Colin Linden - 2 albums: Southern Jumbo / Easin' Back To Tennessee

Album: Southern Jumbo
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:41
Size: 127.5 MB
Styles: Roots, Folk-blues
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[3:40] 1. Southern Jumbo
[4:17] 2. That Was Me
[4:59] 3. Which Way Does The M&o Run
[4:56] 4. I Give Up
[4:15] 5. Sugar Mine
[4:21] 6. Might As Well Enjoy The Rain
[4:01] 7. Bucket Of Soul
[4:03] 8. Train Left An Hour Ago
[4:46] 9. Hook's In The Water
[4:23] 10. Test Song
[4:41] 11. Dog Catcher
[3:45] 12. Back Door To Heaven
[3:27] 13. Go Back Old Devil

Better known as a roots/blues producer/sideman for Sue Foley, Janiva Magness, the Band, Bruce Cockburn, and Lucinda Williams than for his work as part of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings or a handful of stylish solo albums, Colin Linden seems -- at least on the surface -- to function most effectively as a supporting player. But judging by the few discs under his own name, he deserves recognition as a talented artist, often as impressive as those he works with. That's the case with Southern Jumbo, an impressive set that illustrates Linden's soulful bluesy Americana. If that sounds like it also describes Canadian musical soulmates the Band and Blue Rodeo, both of whom he has worked with, it comes as little surprise that those acts are a helpful reference point for Linden's similar approach. In fact, this album's "Train Left an Hour Ago" could easily be mistaken for a Band outtake. Recorded in Memphis, Toronto, and Nashville, Southern Jumbo successfully meshes a roots rocking Canadian sound with soulful Southern grit. Linden's dusky voice -- somewhat like the Band's Richard Manuel -- perfectly frames his songs, many of which concern death, dying, and an acknowledgement of mortality. But the project is far from a downer, and several songs like the frisky deep Delta blues of "Dog Catcher," the peppy, horn-enhanced "I Give Up," and the retro R&B of "Bucket of Soul" show Linden's lighter side. Contributions from the incomparable Memphis Horns and veteran keyboardist Richard Bell help the sound enormously, injecting a bluesy sensibility to everything they touch. Not surprisingly, Linden's classy production brings a breezy, open soundscape to capture these tunes. His own acoustic and electric guitar lines weave through the songs, importing a swampy, bluesy texture and making tracks such as the touching "This Is Me" vibrant, supple, and elegant. A gifted artist who deserves as much attention as those he produces and backs up, Colin Linden combines the various sides of his personalities on the impressive Southern Jumbo. ~Hal Horowitz

Southern Jumbo mc
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Album: Easin' Back To Tennessee
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:43
Size: 113.8 MB
Styles: Roots, Acoustic blues
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[3:56] 1. Easin' Back To Tennessee
[3:25] 2. Go Back Old Devil
[3:17] 3. Broke Down Engine
[4:38] 4. Nowhere To Go
[3:11] 5. A True Friend Won't Let You Drown
[4:19] 6. There Would Be Hell To Pay
[3:14] 7. You Can't Get The Stuff No More
[2:32] 8. Paramount
[2:40] 9. Keep It Clean
[5:15] 10. Champ
[3:54] 11. Dry Spell Blues
[3:54] 12. Trouble Soon Be Over
[5:23] 13. Tears Come Rolling Down

From the title of Colin Linden's CD, you might think he was trying his hand at country music. However, the title track is a classic blues by Sleepy John Estes. With Larry Taylor on bass and Stephen Hodges on drums, Linden adopts a largely acoustic traditional approach such as on 1930's bluesman Bo Carter's (Mississippi Sheiks) tune "Go Back Old Devil." On Blind Willie McTell's "Broke Down Engine" Linden looses a slow mournful howl with Hodges heavy on the brushes. By track 4, Linden pens an original tune, "Nowhere to Go," that's given very similar treatment with fast picking blues guitar. One of my favorite tracks on the set is "A True Friend Won't Let You Drown" that Linden writes with Gary Nicholson. Its slower tempo fits with the emotionally powerful lyric, "When I see my brother suffer, lost in the mighty storm; And I know the light is fading and the dark is raging on, I want to reach out and save him from the water pouring down." Linden mines T-Bone Burnett's CD "The True False Identity" and casts "There Would Be Hell to Pay" into a blues ballad about love & violence. Linden covers 1920s/30s slide guitar blues master Tampa Red's "You Can't Get That Stuff No More" that is an upbeat blues shuffle. Linden's own instrumental "Paramount" is a sweet acoustic guitar blues with plenty bounce per ounce. Linden makes a Charley Jordan tune, "Keep It Clean," with a fast acoustic blues guitar style, sound very similar to some of Chris Smither's early blues covers filled with contagious joy. Son House's "Dry Spell Blues" offers more slide guitar pyrotechnics. Blind Willie Johnson's "Trouble Will Soon Be Over" is a stately blues spiritual. The last track is labeled with a French Louisiana word "lagniappe" that means a small gift and is the emotional weeper "Tears Come Rolling Down," "She kissed me goodnight, but Lord I know she meant goodbye." This track is by senior bluesman Henry Townsend that's sung by Townsend on Kenny Wayne Shepard's newest release. On Canada's True North label, "Easin' Back to Tennessee" is an excellent traditional acoustic blues set by this master musician. ~Lee Armstrong

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