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Back to the early roots of blues
The album's title, "American Primitive", announces what's on the menu : old times jug blues. James decided to devote a full record to a hundred years old style, when guitar had not yet totally taken advantage over banjo or to a lesser extent over mandolin. This voyage into the origins of country blues, and especially of the East-Coast Piedmont rag style famous for its complex guitar picking, is pure jubilation.
There's here a lot of things inherited from early rural folk tradition and even bluegrass. James' guitar is coupled to Danny Barnes' banjo and Rubin' stand-up bass reminds the times when a simple broomstick equiped with a single string attached to a washtub was used as a bass (remember the front cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Willy and the Poor Boys" ?). Primich' harmonica complete this 100% Texan line-up.
Don't imagine this album is filled with throw-back slow and boring stuff, no, it's definitely lively, full of rejoicing rhythm, and made in a modern way. Be them covers or James' originals, these fourteen tracks feature story-telling songs about every day life topics, most of the time full of humor. Let's also point out that it's not easy to distinguish between the covers and the James-written songs, which is some kind of an achievement !There are songs in the traveling hobo tradition like "My Last Good Car", the outstanding Willie Brown's "Ragged and Dirty", "The Change", booze matters like in the hilarious "Grain Alcohol", instrumentals like Tampa Red's "Boogie Woogie Dance" or the final medley, darker folk songs or blues like old-time banjo player Uncle Dave Macon's "All In, Down and Out Blues" (that oddly reminds a particular Bob Dylan's song that I'll let you find out…), there are Memphis Minnie's "Frankie Jean (That Trottin' Fool)", Hank Penny's "Hadacol Boogie" and James' nice Delta blues "Talco Girl"...
James' guitar, Barnes' banjo and Rubin's bass and sousaphone (a kind of tuba, clearly heard on the excellent New Orleans fanfare style opener "Greasy Greens", see photo below) catch the listener's ears from the first track until the last note of this jubilating work. ■
Videos
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| Mark Rubin |
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| Uncle Dave Macon (1870-1952) |
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| Gary Primich |
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Danny Barnes
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A sousaphone
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