Page 40 - BiTS_08_AUGUST_2021

Patty Tuite—Consider This—Thread City Productions

(www.pattytuite.com)

Singer/ guitarist and songwriter Patty Tuite is a new name to
me. She’s not a stone blues artist as such, but names her
influences as Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Etta James and Ella
Fitzgerald, so she is obviously not far off.

This set was recorded in Massachusetts, and yes, there are some
non-blues tracks - ‘Dreams’ and the instrumental ‘Power Of
Nature’ have an appropriately ethereal sound, and ‘Go Where It
Takes You’ is soft-rock - but off-set against these are tracks like
the joyous, raw slide-driven blues of ‘Wanna Go To Memphis’,
the wonderful deep, slow, West side Chicago-styled blues of ‘Please Don’t Feel Lonely’ or the 50s
styled Windy City flavoured tear-’em-up of ‘I Can’t Lose Tonight’ (with fine harp by Mick Seretny).
Throughout, Patty’s strong vocals are backed by some very fine musicians, and producer Paul
Nelson also supplies wonderful guitar work—as you’d expect from someone of his standing (check
out his long string of credits - maybe try Joe Louis Walker and Johnny Winter for starters.).

The title track is a fine modern blues, ‘True Love’ has a fine, slightly jazzy 60s pop-soul approach

(and fine sax breaks by Crispin Coie), and the closing ‘Since You’ve Been Around’ is more or less a
straight jazz number. ‘Get Up N Go’ is a lovely piece of funk with a James Brown inflection, and
‘Feel The Heat’ is a cool, jazzy composition slightly related to Martha & The Vandellas’ ‘Heatwave’.

So, as I said, it’s not a full-on blues set, but there should certainly be enough to interest most
readers, and the actual blues tracks are real winners. Worth looking into.

Norman Darwen

Eric Bibb—Dear America—Provogue/ Mascot Label Group Prd
76472

As Eric approaches his seventieth birthday, the world has
changed a lot and this album reflects the blues troubadour’s
thoughts towards life, race relations and his native country. As I
write this, I’m listening to ‘Emmett’s Ghost’, dealing with the
murder of young Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi in 1955. As
recent events - and Black Lives Matter - proves, things haven’t
changed too much…

It is followed, deliberately, I assume, by ‘White And Black’,
detailing a different kind of injustice - interestingly, there’s a

hint of country music to this one. The title track too is a letter to
his homeland, and may have been written when the previous President was in power. ‘Born Of A
Woman’ is a plea for respect for women, with Shaneeka Simon supplying a gospel touch.

Billy Branch adds his wailing blues harp to the pounding ‘Talkin’ ‘Bout A Train Part 1’, Eric Gales
plays raw blues guitar on ‘Whole World’s Got The Blues’, and Chuck Campbell pedal steel on the
wonderful though pointed ‘Different Picture’. Musically though, Eric is happy to draw on folk, pop,
hip-hop, jazz, soul and especially gospel.

I used the words “blues troubadour” earlier. Eric’s not a bluesman in the sense of growing up
picking cotton in the deep south - very, very few are these days - but the blues thoroughly