How knowing is the seeming tautology in the album's title? Fairly knowing I think, which doesn't detract from the sincerity with which Jewell tackles the titular song, nor any of the other of the twelve all somewhat lesser known blues songs included here (the only one I knew before was "Nothing in Rambling" courtesy of Lucinda Williams' version).
Anyhow, Down Hearted Blues has been creeping up on me a bit. On initial listens it seemed fine enough, but maybe a bit too unadornedly monochrome, with quite a lot of these takes quite clean vocals+electric guitar+sparing drums, without the gleeful variation and dynamism that's created many of the highlights of Jewell's previous records - but it's popped a bit more on the last couple of spins, so perhaps one of those that I need to live with some more...
(Sea of Tears, Queen of the Minor Key, Live at the Narrows, Sundown Over Ghost Town).
Anyhow, Down Hearted Blues has been creeping up on me a bit. On initial listens it seemed fine enough, but maybe a bit too unadornedly monochrome, with quite a lot of these takes quite clean vocals+electric guitar+sparing drums, without the gleeful variation and dynamism that's created many of the highlights of Jewell's previous records - but it's popped a bit more on the last couple of spins, so perhaps one of those that I need to live with some more...
(Sea of Tears, Queen of the Minor Key, Live at the Narrows, Sundown Over Ghost Town).
