Charlie Musselwhite "The Well"

Tava com uma saudade danada de ouvir um Blues rasgado e verdadeiro, sem frescuras e firulas, sem odes e acordes recortados,só um Blues simples e natural.

E não é que numa dessas saídas encontro na loja de um amigo por apenas $9,90 este trabalho que antes de ouvir sabia fantástico?

O cara é o "Cara" e ponto final.

Ele toca harmônica (fala gaita pra ele fala) e guitarra muito antes de muitos lobos terem sequer sonhado nascer, e compõe , brinca e vive , faz amigos é venerado pelo mundo afora e participa de alguns trabalhos mas andava sim sumido e justo este disco marca seu retorno ao cenário musical como vcs podem ler abaixo.

Já postei um dele que num para o link vivo de jeito nenhum, mas posso dizer que amo de paixão o trabalho dele, Blues de verdade, Bluezeiro de verdade, coração no Blues e o Blues nas notas.

Nesse trabalho ele reconta um pouco de sua vida em cada música, digo assim prq quem o acompanha sabe que teve no fundo do poço com bebida, perdeu a mãe com 93 anos de idade morta num assalto, o amigo Mavis e volta agora contando e cantando tudo isso e mais um pouco.

Contando como chegou até aqui depois de mais de 30 discos e 40 e tantos anos de carreira com seus 68 anos completados em 31 de janeiro data tb do aniversário de uma das pessoas mais importantes na vida deste lobo e que se sabe algo aprendeu muito com ela, que ajudou minha mãe a me criar e me deu as oportunidades que tive pra me arriscar e se não me saí melhor culpa dela que não foi,rs

Além do que mais uma coincidência em nossas vidas Mr Charlie tb não teve contado com o pai e só a mãe acompanhou toda sua carreira onde tenho mais sorte de ainda estar com a minha vivinha por aqui.

Amo o Blues então o amo tanto como e não teve jeito, comprei mesmo e valeu cada moeda, subir já era pra ter subido, mas como andei postando material que tb me interessava ele ficou esperando um pouco, mas agora pra começar mais uma página, o Mestre e pra ser ouvido bem alto sim sem medo de ser feliz.

Welcome Mr Musselwhite, welcome back!!!!!!!!!!!

We've heard many a song or album described as the most personal thing an artist has ever done, whether by a critic or the artist themselves.

I don't know if The Well is the most personal record of Blues Hall of Famer Charlie Musselwhite's career but I can't imagine how much deeper he can dig than he has on The Well, his first album in four years.

A trio of tracks on this album takes us deep inside the heart of Charlie Musselwhite through some of the most painful, powerful moments of his life.

"Dig The Pain" and "The Well" take us along his road of alcohol addiction and the path that led him to recovery.

Each song is powerful and personal on their own but sequencing them together adds to that.

"The Well" is two remarkable stories in one; Musselwhite tells us about learning about baby Jessica McClure falling and becoming trapped in a well in Texas in 1987.

He was so affected by the event he pledged he'd not have a drink until she was rescued.

Three days later, McClure was rescued and in a sense, so was Musselwhite who has been sober for 22 years.

He also opens up about the 2005 murder of his mother in Memphis in "Sad And Beautiful World."

The song is almost like a letter he's written her, telling her things he wishes he'd told her before her death and also updating her on how he's coping with it all five years later.

The great Mavis Staples duets with him and even though this isn't a dialog between mother and son, her warm, gentle vocal evokes a materal presence that only makes this song more poignant.

Sad and beautiful, indeed.

He continues the personal touch in "Cook County Blues."

Musselwhite isn’t writing and singing about a fictional character or a chap he knows.

This is his story of getting tossed in Chicago's Cook County Jail.

The story is retold years after the fact and there's a little touch of humor in the presentation, although you know this is one of those stories that wasn't a bit funny at the time.

"Rambler's Blues," the lead track is one of the best on the record, pushing Musselwhite's signature harp out front over a thick backing guitar track that has just a little crunch and just a little ring to it.

Musselwhite has perfected a blend of blues that combines Chicago and Memphis and this is a textbook example.

His vocal is easy and relaxed, delivered with just a little drawl and just a fraction behind the beat.

The instrumental "Clarksdale Getaway" opens with a Muddy Waters/Jimmy Rogers pure-Chicago riff, followed by Musselwhite's harp, amplified and sounding like something recorded in a small room on Michigan Avenue 60 years ago.

Nothing is rushed. Nothing is rocked.

This is Chicago blues with stately Southern charm.

"Where Hwy 61 Runs" is as close as he gets to raising his voice beyond the laconic drawl heard throughout most of the record.

Lyrically this is another "road song" with the blues as a constant companion, riding shotgun.

His deep, Southern roots make him an ideal tour guide and this is obviously a man who has traveled many a mile with those blues that, as he sings in the opening lines of the song, found him at an early age.

Taken as a whole, The Well is deep and overflowing with emotion.

The sound is never harsh nor does it get too loud or aggressive and the music is deep, rich, and beautifully realized.

Musselwhite's harp is captured with and without amplified distortion and is alternately pushed front and pulled back in the mix and his playing is as magical as ever.

As the final kiss from that harp is blown at the end of "Sorcerer's Dream," you feel you've traveled a familiar road with a familiar friend but you've seen things you never before noticed.

Have they always been there or did they spring forth like magic?

Lower your bucket back into The Well and maybe you'll find your answer, or maybe you'll decide it really doesn't matter.

View the original article on blogcritics.org

Musselwhite is accompanied here by a stellar band:
guitarist Dave Gonzales,
bassist John Bazz,
and drummer Stephen Hodges

Tracklist:

01. Rambler's Blues
02. Dig the Pain
03. The Well
04. Where Hwy 61 Runs
05. Sad and Beautiful World
06. Sonny Payne Special
07. Good Times
08. Just You, Just Blues
09. Cadillac Women
10. Hoodoo Queen
11. Clarksdale Getaway
12. Cook County Blues
13. Sorcerer's Dream

Total time: 47:41

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!