Another day, another young blues guitar-slinger hits the
scene. That may be a cynical point of view, but one must admit that there
are an awful lot of young'uns out there these days. Then again, what's so
bad about that? Despite attempts at commercial co-option, blues is still
largely generational in nature, with older musicians passing on the mojo
to the younger. They've found a live one in Kristi Johnson, who hails
from--wait for it--Winnipeg, and who had her first blues experience at the
city's Folklorama Parade, where she heard a local bluesman wailing on the
guitar. Said bluesman, Terry Moore, later hired Johnson into his touring
band, and the rest is history.
That Would Be Fine is Johnson's debut, and it's
fine indeed. Johnson has taken every lesson the blues has had to teach
her, live and on record, to heart. There's nothing frilly about her guitar
playing, singing or songwriting; it's all good, solid stuff, and it's all
sincere. Her choice of covers--selections by Louisiana Red ("Midnight
Rambler," natch), Jimmy Rogers ("That's All Right") and Sonny Boy
Williamson ("Eyesight to the Blind")--indicates a background steeped in
blues history. While all these songs have been covered repeatedly, Johnson
turns out more than credible renditions, for which she is to be commended.
Her own songwriting is excellent: "Guilty" is a great slow blues that
positively smokes, the title track has a hook solid enough to hang
your hat on and there's a nice little bonus track that relies almost
entirely on Johnson's singing for its effect. As the first track, "Train"
starts things off quite well, with an appealing shuffle beat and a
memorable melody line. The upbeat "Shake Your Sugar Tree" is catchy, and
"If I Ain't Got" has the gut-stomping beat of a classic blues tune. There
is, all in all, a whale of potential here. Johnson should go far.
-- Originally appeared in Blues Revue No. 63,
December 2000, p. 70