This set has been announced as
Maria Muldaur
's 40th album, which it is, since she conceived of it and produced it, but it's actually a tribute to the guitar-playing blues great
Memphis Minnie
, and several of the tracks that
Muldaur
sings on here have been previously released, including previously released tracks of
songs that
cut with
Alvin Youngblood Hart
,
Del Rey
Roy Rogers
, and
Steve James
. There are also classic tracks from
Phoebe Snow
and
Koko Taylor
included, again previously released, along with new recordings for this tribute done by
Bonnie Raitt
Rory Block
Ruthie Foster
. So, it's not like this is a new
album, but then it's
's baby, a loving tribute to a one-of-a-kind blues artist.
has been singing
songs (and
Minnie
wrote or adapted over 200 songs throughout her career, which lasted from the 1920s until the mid-'50s) since her career began in the 1960s, including
's signature take on "Tricks Ain't Walkin'" (the song was actually written by
Lucille Bogan
, but
made it her own, as she did everything she touched), included here in a version with
Dave Earl
helping out on guitar and mandolin, respectively. There's nothing fancy here -- the productions are sparse and appropriate, and even though tracks came from different sources and directions, they all fall together into a nice flow. ~ Steve Leggett