Blame It on Eve

by Shemekia Copeland

Overview

Shemekia Copeland has been expanding the boundaries of the blues for decades. She's regularly covered songs by artists not normally associated with the genre, like Mary Gauthier, John Prine, and Jesse Winchester, among others. Her last three outings -- America's Child, Uncivil War, and Done Come Too Far -- were steeped in the social, economic, and political issues of our time. Blame It on Eve reflects Copeland's need to take a break from the news. Like the trilogy, it is produced by guitarist and songwriter Will Kimbrough with drummer Pete Abbott and bassist Lex Price. A cadre of guests includes guitarists Charlie Hunter, Luther Dickinson, and Kevin Gordon, sacred steel guitarist DaShawn Hickman, dobro master Jerry Douglas, cellist Cara Fox, saxophonist Jim Hoke, duet vocalists Alejandro Escovedo and Pascal Danaë (frontman of Creole-French blues band Delgres) and backing vocalists Lisa Oliver Gray and Odessa Settles. Most of Blame It on Eve's songs were composed by Kimbrough and her longtime manager John Hahn. As is customary, she includes a cover by father Johnny Copeland, as well as the Stevie Wonder hit "Heaven Help Us All" by Ronald N. Miller. The title-cut opener is noir-ish, funky blues drenched in Dickinson's stinging electric slide, and Hoke's dark baritone sax groove; the lyrics employ the mythical figure of Eve a metaphor for the mistreatment of women: "Since the Garden of Eden, they have you believin'/You can blame it on Eve¿/While a man is tough, a woman's a bitch/Who needs a trial?/Burn that bitch¿." "Tough Mother" is a rocking Delta blues featuring Dickinson with poignant lyrics reflecting on life and its losses. "Broken High Heels" is a wide-open rock & roll anthem about brokenness and nerve in modern life. "Wine O'Clock" is a wry jazz-blues with Hunter playing lead guitar. "Is Anybody Up There," with Escovedo duetting, is a slamming garage rock blues; it's followed by the lovelorn boogie "Cadillac Blue." "Tell the Devil," an electric country-blues, showcases Dashawn Hickman's sacred steel and Kimbrough's wailing organ over a backing chorus that testifies like a church choir on Sunday morning. "Tee Tot Payne" is a strolling rag blues with Douglas' dobro underscoring the true story of the all-but-forgotten subject who taught Hank Williams the blues, changing country music forever. J. Copeland's" Down on Bended Knee" is delivered with power and fury. The hunted ballad "Belle Sorciere," penned by Danaë (who duets with Copeland) and Hahn, is an acoustic folk-blues delivered in waltz time while offering the tragic tale of a Creole woman caring for her Cajun man during his final illness. Copeland sings the refrain in French, framed by Fox's haunting cello. Her version of the Wonder vehicle "Heaven Help Us All" is rendered powerfully, as the soul-gospel jam draws more from Ray Charles' excellent 1972 version. Blame It on Eve is, like the trilogy, strong and resonant without sacrificing the blues tradition's context; she embraces and expands, rendering these songs with peerless authority, emotional toughness, and determined empowerment. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	08/30/2024
Label:	Alligator Records
UPC:	0014551502210

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Shemekia Copeland   Primary Artist