Robbin Kapsalis — “The Blues Is In The House” — Blues House Productions
Robbin Kapsalis is new to me. “The Blues Is In The House,” her excellent debut album as a solo artist, is the first I’ve heard her. My loss, up until now.
Kapsalis was born in Chicago and raised in Atlanta, but her first recordings came as a vocalist with Vintage #18, a Washington, D.C., band, starting about 2013.
Now based in Europe, Kapsalis is married to UK harmonica wizard Giles Robson, who produced and plays magical harp on this session. It was recorded in Nantes, France, with a sharp all-French band: François Nicolleau and Nicolas Deshayes on guitar, Arnaud Gobin on bass and Cyril Durand on drums. The late, very great Joe Louis Walker plays lead guitar on the title track. Blues House Productions is John Primer’s record label. Primer often performs with Robson when touring Europe.
Kapsalis’ vocal style is a blend of classic Chicago blues with a side of soul, all in a sultry blues voice that’s filled with a smoky back-room vibe. These tracks include originals from Kapsalis and songwriting veterans Terry Abrahamson and Derrick Procell, plus a handful of covers that are much more than covers. Kapsalis has absorbed this music and reworked it through her own sharply honed sensibilities. Her selection is also a fascinating look into blues styles, ranging from Bobby “Blue” Bland to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
The title track opener is the first of two Abrahamson/Procell songs, a tough blues shuffle with Walker on guitar and Kapsalis driving hard with the message that the “blues is in the house” and ready to be heard. That’s followed by Little Walter’s “Up the Line,” wrapped in Robson’s tasty harp work. On Bland’s 1960 “Lead Me On,” Kapsalis delivers a torchy, late-night gem just right for a belt-buckle-polishing slow dance. Memphis Slim’s “The Comeback” gets an updated gently rolling treatment.
Kapsalis joyfully recreates The Memphis Sheiks’ “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” from 1930, with outstanding harp backing from Robson. Reaching back even further, Kapsalis rocks through the blues chestnut “Rollin’ And Tumblin’” recorded for the first of multitudinous times by Hambone Willie Newbern in 1929.
“Love Hangover (Redux),” returns from a Vintage #18 recording, a hard-driving original with stinging guitar fills; “I Wanna Know” is smoother, sexier version of a little-known song from Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Next, Robson’s harp leads the charge into a rocking version of Slim Harpo’s swampy “Shake Your Hips.”
“Gotta Hear The Blues,” another Abrahamson/Procell song, closes the album in a gently swinging style, with nod to the album’s opening theme: If the blues is in the house, you gotta hear the blues.
“The Blues Is In The House” is a superb collection of songs and styles from Robbin Kapsalis, whose voice needs to be added to the premier ranks of contemporary blues singers. Everything here crackles with vitality and authenticity, from the razor-sharp backing band to Kapsalis’ honey-dripping vocals.
Enjoy this album soon and often.
Here’s a recording of the “The Blues Is In The House”:
Tracklist:
1) THE BLUES IS IN THE HOUSE
2) UP THE LINE
3) LEAD ME ON
4) THE COMEBACK
5) SITTIN’ ON TOP OF THE WORLD
6) ROLLIN’ & TUMBLIN’
7) LOVE HANGOVER (Redux)
8) I WANNA KNOW
9) SHAKE YOUR HIPS
10) GOTTA HEAR THE BLUES
SONG LIST: 1) THE BLUES IS IN THE HOUSE 2) UP THE LINE 3) LEAD ME ON 4) THE COMEBACK 5) SITTIN’ ON TOP OF THE WORLD 6) ROLLIN’ & TUMBLIN’ 7) LOVE HANGOVER (Redux) 8) I WANNA KNOW 9) SHAKE YOUR HIPS 10) GOTTA HEAR THE BLUES
ARTISTS: ROBBIN KAPSALIS: Vocals, GILES ROBSON: Harmonica, FRANÇOIS NICOLLEAU: Guitar, NICOLAS DESHAYES: Guitar, ARNAUD GOBIN: Bass & CYRIL DURAND: Drums
SPECIAL GUEST: JOE LOUIS WALKER on The Blues is in the HOUSE
Blues Roadhouse 