Selwyn Birchwood – Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues
10 songs – 47 minutes
An incendiary, award-winning guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, Selwyn Birchwood is also a highly original and difficult-to-pin-down performer who serves up a dramatic change-of-pace with his latest serving from the Alligator label.
A follow-up to Exorcist and Old School – two albums saturated with blues-rock, this release is as soulful and thought-provoking music with a sting that delivers a warm embrace to a world that could use a big hug. All-original and self-produced, it’ll take you to church while doing its best to lift your spirits despite all the hardship, worry and strife sapping your energy today.
It’s quite a break from the norm for Selwyn, who rose to prominence at the 2013 International Blues Challenge, capturing band-of-the-year and guitarist-of-the-year honors, too. A first-generation American whose mother is British and his father is from the Caribbean island of Tobago, Birchwood was born in Orlando, Fla., and picked up his first six-string at age 13.
At age 19 and already a fan of the blues through his love for Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy, he was blessed to be introduced to a neighbor, the legendary lap-steel wizard Sonny Rhodes. Shortly thereafter, Selwyn was invited by Rhodes to join his touring band, a position he held for four years while continuing his education at the University of Tampa, where he eventually earned a master’s degree in business administration.
Under Sonny, Birchwood also learned to be a solid bandleader, too, as evidenced by this CD. The all-original set was recorded by Bob Frank at Baysound Studios in Sarasota, Fla., with backing from sax and flute player Regi Oliver and bassist Donald “Huff” Wright, musicians who’ve been at Selwyn’s side since he released his first album, FL Boy, in 2011. They’re augmented by Henley Connor III on percussion with John Heatherington on keys. Eli Bishop sits in on violin, viola and cello, and Briana Lutzi and Taylor Opie provide backing vocals.
Recorded by Bob Frank at Baysound Studios in Sarasota, Selwyn’s backed by longtime partner Regi Oliver on saxes, Donald “Huff” Wright on bass, Henley Connor III on drums with John Hetherington on keys. Eli Bishop adds violin, cello and viola with Briana Lutzi and Taylor Opie on backing vocals.
Deeply soulful and with a taste of the islands, too, the set kicks off with “Labor of Love.” It’s a sweet ballad that picks up in intensity as Selwyn celebrates both the good and bad of a relationship, rejoicing in the down moments because, at the end of the day, he knows he’s done the best he can for his wife and kids. Oliver’s sensational horn lines drive the message home throughout.
Hetherington’s keys join Birchwood’s strings to open “Damaged Goods.” It’s a medium-tempo blues with a strong beat that acknowledges making mistakes in life, but it doesn’t mean he’s “no good” – it’s simply a matter of being human. His bittersweet guitar solo mid-tune carries the message forward. The message continues in “The Struggle Is Real,” an understated complaint that really hits home. As a person of color, he states, the situation began at birth, when he was born “with a chord around my neck.”
The mood brightens from the down-stroke of “The Church of Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues.” It’s an uptempo, horn drenched funk that gives Selwyn space to work out on his axe that celebrates his ability to deliver his message in song. He switches to lap steel for “What I’ve Been Accused Of,” a Chicago-flavored blues that rebuts having done half of the complaints being heaped on him by his woman. You can feel the depth of his complaint in every note in the song.
Truly 21st-century blues, “All Hail the Algorithm” kicks off with the old-school sound of a computer making a dial-up connection to a website before Selwyn launches into a complaint about living in a “digital hell” in which artificial intelligence is molding humans for its own end. In essence, we’re putting chains on our own hands, he says.
An island beat fuels “Talking Heads,” which advises ignoring what you’re hearing on TV news, before flowing into the driving blues-rocker “Should’ve Never Gotten Out of Bed.” It’s the realization when he checks the mail that the singer owes the IRS a fortune, that he has a negative bank balance and much, much more. “The Eagle Has Landed” features more intense fretwork atop a muffled conversation from astronauts before the disc closes with another intense love song, “Soulmate,” advises that – even if you’re all alone – there’s someone out there for you waiting to be found.
Sure there’s plenty of preaching coming from Selwyn’s pulpit this time. And a lot of it comes with a bite. But listen to his message because every word and note are true. Strongly recommended.
