ELECTRIC BLUES / R&B

Here’s another excellent, powerful album from the exceptional Shemekia Copeland. Like her recent albums, America's Child [2018] and Uncivil War [2020], this one provides provocative commentary on America today ranging from the personal to the systemic. A few songs are sly & humorous; most are serious as a heart attack. Original songs (I believe) except for 5, 8 & 12. The terrific band is guitars, bass, drums, sometimes keys.

FCC clean

1 ** Scorching hard-rocking civil rights anthem for right now. Superb, loud guitars. Mentions of Rosa Parks, MLK, John Lewis. (3:47)
2 ** Equally intense song about mass shootings. Stones-like accompaniment. (3:28)
3 Slow blues ballad. A mom has “the talk” with her son. Tragic. (5:23)
4 * A slavery story in work-song cadence with banjo, handclaps, choral chants. (3:36)
5 * Slow & heartbroken. A woman confronts her cheating man. (3:25)
6 * Fun, mid-tempo, Cajun dance with accordion, ‘tit fer, fiddle, washboard. (3:03)
7 Slow blues about civil rights: progress made, but not yet done. Electric resonator guitar & duet singing by Cedric Burnside (the grandson of R.L.) (5:08)
8 * Mid-tempo (tongue in cheek?) country-gospel tune (by Ray Wylie Hubbard). (3:31)
9 * Honky-tonk parody about opposites attracting. Pokes fun at a lot of stereotypes. (3:16)
10 Slow & spare. Tough song seems to be about domestic violence/rape. (2:56)
11 Sarcastic takedown of our current (dumb) culture. (4:01)
12 ** Soulful love song in blues form (by Shemekia’s dad, Johnny Copeland). (4:20)