matter the format!
