29
Jun
2004
For Charlie Musselwhite, the blues aren't 12 bars and three chords. "It's the feeling," he said. "You can find the music of lament anywhere."
The irony of that statement is that harmonica wizard Musselwhite was at the forefront of the white-blues movement of the 1960s, and - as the All Music Guide notes - he was "especially faithful to the style."
But in recent years Musselwhite has been exploring other territory, such as Cuban music and Americana. His new album, Sanctuary, was released in April on Peter Gabriel's Real World label, and it sounds less like a blues record than the work of a confident singer-songwriter.
Yet its spirit is clearly grounded in the Delta tradition, and it has plenty of blues tunes and blues harp. "I like to think I never really left blues," Musselwhite said in an interview with the River Cities' Reader. The music "comes through my filter and comes out with a blues feeling."
And that's when he said that his detours into new musical territory are still a sort of blues. Cuban and Brazilian music, he said, are "cousins of blues," as are other musical traditions in which African and European music mingled.
The 60-year-old Musselwhite said his diverse musical tastes were formed in the late 1950s, when records were so cheap that he would buy just about anything, "weird music from around the world. It sounded pretty bluesy to me."
Sanctuary is a weary album, often slow and meditative and weighed down with fatigue. As the blues go, it's pretty low-key. Musselwhite's sleepy voice is the dominant feature, steadying and muting the material. It's not often that virtuoso musicians sublimate such obvious skills, but Musselwhite seems more concerned with the quiet elegance of the record than showing off.
"It's a dark album, but we're in dark times," Musselwhite said. The blues can be "a place to rest, a sanctuary," he quickly added. "It's not a depressing album."
That much is certainly true. Although it's extremely subdued - the blues equivalent of mood music - and somewhat mournful, it's full of affectionate detail that gives hope. Songs such as "Shootin' for the Moon" elevate the mood and punch up the record.
Sanctuary originated as a producers' project. "These guys came to me and said, 'We want to make an album with you, and we've got some ideas,'" Musselwhite said.
But it's still very much Musselwhite's record. "I'd say, 'No, I'm not doing that,'" he said. "A lot of my input went into it. I couldn't do anything I didn't believe in."
Musselwhite is backed by a band that includes another virtuoso musician, guitarist Charlie Sexton. The idea for the studio pairing was planned long ago but took seven or eight years to accomplish, Musselwhite said.
The album also features Ben Harper - doing the acoustic lead on his own "Homeless Child" and performing on another track - and the Blind Boys of Alabama, providing backing vocals on a pair of songs. The Blind Boys - friends of Musselwhite - lend "Train to Nowhere" harmonies that combine with the drums to approximate the humming of a locomotive. "I Had Trouble" is led by a Johnny Cash-like Musselwhite vocal bordering on the spoken word, but the gospel group and the band turn it into something rollicking and strangely joyous.
The album sort of came together in a magical process that happens when musicians are tuned into one another. "The pieces just kept falling into place," Musselwhite said. The instrumental "Shadow People," he noted, "showed up on its own." He told his band to play something in B-flat and provided the lead-in with a moaning harp. There was no rehearsal, and no second take. It certainly doesn't come off as a one-time jam, with Sexton's guitar and Musselwhite's harmonica conducting a compelling conversation.
That's an extreme example of improvisational wizardry, but Musselwhite comes from the "count off and play it" school of band-leading. "In the studio I don't like to give too much direction," he said. "Often it feels like the music takes over. ... Let the music dress itself up. ... You become an instrument to the song."
But in recent years Musselwhite has been exploring other territory, such as Cuban music and Americana. His new album, Sanctuary, was released in April on Peter Gabriel's Real World label, and it sounds less like a blues record than the work of a confident singer-songwriter.
Yet its spirit is clearly grounded in the Delta tradition, and it has plenty of blues tunes and blues harp. "I like to think I never really left blues," Musselwhite said in an interview with the River Cities' Reader. The music "comes through my filter and comes out with a blues feeling."
And that's when he said that his detours into new musical territory are still a sort of blues. Cuban and Brazilian music, he said, are "cousins of blues," as are other musical traditions in which African and European music mingled.
The 60-year-old Musselwhite said his diverse musical tastes were formed in the late 1950s, when records were so cheap that he would buy just about anything, "weird music from around the world. It sounded pretty bluesy to me."
Sanctuary is a weary album, often slow and meditative and weighed down with fatigue. As the blues go, it's pretty low-key. Musselwhite's sleepy voice is the dominant feature, steadying and muting the material. It's not often that virtuoso musicians sublimate such obvious skills, but Musselwhite seems more concerned with the quiet elegance of the record than showing off.
"It's a dark album, but we're in dark times," Musselwhite said. The blues can be "a place to rest, a sanctuary," he quickly added. "It's not a depressing album."
That much is certainly true. Although it's extremely subdued - the blues equivalent of mood music - and somewhat mournful, it's full of affectionate detail that gives hope. Songs such as "Shootin' for the Moon" elevate the mood and punch up the record.
Sanctuary originated as a producers' project. "These guys came to me and said, 'We want to make an album with you, and we've got some ideas,'" Musselwhite said.
But it's still very much Musselwhite's record. "I'd say, 'No, I'm not doing that,'" he said. "A lot of my input went into it. I couldn't do anything I didn't believe in."
Musselwhite is backed by a band that includes another virtuoso musician, guitarist Charlie Sexton. The idea for the studio pairing was planned long ago but took seven or eight years to accomplish, Musselwhite said.
The album also features Ben Harper - doing the acoustic lead on his own "Homeless Child" and performing on another track - and the Blind Boys of Alabama, providing backing vocals on a pair of songs. The Blind Boys - friends of Musselwhite - lend "Train to Nowhere" harmonies that combine with the drums to approximate the humming of a locomotive. "I Had Trouble" is led by a Johnny Cash-like Musselwhite vocal bordering on the spoken word, but the gospel group and the band turn it into something rollicking and strangely joyous.
The album sort of came together in a magical process that happens when musicians are tuned into one another. "The pieces just kept falling into place," Musselwhite said. The instrumental "Shadow People," he noted, "showed up on its own." He told his band to play something in B-flat and provided the lead-in with a moaning harp. There was no rehearsal, and no second take. It certainly doesn't come off as a one-time jam, with Sexton's guitar and Musselwhite's harmonica conducting a compelling conversation.
That's an extreme example of improvisational wizardry, but Musselwhite comes from the "count off and play it" school of band-leading. "In the studio I don't like to give too much direction," he said. "Often it feels like the music takes over. ... Let the music dress itself up. ... You become an instrument to the song."
