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Etta James has worked in countless styles throughout her long career, and she is equally at home singing gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, and even rock & roll, but her roots have always been solidly planted in the blues, and she is arguably the finest living singer active in the genre. Perhaps because she doesn't sing only the blues, however, when she does, it sticks out as something special, and with Blues to the Bone she goes down to the river and dives in completely, turning out a solid album of no-frills, gutbucket performances. Her voice has deepened and coarsened over the years, making it the perfect vehicle of authenticity and authority as she tackles classics of the genre like John Lee Hooker's "Crawling King Snake," Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom," and Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning," backed by a garage blues combo led by her sons, Donito and Sametto James. James' versions bring new dimensions to each of these hoary old chestnuts, which have generally been sung by men, and her smoke-tinged alto makes each her own, instilling them all with a wise, desperate, and confident intimacy. She gives Jimmy Reed's "Hush Hush" a solid reading, while her take on Willie Dixon's "Lil' Red Rooster" is a tension-filled, atmospheric gem. The most striking track here, however, is James' version of the Elmore James tune "The Sky Is Crying," which emerges as epic and poignant. Much of contemporary blues spins on its own excesses and on a hundred years of accumulative clichés, but when an artist like Etta James comes home to sing the blues, the world has to rejoice and take notice, because in her hands the old clichéd phrases become vital and new again.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
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Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Bobby Murray, Guitar - Donto James, Drums - Donto James, Percussion - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Preston Foster, Composer - Preston Foster, Lyricist - Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Steve Davis, Background Vocal - Yoshann Rush, Background Vocal - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Bobby Murray, Guitar - Donto James, Drums - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - Mike Finnegan, Piano - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Sonny Boy Williamson, Composer - Sonny Boy Williamson, Lyricist - Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Bobby Murray, Guitar - Donto James, Drums - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Jimmy Reed, Composer - Jimmy Reed, Lyricist - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Josh Sklair, Dobro - Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Bobby Murray, Guitar - Donto James, Drums - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Willie Dixon, Composer - Willie Dixon, Lyricist - Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Bobby Murray, Guitar - Donto James, Drums - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - Jimmy Rogers, Composer - Jimmy Rogers, Lyricist - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Brian Ray, Guitar - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer - Bernard Besman, Composer - Bernard Besman, Lyricist - John Lee Hooker, Composer - John Lee Hooker, Lyricist - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Producer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Bobby Murray, Guitar - Donto James, Drums - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Robert Johnson, Composer - Robert Johnson, Lyricist - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - Morgan Robinson, Composer - Morgan Robinson, Lyricist - Clarence Lewis, Composer - Clarence Lewis, Lyricist - Elmore James, Composer - Elmore James, Lyricist - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Brian Ray, Guitar - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - Chester Burnett, Composer - Chester Burnett, Lyricist - David Z., Mixing Engineer - Donto James, Percussion - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Producer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Acoustic Bass - Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Bobby Murray, Guitar - Donto James, Drums - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Willie Dixon, Composer - Willie Dixon, Lyricist - Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - J. B. Lenoir, Lyricist - J. B. Lenoir, Composer - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Dobro - Josh Sklair, Producer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Bobby Murray, Guitar - Donto James, Drums - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - Roosevelt Sykes, Composer - Roosevelt Sykes, Lyricist - John "Juke" Logan, Harmonica - Sametto James, Acoustic Bass - Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - David Z., Mixing Engineer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Sametto James, Producer - Sametto James, 2nd Engineer - Etta James, Performer - Etta James, Vocal - Etta James, Producer - Sam Hopkins, Composer - Sam Hopkins, Lyricist - David Z., Mixing Engineer - Donto James, Producer - Donto James, Recording Engineer - Bryan Graban, 2nd Engineer - Josh Sklair, Guitar - Josh Sklair, Dobro - Josh Sklair, Producer
(P) 2004 BMG Music
Album review
Etta James has worked in countless styles throughout her long career, and she is equally at home singing gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, and even rock & roll, but her roots have always been solidly planted in the blues, and she is arguably the finest living singer active in the genre. Perhaps because she doesn't sing only the blues, however, when she does, it sticks out as something special, and with Blues to the Bone she goes down to the river and dives in completely, turning out a solid album of no-frills, gutbucket performances. Her voice has deepened and coarsened over the years, making it the perfect vehicle of authenticity and authority as she tackles classics of the genre like John Lee Hooker's "Crawling King Snake," Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom," and Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning," backed by a garage blues combo led by her sons, Donito and Sametto James. James' versions bring new dimensions to each of these hoary old chestnuts, which have generally been sung by men, and her smoke-tinged alto makes each her own, instilling them all with a wise, desperate, and confident intimacy. She gives Jimmy Reed's "Hush Hush" a solid reading, while her take on Willie Dixon's "Lil' Red Rooster" is a tension-filled, atmospheric gem. The most striking track here, however, is James' version of the Elmore James tune "The Sky Is Crying," which emerges as epic and poignant. Much of contemporary blues spins on its own excesses and on a hundred years of accumulative clichés, but when an artist like Etta James comes home to sing the blues, the world has to rejoice and take notice, because in her hands the old clichéd phrases become vital and new again.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:47:51
- Main artists: Etta James
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: RCA Victor
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B
(P) 2004 BMG Music
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