From the traditional country blues of "Kassie Jones" to the original "Ain´t Got Me No Home", Michael Roach is consummate blues singer. Much has been written in recent years of "keeping the blue alive" but sadly this has often merely referred to artists who clone their blues from early recordings without adding anything of their own personality, sometimes ever repeating personal asides from the original, verbatim. Michael Roach is no much artist.
Whilst acknowledging his debt to singers as diverse as Blind Boy Fuller, Bo Carter and Furry Lewis, his approach is to adapt material and often to be totally original as his contemporary blues about the Washington homeless (Ain't Got Me No Home) and his local black community (In My Neighborhood). He is joined on this, his first recording, by Mike Baytop on harmonica and Richard "Mr Bones" Thomas on bones.
Mike Baytop, a native Washingtonian, is a regular at the rambling, informal blues sessions held at Archie Edwards´ barbershop and took up harmonica after seeing Charlie Sayles playing in the street. He has also taken up the guitar but the harmonica is still his first instrument. Richard Thomas, also a native Washingtonian, was born in 1922 and has been playing the bones and dancing the "buck and wing" since he was nine years old. Equally at home playing blues, soul or jazz, his animated performance at the first session was and inspiration to all.
(CD booklet notes written by producer Peter Brown)
Tracks (click on Button to hear sample)
1. My Black Mama
2. Ain't Got Me No Home
3. Take Me Back Blues
4. In My Neighbourhood
5. Bring It With You When You Come
6. Prison Bound
7. Freedom Bound
8. San Francisco Bay Blues
9. Stoop Down
10. Left Handed Blues
11. Sure You´re Right
12. Backbone
13. Kassie Jones
Musicians
Michael Roach - Acoustic Guitar & Vocals (all tracks)
Mike Baytop - Harmonica (tracks 2,4,7,8,10,11)
Richard "Mr Bones" Thomas - Bones (tracks 3,8,12)
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