It’s hard to believe that Tinsley Ellis, one of contemporary blues’ most-prominent artists since the late ’80s, is only now releasing an acoustic album – especially considering that he has long incorporated acoustic sets in his live shows. And, less often being more, the Georgia native keeps it simple – two guitars, played entirely live, no overdubs.
Five of the tunes, including the opening “Devil in the Room” (which pays homage to the Hill Country blues) finds Ellis coaxing a slide across the strings of a ’37 National Style O. He also employs the resonator on a gritty reading of Son House’s “Death Letter Blues” and shifts gears on a faithful cover of the Leo Kottke instrumental “A Soldier’s Grave on the Prairie.”
A ’69 Martin D-35 (with Brazilian rosewood) is a six-string co-headliner. Ellis uses it on fingerpicking numbers like the Skip James-inspired “Windowpane,” humorous “Grown Ass Man,” and textured instrumentals like “Silver Mountain,” the driving, ringing “Alcovy Breakdown,” and the gentle closer, “Easter Song.”
The album presents the new dimension of a celebrated electric bluesman, and was a long time coming. It is undeniably worth the wait.
This article originally appeared in VG’s April 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
From the first fingerpicked notes of “Hello in There,” a gentle, inviting 98-second acoustic instrumental that opens Dom Martin’s Buried in The Hail, it’s clear the Belfast bluesman’s musical vision is sprawling – and won’t be confined to 12 bars.
That isn’t to say Martin has anything against tradition. Heavily influenced by the blues-rock of fellow Irishman Rory Gallagher as well as Roy Buchanan, Martin is more than adept with an electric guitar in hand. But on his latest studio effort, it’s his dexterous acoustic playing – on a custom-built Lowden (made with Tasmanian blackwood and sinker redwood) – that gives the album a clear sonic identity, with Martin frequently melding Celtic and other folk traditions with a solid foundation of American roots music.
“The first two albums really weren’t produced by me,” Martin explained during a rehearsal break in August, just before departing for a Joe Bonamassa blues cruise. “I recorded them and gave free reign to whoever was behind the desk. This one is more hands-on by me. I stuck to my guns from start to finish and wouldn’t let anybody change anything. I wouldn’t compromise. It’s the first album I can really get behind, 100 percent.”
Other tracks that further the acoustic theme include “Daylight I Will Find,” anchored by a driving Delta-blues riff; the gentle “Government,” a slow and meditative number with hints of mysticism that casts a wide-open groove; and “The Fall,” a clear album highlight that’s part darkness, part light, with cascading fingerstyle lines helping tell the story.
The sonic template is powerfully underscored by Martin’s deep, gravel-road vocals and personal, original songwriting, with lyrical content that speaks to Martin’s upbringing on the tough streets of Belfast – a historically troubled city with its own rich blues culture – as well as a past marked by addiction (and subsequent recovery) and the loss 11 years ago of his father – his musical mentor, playing partner, and best friend.
“That’s where traditional Irish music came into it, as like a form of therapy, as an outlet, because a lot of their songs are terribly sad,” Martin says. “And that’s blues in a different format. It’s borne out of trauma, out of terrible times. Like Peter Green said, ‘It’s more than a 12-bar progression.’ It really is. Blues is a feeling. It’s a color, first and foremost, but it’s a feeling after. Some of the songs I play aren’t classified as blues. I would call them blues. But a lot of people wouldn’t. They’re not traditional blues, but they come from a place borne of trauma.”
Martin is keen on writing his own songs. The lone exception on Buried In the Hail is an evocative reading of Willie Nelson’s “Crazy,” which starts with spare, haunting electric lines in the spirit of Jeff Buckley before breaking into a wide-open, slow-blues outing. Other electric-oriented tracks include the riff-heavy “Belfast Blues” and “Unhinged,” a six-minute slab of blues-rock bombast.
Martin previously was frequently seen sporting a “partscaster” SX body with Tonerider pickups and a Stratocaster neck. But he has since moved on to another Tele copy assembled by Izzy Buholzer of Gulfcaster Custom Guitars. Martin acquired the axe while touring last year with Eric Gales.
“Picture Rory Gallagher’s Strat – that battered old ’61. Now imagine if that had been a Telecaster from the very start. That’s what I told Izzy; if Rory’s Strat had been a Tele, that’s what I want. So he built the whole thing and it looks amazing, and it’s such a good player. He did such a good job. It took over all the other guitars I own.”
Speaking of Gallagher, he stands atop the list of Martin’s six-string influences, a player who made a profound impact on the young man’s musical future. Martin never plays a gig without working in at least one (sometimes several) Gallagher tunes. In Martin’s mind, it’s not just about paying tribute. It’s about repaying a musical debt.
“Rory has been with me since day one,” he says. “My earliest memory of anything was Rory and that sound. My dad gave me a tape – Live In Europe on one side and Blueprint on the other – and I listened to it every day for years and years until it broke and I taped it, it broke and I taped it, until it didn’t play anymore. But I love everything it represented to me as a kid. It was just such an escape, such an outlet. It made me feel better. It gave a sanctuary and a lot of inner peace.”
This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Otis Redding’s death in a plane crash in late 1967 created a monumental task for producer and guitarist Steve Cropper – the posthumous presentation of Redding’s unreleased work. Ultimately, four collections were released, including The Dock of the Bay (February ’68); The Immortal Otis Redding (June ’68); Love Man (June ’69); and Tell the Truth (July ’70). They’re all reissued in this new vinyl box, along with two other LPs that collect mono versions of Redding’s singles issued from ’68 to ’70.
While Redding’s voice will always be the star of the show, this set is also a deep dive into soul guitar, courtesy of the genre’s primary architect. Cropper’s thoughtful restraint is evident on achingly beautiful ballads like “I Love You More Than Words Can Say,” “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember” and “A Waste of Time.” But he’s in his element on uptempo numbers like “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” and the driving “Hard to Handle,” where Cropper, never one to compete with the horns, stays close to the chords and simply locks in a wide groove.
A master class in unflashy guitar – and a document of one of the most-consequential musical partnerships ever forged between a singer and a guitarist.
This article originally appeared in VG’s September 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Lonnie Mack hadn’t released an album in eight years when this comeback effort arrived in January of 1985. His first of three for Alligator Records, it brought Mack out of obscurity and marked the dawn of a professional second act that was celebrated by some of rock’s royalty.
Upon its release, Strike Like Lightning underscored the fact that Mack hadn’t declined musically – the staggering power and speed that were hallmarks of his early-’60s instrumentals like “Memphis” and “Chicken Pickin’” were still intact. Also making the release noteworthy was Mack’s co-producer – Stevie Ray Vaughan – who guests throughout. SRV’s trademark Strat trades breaks with Mack’s ’58 Flying V on “Satisfy Susie” and “Double Whammy,” the latter a faithful but turbocharged reading of Mack’s 1963 classic “Wham!” The two trade licks and share vocal duties on the concise “If You Have to Know,” and “Oreo Cookie Blues” takes things down to the Delta, with SRV on the early-’30s National Duolian he’d later hold on the cover of In Step.
Lonnie plays with fury and intensity on the slow-burning “Stop,” and turns tender and soulful on the piano-laden ballad “Falling Back In Love With You.” This is a document of a blues-rock pioneer’s revival, now on 140-gram vinyl.
This article originally appeared in VG’s August 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Known as longtime musical partner and guitar ace with country singer Dwight Yoakam. But, his real claim to fame might be that as a bona fide roots-music mechanic – a guy who has been under the hood of more recordings than you can shake a Tele at.
Where many musicians have longed to be a lead vocalist or six-string hotshot, Anderson has traveled a different road, assuming the role of the guy who wants to improve things.
This book distills four-plus decades of insight, dispensing wisdom for musicians across the spectrum, from home-studio creator to major-label hotshot. But this isn’t a garden-variety tutorial, heavy on technology. Rather, Anderson’s accessible literary approach is best summarized by a key word found in the title: philosophy.
Anderson points out that a great recording is rooted in things like inspiration, tactfully managing fussy personalities, and strategically establishing arrangements before entering the studio. He also brings record-making into the 21st century, observing that while the recording industry undergoes dramatic turmoil, the changes simultaneously afford artists with desire, ambition, creativity, and chops a chance to have their music heard.
A breezy read, but packed with worthwhile insight.
This article originally appeared in VG’s July 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Ally Venable has deep roots in blues-rock, but it’s easy to picture her as a festival headliner. A legitimate triple threat – the writer of original songs, a powerhouse vocalist and a tough, tasteful guitarist who can go toe-to-toe with the boys – the 24-year-old Texan’s latest effort, produced by Grammy winner Tom Hambridge, more than hints at a future beyond the traditional parameters of the blues.
The opening title track, a straightforward rocker with an urgent solo, serves as a prelude to an album’s worth of excellent guitar work. “Justifyin’,” a driving Buddy Guy cover, continues the trend, packing intensity and fury.
While appearances by Joe Bonamassa (“Broken and Blue”) and Guy (“Texas Louisiana”) add swagger to the proceedings, Venable serves notice she’s perfectly fine without the star power; “Kick Your Ass” features barbed riffs that underscore the song’s unmistakable lyrical message, and the ballad “Next Time I See You” shows her range, initially emphasizing space as the tune grows in intensity before delivering some of the most-evocative playing on the album.
Call it blues, rock, or something in-between, the future is wide open for Venable. This provides the proof.
This article originally appeared in VG’s June 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
A Grammy-winning engineer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and already a veteran of some of Nashville’s most-storied stages, the release of 21-year-old Yates McKendree’s debut album mandates the addition of another accolade – top-shelf purveyor of the blues.
Yates McKendree: Anthony Scarlati.
The son of studio owner and longtime Delbert McClinton bandleader Kevin McKendree (who provides piano and organ throughout), the younger McKendree exhibits a guitar prowess that belies his age here, from a faithful reading of the 1956 B.B. King B-side “Ruby Lee” to the minor-key original “Wise,” which evokes the master’s “The Thrill Is Gone.”
Some of the most-satisfying excursions come when McKendree (see interview in this month’s “First Fret”) takes on slow blues; “No Justice” tastefully builds before exploding with furious flurries of notes, and “Please Mr. Doctor” gets a slightly slower tempo – and a wider groove – than Tampa Red’s original. Both simmer with intensity.
“Always a First Time,” an early-’60s hit for New Orleans R&B icon Earl King, injects soul into the proceedings, as does the Guitar Slim ballad “It Hurts to Love Someone Else.” A pair of T-Bone Walker chestnuts – “Papa Ain’t Salty” and the ballad “No Reason” – remain true to their sonic roots. An auspicious debut from a Music City young gun.
This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Expanded from its origins as a radio broadcast, Live at the Fillmore captures Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in transition, retreating from large arenas, music videos, and record-making in favor of a 20-show run at the legendary San Francisco venue.
That residency in January and early February of 1997 resulted in a deep, often-spontaneous exploration of the band’s musical roots, with covers comprising a majority of the 58 cuts, and underscoring the shows’ freewheeling spirit. As author Joel Selvin writes in his liner notes, “Setlists were written every night and routinely ignored.”
In addition to tackling songs by everyone from Chuck Berry to the Zombies – and backing guests John Lee Hooker and Roger McGuinn – guitarist Mike Campbell (see interview in this issue) and Petty bring garage-band passion to their own catalog, rocking hard on an explosive “Jammin’ Me” and dueling on “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” pushing the song past 10 minutes. “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and “Free Fallin’” also get extended workouts. Campbell, meanwhile, pays tribute to The Ventures with “Slaughter On Tenth Avenue.”
All told, it’s a unique addition to the discography – a document of a band seeking direction but joyously revisiting its musical roots in the meantime.
This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
In early 1997, Tom Petty was unsure what the future held for him or his band, the Heartbreakers. But he was searching for something new on the heels of his hit solo album, Wildflowers, and the enormously popular tour that followed.
“I just want to play and get away from the land of videos and records for a while,” the 46-year-old told San Francisco Chronicle writer Joel Selvin. “We want to get back to what we understand. If we went out on an arena tour right now, I don’t think we’d be real inspired. We’re musicians and we want to play. We’ve made so many records in the past five years, I think the best thing for us to do is just go out and play and it will lead us to our next place, wherever that may be.”
“Wherever” proved to be San Francisco’s iconic Fillmore Auditorium – a venue Petty had never even entered, let alone to perform. Once he did, however, he went big with a 20-show residency billed as “The Fillmore House Band,” doing intimate shows before audiences of 1,100.
The stand, which began January 10 and concluded February 7, tossed away the proverbial script; instead of running through faithful deliveries of obligatory hits, Petty and company worked up an array of covers and rarities, re-cast his biggest solo hits, and embraced a freewheeling, spontaneous musical spirit that came to define the event.
With the band rejuvenated and recognizing that something special was happening, they decided to make multi-track recordings of the last six shows. Those performances have just been released as Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Live at the Fillmore, 1997.
“It was very kinetic and uncharted territory,” remembers longtime Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. “For a player used to playing to, for lack of a better word, a ‘script’ every night, it was freedom and an opportunity to just take a chance here and there, and be brave enough to be like, ‘Well, I don’t really know what I’m going to play next, but I’m going to really dig in.’ I would hope something magical happened, and it usually did because of the room and
Like Petty years before, Campbell acknowledges the pre-Fillmore routine of playing large venues, and the strong sense of obligation that came with it.
Mike Campbell and Tom Petty onstage at the Fillmore in 1997 (left); Petty has a Tele copy made by Toru Nittono, while Campbell plays a late-’60s ES-335 he found at a swap meet in Pasadena. “I bought it because it reminded me of Chuck Berry,” he said. “I didn’t play it often, but it’s a great guitar.” Petty enjoying himself at the mic during a Fillmore set.
“People spent a lot of money on tickets and parking, and they were used to hearing songs they like,” he said. “We figured it was our job to give them what they want. We would sometimes throw a surprise in here and there, but we didn’t want to take advantage of the crowd, so we gave them the songs they were familiar with – most of the time.”
But those rules didn’t apply at the Fillmore. Freed from convention, the performances preserved on the new live album find the band exploring the kaleidoscope of American music – interpreting songs by J.J. Cale (“Crazy Mama”), Bill Withers (“Ain’t No Sunshine”), The Kinks (“You Really Got Me”), Chuck Berry (“Around and Around”), Booker T & the M.G.’s (“Green Onions”) and the Grateful Dead (“Friend of the Devil”), among others. More than half of the tracks on the new release are covers.
Another notable component of the 20-show run was the stream of guests; performances by blues legend John Lee Hooker and Roger McGuinn are included (though he’s not part of the album, Carl Perkins appeared early in the run).
Some of the finest guitar interplay is found on Petty’s solo hits; “It’s Good to Be King,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” “Free Fallin’,” and “You Wreck Me” all feature extended guitar parts, with Petty taking his share of solos. “Jammin’ Me” is played with a fury and immediacy that threatens to upstage the 1987 studio version. And “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” a track added to the band’s 1993 greatest hits package, became a guitar-centric centerpiece of the Fillmore shows. While the studio version clocked in at less than five minutes, live versions routinely pushed 10.
“It was the Fillmore, ya know?,” Campbell quips. “Before I met Tom, I was in a three-piece band that did a lot of free-form playing like that. Ben (Tench, Heartbreakers’ keyboardist) and I are really good at thinking on our feet and extending songs, and at the big concerts there wasn’t much room for that. But at the Fillmore we could do it and they embraced that approach. Tom and I had this ability to play harmonically together, to complement each other. It was just a great fit. There was just a freedom at those gigs to do whatever popped into our heads, and the other guy would fill in the blanks or join in. It’s magic when that happens.”
Underscoring the free-spirited nature, Campbell did a nightly surf-guitar set, tackling “Goldfinger” (on a Fender Jaguar with loads of reverb) before turning to the Ventures, most notably the 1964 chestnut “Slaughter On Tenth Avenue.”
“[“Slaughter”] was Tom’s idea,” Campbell recalls. “I had the idea for ‘Goldfinger’ because I loved the melody and I love surf music, so I brought that in one afternoon. We learned it, then Tom said, ‘Why don’t we do ‘Slaughter On Tenth Avenue?’ I remembered it from a Ventures record, and I like surf guitar; I like rock, I like blues, I like all kinds of stuff, but surf guitar has a space where the guitar can be the lead voice. I enjoy that quite a bit.”
Another of what Campbell calls the “oddball” selections on Live at the Fillmore, 1997 is “The Date I Had with That Ugly Old Homecoming Queen,” a song anchored by a hard-rock riff. “It’s not much of a song,” Campbell says with a laugh. “It was a riff I played at the sound check, and Tom said, ‘I’ll make something up to that.’ We put it in the show that night, and that’s what he came up with. It was all very loosey-goosey, spontaneous, and exciting.”
While recalling the energy and musical boldness of the Fillmore stand, Campbell also paused to recollect his instrument and amp choices.
“I played my late-’60s Les Paul goldtop with P-90s… I probably played the 1950 Broadcaster, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Vox Mark II we used on a Zombies song.
“I had an interesting amp setup, with a Kustom, a blond Bassman, and something else I don’t remember. It’s been a long time (laughs).”
Campbell hadn’t heard the Fillmore tapes until work began on the new release. But revisiting them provided another opportunity to marvel at Petty’s artistry – the songs, the lyrics, the remarkable power to communicate through music.
“As a guitar player, he was like John Lennon,” Campbell explains. “He was the foundation of the rhythm, and he was great at the rhythm. Occasionally, he would play licks here and there, but mostly he could lay down the rhythm and sing over it like John might do, and it just worked.
“He had a solid feel, good voicings on his chords, and he always had to get a good tone. He was just really good at what he did – very solid, tight, and creative. But mostly he had an exuberance and feel nobody else has. [When] a songwriter writes a song on the guitar and sings it to himself, they go together – the voice and the guitar create this thing – and Tom’s was really special.”
Mike Campbell’s modded late-’60s Les Paul has been with him since the earliest days of the Heartbreakers.
The final night of the Fillmore stand, February 7, was a blowout three-hour show with 40 songs including 10 encores and was broadcast over the radio in addition to an early version of streaming; “We’re also live on the internet… whatever that is,” Petty tells the crowd.
“Everybody should do this,” Petty said when it had ended. “It’s going to be tough to go back to the arenas. I’m not saying we won’t – I’m sure we will – but it’ll never be the same. I wouldn’t be surprised if we did this again next year.”
The band did indeed return to the Fillmore for seven shows in March of ’99 and replicated the experience several times in the ensuing years, including five shows at the Vic Theatre, in Chicago, in April of ’03. In May and June of ’13, they did five shows at New York City’s Beacon Theatre, followed by six at the Henry Fonda Theatre, in Hollywood.
Petty died October 2, 2017. Much has been written about his death, and life on for Campbell and the other members of the Heartbreakers. In ’18 and ’19, he toured with Fleetwood Mac. His current band, The Dirty Knobs, is a hard-rocking, ’60s-inspired outfit that in 2021 released its second album External Combustion, and last year opened a string of dates for The Who. A gig at The Hollywood Bowl on November 1, 2022, was particularly emotional, given the fabled venue where Petty and the Heartbreakers played their final gig on September 25, 2017 – a week before Petty’s death.
“I never dreamed I’d be back on that stage in any way, shape or form,” Campbell says. “But there I was, opening for The Who. The last time I saw Tom was standing onstage at that gig. It felt very sweet to be near him in that sense again. It was closure in a little way, I guess. Very spiritual.”
For the 73-year-old who first met Petty in their native Florida in 1971, revisiting tapes like those that make up Live at the Fillmore, 1997 stirs mixed emotions.
“Of course there’s melancholy because I lost my friend,” he says. “But mostly I’m just so proud and happy that we did what we did. I like revisiting the joy of it. And if there’s a tinge of missing my brother, that goes along with it. But mostly it’s just the joy of celebrating the music we made together. I’m very proud of it.”
Be sure to enter this month’s giveaway for a chance to win a Live at the Fillmore box set. Go to www.vintageguitar.com/category/giveaway.
This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Yates McKendree hasn’t yet turned 22, but he has already digested a lifetime’s worth of American roots music.
The proof is in his debut album, Buchanan Lane, which is named for the street where he makes his home in Franklin, Tennessee. A 13-song collection, it reflects varied musical influences including blues icons like B.B. King and T-Bone Walker, New Orleans R&B keyboardist James Booker, and B-3 master Jimmy McGriff.
“I wanted this to be an amalgamation of the American music I love and grew up with,” he explains. “I also wanted it to be marketable, and want people to actively listen to it. But really, my goal is to introduce traditional blues to a younger audience – take it back to being a popular form of American music, because it’s relevant. And I think if you emotionally convey it the right way, people can understand it.”
A self-taught musician, McKendree was a teen when earned a Grammy for his engineering work on Delbert McClinton’s Tall, Dark & Handsome. He’s been playing guitar since he was five years old, but he was banging on the drums at two and started on the piano shortly thereafter; his father, Grammy-winning keyboardist Kevin McKendree, was McClinton’s longtime bandleader.
McKendree used a ’67 Gibson ES-175 as the primary workhorse for Buchanan Lane.
“It’s all original,” McKendree says of the ES-175. “I did take the neck pickups out and flipped the magnet so it’s out of phase in the middle position, to get the T-Bone Walker tone, or really just an early-blues sound. Some Freddie King songs have it. Probably the most famous out-of-phase tone would be Peter Green. It’s just a sound, a tonality that I’ve always loved. But I don’t tend to do a bunch of mods to my guitars. I just kind of pick ’em up and play ’em.”
You’ll hear the 175 on the swinging “Brand New Neighborhood,” an early-’50s song by Fletcher Smith, Tampa Red’s “Please Mr. Doctor,” and a pair of T-Bone Walker covers, “Papa Ain’t Salty” and “No Reason.”
For several other songs, McKendree employed a modern Gibson SG Special, including the Walker-esque slow-blues original “No Justice,” and the standout track “Wise,” a minor-key effort that evokes B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.” The tune puts McKendree’s versatility on full display, as he also plays drums, bass, and the B3.
No matter the guitar, the amp was consistent throughout – a ’71 Super Reverb. “It’s all original,” he says. “Original speakers – I think it has replaced tubes. There’s something about a Super Reverb that just gets the tone for me. There’s a depth and airiness to it that I just can’t find with any other amps.”
For strings, it’s D’Addario NYXL .010s and .011s, “Depending on what I’m feeling. They hold up for all those bends.”
Yates literally grew up in a recording studio. The family’s suburban Nashville home includes The Rock House, a studio owned and operated by Kevin. But despite the father’s standing as veteran of studio and stage, he downplays any substantial role in Yates’ musical upbringing.
“I always joke that when his mother was pregnant, I used to put headphones on her, so Yates would hear all my favorite music,” the elder McKendree said. “Junior Walker was a huge one – and I always go, ‘All that must have worked.’ But with your kids, you want to steer them toward what they are interested in, and he’s always been interested in music. So for him, it’s been nurture and nature. [The music] was in him, and he was fortunate to grow up and have a recording studio in his backyard.”
For Yates, 2023 looks hopeful and wide open, despite pandemic headwinds that continue to pose challenges for working musicians. He’s weighing options, including a possible Nashville residency. Bottom line is he just wants to play.
“For me, it’s the love of the music,” Yates explains. “I want people to understand that, and I want people to grasp the emotional aspect of the blues, how relatable it is, and how current it can be, if you think about it. Blues is not exposed to the masses, but everybody who isn’t a music fiend – every regular, run-of-the-mill person I’ve played my music for – is like, ‘Yeah, I understand that. It’s emotional. I feel it. I get it.’ And that’s why I think if you can get it in front of a bigger audience, it can be widely understood, because it’s just an emotion, really.”
This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Five of the tunes, including the opening “Devil in the Room” (which pays homage to the Hill Country blues) finds Ellis coaxing a slide across the strings of a ’37 National Style O. He also employs the resonator on a gritty reading of Son House’s “Death Letter Blues” and shifts gears on a faithful cover of the Leo Kottke instrumental “A Soldier’s Grave on the Prairie.”
