Blues to the Bone

by Etta James

Overview

Etta James has worked in countless styles throughout her long career, and she is equally at home singing gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, and even rock & roll, but her roots have always been solidly planted in the blues, and she is arguably the finest living singer active in the genre. Perhaps because she doesn't sing only the blues, however, when she does, it sticks out as something special, and with Blues to the Bone she goes down to the river and dives in completely, turning out a solid album of no-frills, gutbucket performances. Her voice has deepened and coarsened over the years, making it the perfect vehicle of authenticity and authority as she tackles classics of the genre like John Lee Hooker's "Crawling King Snake," Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom," and Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning," backed by a garage blues combo led by her sons, Donito and Sametto James. James' versions bring new dimensions to each of these hoary old chestnuts, which have generally been sung by men, and her smoke-tinged alto makes each her own, instilling them all with a wise, desperate, and confident intimacy. She gives Jimmy Reed's "Hush Hush" a solid reading, while her take on Willie Dixon's "Lil' Red Rooster" is a tension-filled, atmospheric gem. The most striking track here, however, is James' version of the Elmore James tune "The Sky Is Crying," which emerges as epic and poignant. Much of contemporary blues spins on its own excesses and on a hundred years of accumulative cliches, but when an artist like Etta James comes home to sing the blues, the world has to rejoice and take notice, because in her hands the old cliched phrases become vital and new again. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	06/08/2004
Label:	Rca
UPC:	0828766064421

Tracks

1. I Got My Mojo Working
2. Don't Start Me to Talking
3. Hush Hush
4. Lil' Red Rooster
5. That's Alright
6. Crawlin' King Snake
7. Dust My Broom
8. The Sky Is Crying
9. Smokestack Lightnin'
10. You Shook Me
11. Driving Wheel
12. Honey, Don't Tear My Clothes

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Etta James   Primary Artist,Vocals
Brian Ray   Guitar,Slide Guitar
Sametto James   Guitar (Bass),Bass
Donto Metto James   Drums,Percussion
Mike Finnegan   Piano
John "Juke" Logan   Harmonica
Josh Sklair   Dobro,Guitar
Yoshann Rush   Vocals (Background)
Bobby Murray   Guitar
Steve Davis   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Lithoyfayne Pridgon   Liner Notes
Sametto James   Audio Production,Producer,Assistant Engineer
Donto Metto James   Audio Production,Engineer,Producer
Josh Sklair   Audio Production,Producer
Etta James   Audio Production,Producer
David Z.   Mixing
Howlin' Wolf   Composer
Roosevelt Sykes   Composer
Robert Johnson   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Cecille Parker   Stylist
Rudy Calvo   Make-Up,Coordination,Cover Art Concept
Judy Werle   Production Coordination
Preston Foster   Composer
Will Carrillo   Hair Stylist
Artis Mills   Executive Producer
Alan Mercer   Photography
Morgan Robinson   Composer
Jimmy Rogers   Composer
John Lee Hooker   Composer
Rebecca Meck   Design,Art Direction
Elmore James   Composer
Lupe DeLeon   Executive Producer
J.B. Lenoir   Composer
Clarence Lewis   Composer
Jimmy Reed   Composer
Hank Williams   Mastering
Bernard Besman   Composer