SHEMEKIA COPELAND
''33 1/3''
SEPTEMBER 25 2012
44:51
1 /Lemon Pie
John Hahn / Oliver Wood/3:25
2 /Can't Let Go
Randy Weeks/3:39
3 /Ain't Gonna Be Your Tattoo
John Hahn / Oliver Wood/5:28
4 /Somebody Else's Jesus
John Hahn / Oliver Wood/3:51
5 /A Woman
JJ Grey/3:25
6 /I Sing the Blues
Earl Bridgeman / Philip Wooten/4:59
7 /Mississippi Mud
John Hahn / Oliver Wood/4:41
8 /One More Time
Johnny Copeland/3:48
9 /Ain't That Good News
Sam Cooke/3:11
10 /Hangin' Up
Chris Long/4:03
11 /I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Bob Dylan/4:21
Roosevelt "The Doctor" Collier /Pedal Steel
Shemekia Copeland /Vocals
Sarah Dugas /Vocals (Background)
JJ Grey /Vocals
Buddy Guy /Guitar
Gerry Hansen /Drums, Percussion
Jon Liebman /Harmonica
Arthur Nielson /Guitar
Ted Pecchio /Bass
Charlie Starr /Pedal Steel, Vocals (Background)
Neil Wauchope /Organ
Oliver Wood /Guitar
REVIEW
By Hal Horowitz
Singer Shemekia Copeland must have been pleased with the way 2009's Never Going Back turned out because she returns to the well and again employs the services of the Wood Brothers' Oliver Wood as producer/guitarist, and some of the same backing musicians, on this follow-up released three years later. As on the last disc, there is a decided shift away from the sassy blues belter style that powered her Alligator catalog (the disc is dedicated to Koko Taylor, an obvious role model) to a still rootsy but more reserved rock/gospel/R&B groove. She addresses serious socio-political topics of violence against women in the Robert Cray-styled "Ain't Gonna Be Your Tattoo" (which includes a fiery guest solo from Buddy Guy), phony religious demagoguery on the rollicking and very Stonesy "Somebody Else's Jesus," and the depressing economic climate circa 2012 on the opening "Lemon Pie." These tracks were co-written with Copeland's longtime manager John Hahn and guitarist/producer Wood, who seem to make a good songwriting team. Her covers of Bob Dylan (a stripped-down, swamped-up, "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"), Sam Cooke (a percussively peppy "Ain't that Good News") and JJ Grey's churchy "A Woman" (with a wild, nearly unhinged pedal steel solo from Charlie Starr) are terrific rearrangements of these tunes, and she sings them with passion and conviction. Wood taps his Atlanta-based side project Burnt Bacon for frontman Jon Liebman (ex-Sean Costello) who blows sizzling electrified harp on the deep Chicago vibe of "I Sing the Blues," the album's bluesiest and toughest performance. As usual, Copeland covers one of her dad Johnny's compositions; this time it's the jazzy soul of "One More Time." The singer was only 33 1/3 years old at the time of this album's 2012 release which, along with her love of vinyl, accounts for its title. Still, she sounds older and wiser than her chronological years would dictate, as she energizes these terrific songs with guts, power, and a restraint powered by experience and natural talent.
BIOGRAPHY
By Steve Huey
The daughter of renowned Texas blues guitarist Johnny Copeland, Shemekia Copeland began making a splash in her own right before she was even out of her teens. Projecting a maturity beyond her years, Copeland fashioned herself as a powerful, soul-inflected shouter in the tradition of Koko Taylor and Etta James, yet also proved capable of a subtler range of emotions. Copeland was born in Harlem in 1979 and her father encouraged her to sing right from the beginning, even bringing her up on-stage at the Cotton Club when she was just eight years old. She began to pursue a singing career in earnest at age 16, when her father's health began to decline due to heart disease; he took Shemekia on tour with him as his opening act, which helped establish her name on the blues circuit. She landed a record deal with Alligator, which issued her debut album, Turn the Heat Up!, in 1998, when she was just 19 years old (sadly, her father didn't live to see the occasion).
While the influences on Copeland's style were crystal clear, the record was met with enthusiastic reviews praising its energy and passion. Marked as a hot young newcomer to watch, Copeland toured the blues festival circuit in America and Europe, and landed a fair amount of publicity. Her second album, Wicked, was released in 2000 and featured a duet with one of her heroes, early R&B diva Ruth Brown. Wicked earned Copeland a slew of W.C. Handy Blues Award nominations and she walked off with three: Song of the Year, Blues Album of the Year, and Contemporary Female Artist of the Year. The follow-up record, Talking to Strangers, was produced by legendary pianist Dr. John and featured songs that she proudly claimed were her best yet. The Soul Truth, produced by Steve Cropper, was released by Alligator Records in 2005. Never Going Back followed in 2009 from Telarc Blues, and was produced by the Wood Brothers' Oliver Wood. 33 1/3 appeared in 2012, and was again produced by Wood and issued by Telarc.
''33 1/3''
SEPTEMBER 25 2012
44:51
1 /Lemon Pie
John Hahn / Oliver Wood/3:25
2 /Can't Let Go
Randy Weeks/3:39
3 /Ain't Gonna Be Your Tattoo
John Hahn / Oliver Wood/5:28
4 /Somebody Else's Jesus
John Hahn / Oliver Wood/3:51
5 /A Woman
JJ Grey/3:25
6 /I Sing the Blues
Earl Bridgeman / Philip Wooten/4:59
7 /Mississippi Mud
John Hahn / Oliver Wood/4:41
8 /One More Time
Johnny Copeland/3:48
9 /Ain't That Good News
Sam Cooke/3:11
10 /Hangin' Up
Chris Long/4:03
11 /I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Bob Dylan/4:21
Roosevelt "The Doctor" Collier /Pedal Steel
Shemekia Copeland /Vocals
Sarah Dugas /Vocals (Background)
JJ Grey /Vocals
Buddy Guy /Guitar
Gerry Hansen /Drums, Percussion
Jon Liebman /Harmonica
Arthur Nielson /Guitar
Ted Pecchio /Bass
Charlie Starr /Pedal Steel, Vocals (Background)
Neil Wauchope /Organ
Oliver Wood /Guitar
REVIEW
By Hal Horowitz
Singer Shemekia Copeland must have been pleased with the way 2009's Never Going Back turned out because she returns to the well and again employs the services of the Wood Brothers' Oliver Wood as producer/guitarist, and some of the same backing musicians, on this follow-up released three years later. As on the last disc, there is a decided shift away from the sassy blues belter style that powered her Alligator catalog (the disc is dedicated to Koko Taylor, an obvious role model) to a still rootsy but more reserved rock/gospel/R&B groove. She addresses serious socio-political topics of violence against women in the Robert Cray-styled "Ain't Gonna Be Your Tattoo" (which includes a fiery guest solo from Buddy Guy), phony religious demagoguery on the rollicking and very Stonesy "Somebody Else's Jesus," and the depressing economic climate circa 2012 on the opening "Lemon Pie." These tracks were co-written with Copeland's longtime manager John Hahn and guitarist/producer Wood, who seem to make a good songwriting team. Her covers of Bob Dylan (a stripped-down, swamped-up, "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"), Sam Cooke (a percussively peppy "Ain't that Good News") and JJ Grey's churchy "A Woman" (with a wild, nearly unhinged pedal steel solo from Charlie Starr) are terrific rearrangements of these tunes, and she sings them with passion and conviction. Wood taps his Atlanta-based side project Burnt Bacon for frontman Jon Liebman (ex-Sean Costello) who blows sizzling electrified harp on the deep Chicago vibe of "I Sing the Blues," the album's bluesiest and toughest performance. As usual, Copeland covers one of her dad Johnny's compositions; this time it's the jazzy soul of "One More Time." The singer was only 33 1/3 years old at the time of this album's 2012 release which, along with her love of vinyl, accounts for its title. Still, she sounds older and wiser than her chronological years would dictate, as she energizes these terrific songs with guts, power, and a restraint powered by experience and natural talent.
BIOGRAPHY
By Steve Huey
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