Time: 50:28
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: blues
Art: Front
1. Woke Up This Morning With My Mind On Jesus (3:33)
2. Do Lord (4:12)
3. Judgment Day (3:24)
4. Death Don't Have No Mercy (5:12)
5. I Got To Cross The River Of Jordan (3:45)
6. Rain Don't Fall On Me (4:52)
7. You Gotta Move (7:02)
8. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today (4:31)
9. You're Gonna Need That Pure Religion (4:07)
10. Nobody's Fault But Mine (4:47)
11. Lord, I'm Discouraged (4:57)
"Way Beyond The Blue" is the latest CD from Mare Edstrom, blues singer, pianist, and guitarist from Wisconsin in the Midwestern United States. Her eighth original release already in a row and three years ago the compilation "Mare's Blues" was also released, a CD with an overview of the best songs of her career, which we would like to briefly explain again here.
Together with her regular guitarist and right-hand man Kenn Fox, Mare has been making blues for years, for which she usually goes back to traditionals and the work of the great blues fathers such as Bukka White, Son House and Robert Johnson. Also on this compilation, where we find songs like Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues" and "Broke Down Engine" or Ma Rainey's "Travelin' Blues". Because the CD is an anthology of various CDs from 2004 to 2009, the range in terms of sound is very varied. In addition to her and Foxx, her band consists of bassist Dave Finley and harmonica player Steve Cohen as a permanent core, with some changing line-ups per CD on drums and on some tracks help from Jon Peik (banjo) Nathan Kamsler (Sax) and Randy Green (Hammond).
The three CDs drawn from for this compilation are "Inside the Blues" from 2004, which had five songs taken from it, most notably featuring the cover of Jimmy Rodger's "That's Allright" and T.Bone Walker's "Treat Me So Low Down." of remembering. On Henry Glover's "Cherry Wine" we hear that Edstom is also not without merit as a pianist. Edstrom's next release "Shake 'Em on Down" from 2006, which features several backing singers in addition to Edstrom, also has the same number of tracks and the last CD from which songs originate: "Sugar Sweet" provides the last 4 tracks for "Mare's Blues" and from that we especially remember “Big Road Blues”, especially for Fox's beautiful acoustic guitar work. This compilation therefore gives a nice overview of Edstrom's career and lets us enjoy her different approaches to the blues.
WAY BEYOND THE BLUE
As we wrote in our introduction, Mare Edstrom regularly harks back to the well-known blues interpreters of the past, and that is certainly the case on her latest release. But there is one factor that clearly makes the difference with this "Way Beyond The Blue". Gospel-tinted blues, that is the common thread running through this CD. And those old compositions by Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blind Willi Johnson, Charlie Patton and Reverend Gary Davis, to name just a few, were brought into the 21st century by Kenn Fox by injecting new energy into them with a more modern twist. The whole thing was recorded direct-to-analog as it is called in technical terms, which means that the whole thing leaves a "live" impression.
The two elements that make gospel what it is are fully present on this CD. The dark, sad element, created by the poverty and deprivation that many blacks had to endure in the times when these songs were created and in contrast the uplifting, through the hope of their religion. That first element is also present in the sombre cover photo that surrounds the CD, which fits perfectly with a track like the traditional "Do Lord", which starts with the ringing of bells and where the atmosphere is rather in a minor key. It is also the track from which the CD title was taken. It is also a very special song in terms of approach, because Kenn Fox's guitar even goes in the psychedelic direction for a while. Also very nice are "Rain Don't Fall On Me" a Blind Willie Johnson composition and the well-known "You Gotta Move", again a song by Mississippi Fred McDowell. Both songs have been edited in a highly original way.
Despite the fact that Mare Edstrom does not have a special sounding or really powerful bluesy voice, she always manages to provide fascinating releases, especially with the help of Kenn Fox's beautiful sounding slide guitar and especially through his idiosyncratic production. That's how it is this time too, because we really like the gospel-infused songs on "Way Beyond The Blue". Hallelujah!
Way Beyond The Blue MP3
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