New Blues And Gospel

A great collection of Davis’ last recordings in 1971 at age 75. He became blind at an early age, was the only one of eight siblings to live into adulthood, and had a very rough upbringing. He played guitar, harmonica and banjo. He played blues, country blues, gospel. He played songs which other musicians would popularize (like ‘Sampson And Delilah’ by Grateful Dead). His influence is wide. Taj Mahal and Dave Van Ronk’s sound can be heard herein. Fantastic stuff. No FCC’s.

*My Favorites*: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Side 1
1. *(5:13) Mid. Simple, country-ish guitar, gospel lyrics, bright and upbeat.
2. (4:00) Slow / Mid. Ominous w/ repeated line of song title.
3. *(4:48) Mid. ‘Sampson And Delilah’ done by Dave Van Ronk, Grateful Dead and countless others. Davis’ guitar work is killer as are his vocal hoots.
4. *(4:00) Mid. Spoken intro. Haunting w/ beautiful guitar and great vocal.
5. (4:09) Slow. Strong vocal w/ chilling vibe.

Side 2
6. (4:01) Slow / Mid. Song about a woman. Easy-paced w/ country influence, uptempo at end.
7. *(4:15) Mid. Spoken intro. Great guitar, country-ish picking.
8. *(4:54) Mid. Classic ‘Hesitation Blues’ done by many. Great picking, great version.
9. *(5:14) Slow / Mid. Only studio version of this song. It’s a talking blues, very eerie w/ killer slide and great embellishments.
10. *(3:42) Mid. Great harmonica workout in the style of Peg Leg Sam.