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!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charlie Musselwhite "In my Time"

Como já deve ser do conhecimento de todos que aqui visitam, minha paixão pelo Blues remonta longa data e tem uma explicação eu acho.
Desde jovem incursionava por todos os estilos que surgiam e existiam nos finais dos 60 inicio dos 70 e isto me trouxe uma forma diferente de enxergar as músicas e seus acordes, o que possibilitou não me prender em um só nicho e sim ampliar meus horizontes.

O que não sabia é que tudo isso me levaria a uma jornada de volta ao que chamo de "o inicio de tudo" e claro que esta frase não é minha mas no Blues nada tem dono e nada é de ninguém sendo tudo de todos.

Aí fui pego pela magia dos acordes das esquinas das grandes cidades feitos por mestres hoje conceituados e até idolatrados mas que tocavam por uns trocados pra comer; mas mesmo assim como BB King disse na sua igreja, qdo tocava spirituals, todos louvavam mas não deixavam uma moeda e ao tocar o Blues sempre enchia sua bolsa de moedas e o que era isso senão a verdadeira religião e o verdadeiro amor?

Este é o Blues e Charles Musselwhite não é diferente, ao contrário é mais um mestre e saído da pobreza chegou ao ápice da fama e do respeito e abaixo segue na íntegra a bio do seu blog oficial e a foto de sua nova banda, mas este trabalho é meu, e pra mim um dos melhores que o velho "gaitista" já produziu, aproveitem enquanto dura, prq é uma aula de música.The Well is the first full-band recording in Musselwhite’s long career for which he wrote or co-wrote every track on the album, and it is the most personal and the emotionally deepest cycle of songs he has ever created. The Well was recorded at Los Angeles’ legendary Sunset Sound with guitarist Dave Gonzales (Paladins, Hacienda Brothers), bassist John Bazz (The Blasters) and drummer Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits, Mavis Staples), and was produced by Chris Goldsmith (Ruthie Foster, Grammy-winning Blind Boys of Alabama). The revealing, autobiographical songs recall specific events and places in Musselwhite’s amazingly colorful life. His conversational vocals and masterful harmonica work are perfectly matched with the stories he tells and the near-telepathic musicianship behind him. Simply put, The Well is Charlie Musselwhite at his very best.

Central to the album are stories looking back at hard times and personal healing. Dig The Pain recalls his drinking days, while The Well tells of his recovery. In Cook County Blues, he wryly remembers his short stint behind bars. The most poignant song on the album, Sad And Beautiful World — a duet with Charlie’s close friend, legendary vocalist Mavis Staples — is his response to the tragic murder of his 93-year-old mother in her own home (and the house Charlie grew up in) during a burglary. Each track on The Well is a chapter from Charlie’s life, and in the liner notes to the CD he offers some very personal insights into the meaning behind the songs.According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, having Musselwhite back on the label is pure pleasure. “I’m thrilled to welcome Charlie back to the Alligator Records family. He’s a real icon of American roots music, a brilliant harmonica player and a true storyteller as a vocalist and songwriter. Charlie’s a terrific guy to work with, a genuine road warrior who is out there pleasing the fans night after night. We’re looking forward to renewing a great relationship.” And Musselwhite couldn’t agree more, saying, “I don’t think anybody is happier than I am being back in the Alligator family. It feels good to be home.”

Musselwhite’s personal history is the kind of story a novelist would sell his soul for, but his indomitable spirit is crafted by him alone. Tough times have been a huge part of his life, and have shaped him into a true working-class hero. His fans include young hipsters, Vietnam veterans, convicts, bikers, jazz aficionados, aging hippies and hard-core blues fans. He is a larger-than-life musical legend, writing and singing what he calls, “music from the heart.” According to Musselwhite, “It’s about the feeling, and about connecting with people. And blues, if it’s real blues, is loaded with feeling. And it ain’t about technique, either. It’s about truth, connecting to the truth and communicating with the people.”

Born into a blue collar family in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 31, 1944 and raised by a single mother, Musselwhite grew up surrounded by blues, hillbilly and gospel music on the radio and outside his front door. His family moved to Memphis, where, as a teenager, he worked as a ditch digger, concrete layer and moonshine runner. Fascinated by the blues, Musselwhite began playing guitar and harmonica. It wasn’t easy growing up a poor, white boy in Memphis, even among the rich musical influences the city offered. He felt like an outcast and a stranger (themes that have informed, inspired and haunted his music to this day). As a teen, Musselwhite attended parties hosted by Elvis Presley and hobnobbed with many of the local musicians, including Johnny Cash and Johnny Burnette, but the celebrities young Charlie sought out were Memphis’ veteran bluesmen like Furry Lewis, Will Shade and Gus Cannon.Following the path of so many, Musselwhite moved to Chicago looking for better paying work. While driving an exterminator truck as a day job, Charlie lived on the South Side and hung out in blues clubs at night, developing close friendships with blues icons Little Walter, Big Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Before long, he was sitting in at clubs with Muddy and others, building an impressive word-of-mouth reputation. Soon after, Charlie was being paid to play in the same South Side neighborhood. Noted blues journalist Dick Shurman says, “The black Chicago blues artists all liked Charlie as a person. They felt that he was one of them — a southern country boy with a deep affinity for the blues.”

His first recording, under the name Memphis Charlie, was with Big Walter Horton on the famous Vanguard Records series, Chicago/The Blues/Today!. Signing with Vanguard, Musselwhite (along with Paul Butterfield who was as urban as Charlie was rural) brought the amplified harmonica blues to a new audience of young, white rock and rollers, who discovered that Charlie personified the cool and hip counter-culture icons they admired.

After the release of his first full-length LP — Stand Back! Here Comes Charlie Musselwhite’s South Side Band — he was embraced by the growing youth counter-culture and the newly emerging progressive rock FM radio stations, especially on the West Coast. His iconic status established, he relocated to San Francisco, often playing the famed Fillmore Auditorium. Over the years, he has released albums on a variety of labels, ranging from straight blues to music mixing elements of jazz, gospel, Tex-Mex, Cuban and other world music, winning new fans at every turn. He has been touring nationally and internationally for four decades and is among the best-known and best-loved blues musicians in the world.Musselwhite has guested on numerous recordings, as a featured player with Tom Waits, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt, The Blind Boys of Alabama, INXS and most recently Cyndi Lauper. He has shared stages with countless blues and rock musicians. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall Of Fame in 2010, has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has won 24 Blues Music Awards. The San Francisco Chronicle says, “Charlie Musselwhite’s harmonica playing shows taste, bite, restraint and power. He’s one of the best, and as a bluesman, he’s as real as they come.”

Charlie Musselwhite today is as vital and creative as at any point in his long career. DownBeat calls him, “the undisputed champion of the blues harmonica.” In addition to his always-busy schedule, he hosts a weekly radio show, “Charlie’s Backroom,” on KRSH-FM in Santa Rosa, California (streamed at KRSH.com Sundays at 10:00am PST). He considers himself a lifelong learner and is constantly perfecting his craft. With The Well, Charlie Musselwhite returns with the strongest, most intimate album of his career — a powerful, personal collection of songs. Musselwhite’s blues, imparting his hard-won knowledge and working class wisdom, are a window into the deep well of his Mississippi soul.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!