I find it interesting how frequently--especially at my age--I get asked what my favourite colour is. It does feel like something one would ask a grade-schooler. Although, to be honest with you, I still enjoy answering those kinds of questions.
For the record, just to satisfy everyone's curiosity, my favourite colour has always been blue and the varying shades in which it can present itself. From the time I was little, I've always found it very soothing. But, as I got older, I realized that blue is not just a colour. It's a mood, a state of mind, and an amazing style of music. The really cool part is that the music can actually relieve the mood and state of mind. Blue is nothing if not versatile.
I've always loved the blues--the music--just for the simple fact that it's the basis for so many other styles of music. Jazz, rock, R&B, soul, rap, and hip-hop all have their roots in the blues.
I've been listening to quite a bit of blues music lately. I tend to be a bit reflective and blues-leaning at this time of year. I don't know what necessarily causes it. It could be the changing of the leaves, the dropping of the temperatures. I may just be sensitive to certain anniversaries, good and bad, that occur at this time of the year. In fact, I'm still convinced that today, 17 October, is the anniversary of something obscure that only means something to me, but I can't remember what. (I actually thought it might be the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973, but that occurred on 20 October.)
As much as I do love the music of John Lee Hooker--my go-to artist when I need to hear the blues--sometimes you need to switch things up a bit. I pulled this week's album off the shelf a couple weeks ago and have found myself returning to it quite a bit since.
I first became aware of this album when I worked at Barnes & Noble. I had not yet become the manager of the music department, but I spent a lot of time there during my lunch breaks. At the time, we had a "listening wall" where you could check out select titles the company was featuring. This album happened to be among those on the wall.
I don't know why I decided to check that one out specifically, but I did. I was immediately taken with both the artist's guitar playing as well as her voice, which sounded as if Janis Joplin had come back from the grave. (In fact, she was born one month after Joplin died.)
I began to look at the cover, which featured her posing with her guitar. I was quite amused by the Winnie the Pooh stickers that adorned her instrument. But then, something else caught my attention--what appeared to be a familiar-looking signature scrawled at the bottom. When I looked closer, I realized that blues legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown had autographed her guitar. Even though she and I have never met, I felt an immediate bond with her as I also have Brown's autograph on a picture and ticket stub from a show in 1997. It still hangs proudly on the wall in my music room.
I fell in love with that album and to this day, it's still my favourite of hers. About a year later, the day before I officially became the Barnes & Noble music department, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing her perform live at the first Indianapolis Jazz and Blues Festival in the summer of 1999. It still ranks as one of the best live performances I have ever seen.
Originally released in February of 1998, this week, please enjoy Susan Tedeschi's second album, Just Won't Burn. (The enclosed link is for the expanded edition released in 2023 for the album's 25th anniversary.)
Until next week, stay safe, be good to your neighbours, and please remember that if at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
Yours in peace, love, and rock 'n' roll!
The Reverend Will the Thrill
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