Despite the enormous variety of artists tapped for this
project, Down the Dirt Road sets a mood at the outset that lasts
all the way through to the final track. It's a sense of solidity, history,
and quiet confidence that has always characterized Charley Patton's work,
and the fact that it comes through so clearly here is testimony both to
Patton's songwriting and to the capabilities of the musicians interpreting
his work.
There is, to be sure, a preconceived notion of what Delta
blues sounds like. But Patton, as one of the style's originators--as a
predecessor to Robert Johnson, for heaven's sake--had a more varied
repertoire than someone unfamiliar with his music might suppose. Thus,
while Steve James' interpretation of "Elder Greene Blues" sounds like what
you'd expect, and Graham Parker's "Poor Me" is as loose and low-key a
shuffle as you'll ever encounter, the two of them together point to the
richness of Patton's musical background--and the corresponding richness of
his musical legacy. Charlie Musselwhite's here, too, doing a credible job
with "Pea Vine Blues," and Paul Rishell & Annie Raines bring a bit of
Piedmont to the beautifully performed "I Shall Not Be Moved," a disc
standout.
Joe Louis Walker abandons his contemporary stylings but
does apply his musical sensuality to "Sugar Mama" with explosive results.
Likewise, Corey Harris gets back to the root with "Moon Going Down,"
proving to anyone who doubted it that he can still play a mean Delta
blues. By the time things wind down with a gorgeously evocative "Some
Summer Day" and a spare, sweet "Down the Dirt Road Blues/When Your Way
Gets Dark" (with vocals from Colleen Sexton carrying the song), you've
heard some great playing from today's leading artists. But this collection
is more than that: It highlights, in the details of these performances,
the wide variety of influences that made up Patton's music--and thus the
blues as a whole.
-- Originally appeared in Blues Revue No. 72,
November 2001, p. 54