Chris Yakopcic — “Live at the Hidden Gem” — Yako Records
I’m a big fan of acoustic guitar blues.
It’s a guitar style that’s buried deep in the primeval origins of the blues and carries with it the mystique of those beginnings.
The guitar was no mystery to those who used it to make their music and accompany their lyrics. But to the outside world, it was a little different.
It took the bandleader W.C. Handy to help popularize, or maybe commercialize is a better word, the unique sounds he first heard at a train station in Tutwiler, Miss., about 1903. He heard a man playing slide guitar with a knife and singing a refrain he called “Goin’ Where the Southern Cross the Dog.” Much later, in his autobiography, Handy would call it “the weirdest music I had ever heard.” Handy published an adaptation of this song as “Yellow Dog Blues,” and he would become known as the “father of the blues” after he based many of his popular compositions on that primitive guitar music he heard in Tutwiler.
So to me, acoustic guitar blues evokes that kind of imagery, along with the music that followed from players like Charlie Patton, Furry Lewis, Tampa Red, Memphis Minnie, Son House, Robert Johnson — and many, many more.
All of that brief history was just my long-winded way of saying how much I enjoy this new (third) album of finely crafted originals and intelligent covers and by acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter Chris Yakopcic from Dayton, Ohio.
Yakopcic isn’t a newcomer. He’s been playing his music for years now, and has accumulated his share of honors and awards. Last year he was a winner in the Blues Society of Northeast Ohio Blues Challenge; in 2018 he won the Jim Weber Memorial Award for the Best Guitarist from the Blues Society of Western Pa., and also won their Blues Challenge; he was then a semi-finalist in the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. To list just a few.
But mostly his magic is in his music. His fingerstyle playing and crisp vocals make for a sparkling contemporary take on this classic blues style.
He gives a solid introduction to all his talents with this live-session opener, his original “Gotta Get Goodbye Somehow,” an upbeat foot-tapper with crackling guitar work highlighting the lyrics. Next is a cover of another of those great old-timers, Blind Blake, whose ragtime picking gets an update on Yakopcic’s subtly infectious “Chumpman Blues.”
“When It All Goes Wrong At Once” is a cleverly penned original whose philosophy is its title, played in a righteously snappy groove. “Traveling Riverside Blues” is a formidable take on the Robert Johnson classic, building from a slow and bluesy start to a wickedly frenetic midpoint before easing back into the drama of the final bars.
“The Hangover” offers another original, gently crafted to avoid headaches on the morning after. Next, Yakopcic reshapes Leonard Cohen’s tale of songwriting, “Tower Of Song,” into a track that he’s absorbed and reintroduced in his own rhythmic structure.
“Kind Hearted Woman” is another Robert Johnson song, elegantly repicked and vocalized in Yakopcic’s very personal style. This is probably a good time to point out just how well Chris’s vocals work here, on every song, whether he’s ripping off in a raucous tempo or eloquently shaping the lyrics to his needs.
The original “Sounds Of The Highway,” is a poignant tale of the wandering life, with still more picturesque picking. Next, Chris switches Tom Waits’ train song”2:19″ onto his own track. His own “Sweet Time Blues” is a sweet blues with down-home flavor and a touch of “St. Louis Blues” midway.
In his final original, “My Last Three Strings,” Chris sings gently of times past. His originals are all precisely crafted to speak in the voice of the blues masters, framed by his own special sensibilities.
The rousing closer is the high drama of Robert Johnson’s “Preachin’ Blues,” combining lead and
rhythm guitar into one winning hand, as Yakopcic wields wicked chops on the devil’s music.
If you haven’t already guessed, I think this is an excellent album. It’s filled with fine blues interpretations of great musicians, and originals that reflect the impressive talents of their creator. Chris Yakopcic makes this music his own, and owns the music he makes.
Do yourself a favor and give it a listen.
Here’s the opening track from the album, “Gotta Get Goodbye Somehow” (Live at the Hidden Gem):
Tracklist:
1. Gotta Get Goodbye Somehow (3:52)
2. Chump Man Blues (3:07)
3. When It All Goes Wrong At Once (2:37)
4. Traveling Riverside Blues (4:57)
5. The Hangover (4:26)
6. Tower Of Song (3:09)
7. Kind Hearted Woman (4:35)
8. Sounds Of The Highway (3:55)
9. 2:19 (3:45)
10. Sweet Time Blues (4:49)
11. My Last Three Strings (4:01)
12. Preachin’ Blues (3:59)
Blues Roadhouse 