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11/15/2005
David Blue
Mary Flower is one of America's finest roots musicians and this album, recorded on a visit to New Orleans and with some of the finest performers that that city has to offer, is a great introduction to her talents. The opener, Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me, is old style jazz blues in a Memphis Minnie style and she gives notice of her excellent guitar playing. Raise The Devil continues her guitar playing but this time she's on lap slide and, as I've said before, a good bottleneck blues will win me over every time. Jon Cleary gives an immaculate performance on this self-penned instrumental.
The traditional Crow Jane has genuine Southern authenticity added by Amasa Miller's accordion. New Orleans Hop Scop Blues is not the strongest track on the album but it does get going after a while and, as the title suggests, is more New Orleans style jazz/blues. Another of the self-penned songs is La Grippe which is country blues played on just guitar and upright bass. The playing is of the highest order and the whole album was recorded, mixed and mastered in one week but you can't tell from listening. The ponderous yet soothing Last Kind Word Blues is one of the best tracks on the album - just sit back and relax.
Dr. Michael White makes an appearance on Terminal Rag. It's just guitar and clarinet and it is wonderful. Brother Can You Spare A Dime is very well known and Mary gives it an old time jazz blues feel and fills it with laconic, rootsy folk guitar. Leroy Carr's Papa's On The Housetop has Henry Butler on piano but it is a bit on the safe side and not near the edge enough for me. Slow ragtime comes out on Hudson River Rag, another written by Mary. The addition of a second guitar here certainly fills the track out and the result is, technically, top class. Another well known song is Nobody's Fault But Mine and this has Henry Butler on piano again. Mary turns in a good vocal and Butler's barrelhouse boots the song up.
Main Street Blues is New Orleans blues personified. She has a quality to her voice that harks back to bygone days. Nice to hear the washboard make an appearance and the clarinet by Dr. Michael White is sublime. Henry Butler makes a further appearance on Built On The Right Ground, a classy blues with excellent slide guitar. The album finishes with the self-written Good News Waltz which has Amasa Miller returning on accordion. This gentle song conjures up many an image and I can imagine Sonny Landreth fitting into it very well.
This is Mary Flowers' first album for Yellow Dog and I'm sure it won't be the last.