| The Holmes Brothers State of Grace Alligator Coco Montoya Vesta Williams |
When Led Zep covered Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie’s “When the Levee Breaks,” they thought they were making “rock ‘n’ roll.” When the Pointer Sisters covered Koko Taylor’s “Wang Dang Doodle,” they thought they were making “pop soul.” And when Kanye West looped a famous Ray Charles riff, he thought he was making “hip-hop.” This only goes to show how the blues has always been wide and dynamic enough to contain and/or presage almost every subsequent American musical style. So naturally, these three albums manage to sound very different but remain recognizable as fruit or flower of the same tree. Continue reading “Various Blues Interpretations, From the Nuanced to the Masochistic”