IT’S BEEN SO LONG
BLUES UNDERGROUND
SONGWRITER: YOAV LANDAU
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: ON MY WAY BACK HOME
GENRE: BLUES
LABEL: DEL-FI RECORDS
YEAR: 1995
The "Memphis Soul" of Stax Records'
mid-Sixties sound has long been recognized by the chunky portions of Hammond
organ and wry guitar licks served up by their legendary studio house band,
Booker T. & The MG's, with a little soul dressing of Otis Redding on the
side.
Likewise, the twin themes of exile and poverty
(and perhaps the poor treatment of men by their big-legged women) in
Mississippi Delta Blues runs deep and from as many sources as the rivers that
flow into the region itself. From Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little
Milton, to the royal highness of guitarists Albert and B.B. King, the very
essence of the Delta sound begs the curious question: "Was there something
in the water?"
These two Southern sources are readily
apparent in the grooves of the disc you're now listening to. Maybe "you
don't miss your water till the well runs dry" but there's no chance of
that with Blues Underground's generous flood of great songs. Listen to the
deep, dark-hued voice of Roy Jones, who hails from the banks of the Mississippi
river and Humphrey, Arkansas, sixty close miles from Memphis and the birthplace
of these mighty sounds. Listen to the way he makes the woeful "St. James
Infirmary" his own, or the way he breaks your heart with the group's
self-penned title track "On My Way Back Home," and you'll hear what a
sobering effect his liquid vocals have. There's a sense that he's lived the
hard luck of "Born Under A Bad sign" one minute, then convincing us
he means it when he tells us "The Thrill Is Gone" the next… and all
this despite his incredible success on Broadway in the Eighties (where he may
have been influenced as much by Paul Robeson as anyone else). That's the high
watermark of his talent, to make us believe in the Blues he sings.
Now, add to this chilling cocktail the thick,
oozing Hammond organ of Walt Thompson, the rippling bass lines of Michael
Sunday, and the shimmering ice-blue rhythms of Dan Bachar's Fender guitar, and
you have a potent drink, refreshing and cool. Like a subterranean river
bubbling just below the surface, this is the sound of the Underground. (Bryan Thomas)
I don't know what I was thinking
Leaving my child behind
Now I suffer the curse and now I am blind
With all this anger, guilt and sadness
Coming to haunt me forever
I can't wait for the cliff at the end of the
river
Is this revenge I am seeking?
Or seeking someone to avenge me?
Stuck in my own paradox, I wanna set myself
free
Maybe I should chase and find
Before they'll try to stop it
It won't be long before I'll become a puppet
It's been so long
Since I last have seen my son lost to this
monster
To the man behind the slaughter
Since you've been gone
I've been singing this stupid song so I could
ponder
The sanity of your mother
I wish I lived in the present
With the gift of my past mistakes
But the future keeps luring in like a pack of
snakes
Your sweet little eyes, your little smile is
all I remember
Those fuzzy memories mess with my temper
Justification is killing me
But killing isn't justified
What happened to my son? I'm terrified
It lingers in my mind
And the thought keeps on getting bigger
I'm sorry my sweet baby, I wish I've been
there
It's been so long
Since I last have seen my son lost to this
monster
To the man behind the slaughter
Since you've been gone
I've been singing this stupid song so I could
ponder
The sanity of your mother.
Postagens
