Shemekia Copeland — “Blame It On Eve” — Alligator Records
Shemekia Copeland needs no introduction. She’s the multi-award-wining, powerhouse blues singer who’s taken her music in new directions while she has climbed effortlessly to the top of her game — all by the tender age of 45.
She is the daughter of the great Texas bluesman Johnny Copeland, toured with him as an opening act, and released her debut album, “Turn the Heat Up!” in 1998, at the age of 18. And that’s just a bare outline of the beginnings of her musical career, filled with ten albums that have established her as simply one of the best blues singers on the planet.
That brings us to her latest album, “Blame It On Eve,” a departure in content and style from her last three albums, themselves a departure from much of her earlier work. Those albums — “America’s Child,” “Uncivil War” and “Done Come Too Far” — all carried strong political and social themes, with Copeland tackling sensitive contemporary issues with her blues sensibilities.
While “Eve” doesn’t take a step back, it at least shuffles sideways without losing any of Copeland’s power and passion. “My last three records have dealt with breaking news,” she says. “This record is for people like me who want a break from the news.”
While Copeland may be taking a break from the news, she’s definitely not taking a break from the blues. The dozen songs here, chosen from a variety of sources, still hit hard, whether she’s deep in the blues, or sharing thoughts on contemporary issues, or both. Producer Will Kimbrough and executive producer John Hahn are responsible for much of the smartly conceived original content.
This doesn’t mean that Copeland has suddenly given up her social conscious. “There’s serious business on the new album,” Copeland says, “but there are a lot of smiles here too, a lot of joyous moments. It’s my blues for sure but it’s the brighter side. Issues are always important to me, but so is rocking, dancing and just having fun. And that’s something we all can all agree on.”
And “Eve” is certainly filled with great music from a cast of fine musicians, including Luther Dickinson and Kevin Gordon on guitar, jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter, Jerry Douglas on guitar and dobro, DaShawn Hickman on pedal steel, guest vocalist Alejandro Escovedo, all produced by Kimbrough in his fourth repeat performance.
The session opener is the title track, as it should be, with a tough musical vibe and a thematic wink and a nod protesting a historical tendency to blame the woman: “Since the Garden of Eden they have you believin’ / When somethin’ goes wrong / You can blame it on Eve.” That sly sharpness expands into a biting contemporary conclusion: “Wanna know how it feels to have the blues / just try losing your right to choose.”
“Tough Mother” follows, with a Mississippi hill country twang behind a sharply autobiographical story, “Only Miss You All the Time” is a powerfully sung emotional ballad’ followed by the rousing climate-change anthem “Broken High Heels,” stomping out another powerful message with a dance-floor beat.
“Wine O’Clock” is a tough, slow-drag-blues tribute to Copeland’s version of mother’s little helper. Escovedo shares the vocals on “Is There Anybody Up There?” a fervent plea for heavenly intervention in worldly problems. “Cadillac Blue” is color of Copeland’s true love’s eyes, a tale of interracial romance told to a slinky lap-steel background.
Copeland shifts into a tender moment with the haunting “Belle Sorciere,” a sad lover’s tale with the haunting melody composed by Pascal Danae of the Paris-based band Delgres. “Tell the Devil (To Go to Hell)” is glorious foot-stomping gospel. “Tee Tot Payne” gets a old-timey country blues feel from Douglas on dobro in a lightly swinging ode to black street musician Rufus “Tee-tot” Payne. He was a bluesman who became a mentor to an itinerant white youngster named Hiram Williams, a would-be singer shining shoes and selling peanuts in a railroad station. Lessons learned, Hiram went on to become country superstar Hank Williams.
Copeland always includes a song from her father on every album; here it’s a scorching version of the deep blue “Down On Bended Knee,” a fierce musical highlight. The closer is the soulful “Heaven Help Us All,” a thoughtful early Stevie Wonder song with Copeland’s voice soaring over the not-so-optimistic message.
“Blame It On Eve” is another impressive outing for Shemekia Copeland. She matches her powerful vocals, rich with stylish vibrato, to the needs of each song. Whether her music is sly, sensuous or soulful, she’s always deeply serious, with meaningful emotional content. This compelling collection helps cement her lofty position atop the world of blues singers. And best of all, it’s a pleasure to hear!
“Tough Mother” from the album:
Tracks and credits:
1. Blame It On Eve (J. Hahn & W. Kimbrough, Avarice and Greed Publ./ Will Kimbrough Music, BMI)
2. Tough Mother (J. Hahn & W. Kimbrough, Avarice and Greed Publ./ Will Kimbrough Music, BMI)
3. Only Miss You All The Time (J. Hahn & W. Kimbrough, Avarice and Greed Publ./ Will Kimbrough Music, BMI)
4. Broken High Heels (J. Hahn & W. Kimbrough, Avarice and Greed Publ./ Will Kimbrough Music, BMI)
5. Wine O’clock (J. Hahn, Susan Werner, & W. Kimbrough, Avarice and Greed Publ., BMI / Frank Chance Music, ASCAP /Will Kimbrough Music, BMI)
6. Is There Anybody Up There? (J. Hahn & W. Kimbrough, Avarice and Greed Publ./ Will Kimbrough Music, BMI)
7. Cadillac Blue (J. Hahn & K.Gordon, Avarice and Greed Publ., BMI/ Little Rain Music, BMI admin. by BMG)
8. Belle Sorciere (J. Hahn & P. Danae , Avarice and Greed Publ., BMI/ Pascal Danae Publ., SACEM)
9. Tell The Devil (J. Hahn & W. Kimbrough, Avarice and Greed Publ./ Will Kimbrough Music, BMI)
10. Tee Tot Payne (J. Hahn & W. Kimbrough, Avarice and Greed Publ./ Will Kimbrough Music, BMI)
11. Down On Bended Knee (Johnny Copeland, Jo’Clyde Music, BMI)
12. Heaven Help Us All (Ronald N. Miller, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC)
Shemekia Copeland: Vocals
Will Kimbrough: Guitar; Organ on Is There Anybody Up There?, Tell The Devil and Heaven Help Us All; Percussion on Tell The Devil; Mandolin on Tee Tot Payne and Down On Bended Knee
Lex Price: Bass
Pete Abbott: Drums
Pascal Danae: Vocals on Belle Sorciere
Luther Dickinson: Guitar on Blame It On Eve and Tough Mother
Jerry Douglas: Lap Steel Guitar on Cadillac Blue; Dobro on Tee Tot Payne
Alejandro Escovedo: Vocals on Is There Anybody Up There?
Cara Fox: Cello on Belle Sorciere
Kevin Gordon: Guitar on Cadillac Blue
Dashawn Hickman: Sacred Steel Guitar on Tell The Devil
Jim Hoke: Saxophone on Blame It On Eve
Charlie Hunter: Guitar on Wine O’Clock
Lisa Oliver Gray and Odessa Settles: Background Vocals on Heaven Help Us All; Background Vocals, Percussion on Tell The Devil
Lucinda Spence and John Hahn: Percussion on Tell The Devil
Producer: Will Kimbrough
Executive Producer: John Hahn
Recorded and mixed by Dylan Alldredge at Skinny Elephant.
Additional recording engineered by Benj Johnson at Earthtones Recording, Greensboro, NC.
Mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering, Nashville.
Blues Roadhouse 