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Etta James: Matriarch of the Blues

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Privat Music Inc.
Released: 2000.12.12
Time:
 64:12
Category: Blues
Producer(s): Donto James, Sameto James
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.etta-james.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2002.01.22
Price in €: 6,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Gotta Serve Somebody (Dylan) - 6:48
[2] Don't Let My Baby Ride (Malone/Wright) - 5:16
[3] Rhymes (Green/Hodges) - 4:35
[4] Try A Little Tenderness (Campbell/Connell/Reginald/Woods) - 4:47
[5] Miss You (Jagger/Richards) - 5:59
[6] Hawg For Ya (Redding) - 3:45
[7] You're Gonna Make Me Cry (Malone) - 6:17
[8] Walking The Back Streets (Jones) - 7:07
[9] Let's Straighten It Out (Curtis/Lattimore/Scotomayer) - 5:24
[10] Born on the Bayou (Fogerty) - 4:41
[11] Come Back Baby (Charles) - 5:57
[12] Hound Dog (Leiber/Stoller) - 3:43

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


ETTA JAMES - Vocals, Background Vocals, Liner Notes

MIKE FINNIGAN - Hammond B3 Organ
JOSH SKLAIR - Acoustic, Slide & Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Rhythm Arrangements
BOBBY MURRAY - Solo Guitar
LEO NOCENTELLI - Solo Guitar
TOM POOLE - Trumpet
JIMMY "Z" ZAVALA - Harmonica, Baritone & Tenor Saxophone
DONTO METTO JAMES - Percussion, Drums, Engineer, Mixing
SAMETTO JAMES - Bass, Engineer, Mixing

LUPE DELEON - Executive Producer
TERRANCE GALLOWAY - Assistant Engineer
DOUG SAX - Mastering
SONNY MEDIANA - Design, Photography
JULIE BRUZZONE - Creative Director
RUDY CALVO - Make-Up

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2000 CD Private Music 82205
2000 CS Private Music 82205



Having long ago established herself among the royalty of modern blues, Queen Etta seems rather content to sit back on her throne and her laurels and coast through a collection of classic and contemporary compositions. Unfortunately, her descendant band appears equally happy to sit back with her instead of working to shoot up the standards with another round of youthful vitality. The album opens with a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" which serves more as a sleepy suggestion than a blues-injected imperative. While Al Green's "Rhymes" sounds very much like the Reverend, Etta's version of "Try a Little Tenderness" does phrase the slow dance in some subtly new directions. The real difference shows up about midway through when the Matriarch takes on the Glitter Twins with a raunchy slink through "Miss You" whose draggier pace and intermittent woofs gives the song that much more sex appeal. Otis Redding's "Hawg for Ya" slops with similar raunch. Ms. James does change things up with an educated and edifying stripped "Let's Straighten It Out" which builds musically as Etta lays down lessons of love and the woman's heart. Another exciting change is the funkification of John Fogerty's "Born on the Bayou" which strains the Clearwater through JB's "Hot Pants." After a gentle shout and sway through Brother Ray Charles' "Come Back Baby," the Queen retakes her throne while taking back her royal pet "Hound Dog" from the King with a swampy rendition of the Lieber and Stoller classic that appears to be more born on the bayou than that track.

Matthew Robinson - All Music Guide, © 1992 - 2001 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



The mark of great singers is their ability to turn a trifling song into an emotional masterwork. R&B legend Etta James has done it live for nearly 20 years with Kiki Dee's "Sugar on the Floor" and a few others. But what's really sublime is hearing James sink her teeth into numbers that stand up to her own greatest work--"At Last" and the other Chess hits that built her reputation. James ignites such sparks all over this new disc of mostly well-chosen covers, wrapping her deep, supple, and saucy pipes around Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness" and "Hawg for You"; replacing Mick Jagger's flippancy with real heart on the Rolling Stones' "Miss You"; putting the gospel fire into Bob Dylan's "You Got to Serve Somebody"; and digging down 'n' dirty into O.V. Wright's "Don't Let My Baby Ride." The straight-ahead arrangements and undistinguished playing leave James to carry the album herself, but at 62, she's still a fireball and more than up to the task.

Ted Drozdowski - Amazon.com



Das Markenzeichen von großen Sängern und Sängerinnen ist deren Fähigkeit, aus einem kleinen, belanglosen Song ein bewegendes Meisterwerk zu schaffen. Die R&B Legende Etta James hat dies fast zwanzig Jahre lang mit Kiki Dees "Sugar on the Floor" und einigen anderen Songs in Live-Darbietungen getan. Wirklich hervorragend wird es, wenn man hört, wie sich Etta James an Stücke heranmacht, die ihrem eigenen Werk -- "At Last" und die anderen Chess-Hits, die ihren Ruhm begründeten -- in nichts nachstehen. Etta James entzündet auf der gesamten Platte mit überwiegend gut ausgewählten Cover-Versionen ein fantastisches musikalisches Feuerwerk. Sie umgibt Otis Reddings "Try a Little Tenderness" und "Hawg for You" mit ihrer tiefen, geschmeidigen, und temperamentvollen Stimme; sie ersetzt Mick Jaggers flapsiges Auftreten bei dem Rolling Stones-Stück "Miss You" mit ehrlichem Gefühl; Bob Dylans "You Got to Serve Somebody" erfüllt sie mit echtem Gospel-Geist; und in O.V. Wrights "Don't Let My Baby Ride" dringt sie tief und bluesig ein. Die gradlinigen Arrangements und das schnörkellose Spiel lassen Etta James den Spielraum, die Gestaltung des Albums selbst zu übernehmen, denn mit 62 Jahren ist sie immer noch voller Dynamik, und sie ist ihrer Aufgabe mühelos gewachsen.

Ted Drozdowski - Amazon.de



If Etta James has dubbed herself The Matriarch of the Blues, as she does on this newest Private Music set, few could dispute it -- despite the studio gloss that suffuses this album. And even if one were unfamiliar with her work during her more the 40 years as a blues singer, listeners to Matriarch could surely get the idea simply from her lusty, commanding roars on "Don't Let My Baby Ride" -- which chugs along on a muscular groove with funky embellishments from guitar and clavinet. James serves up a cover of Bob Dylan's Christian-era single "Gotta Serve Somebody," which becomes a powerful sermon on a sharp pulse, as well as an incessantly grooving version of John Fogerty's "Born on the Bayou." (However, her remake of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" my be a bit of a misfire.) But James takes up residency in Al Green's "Rhymes," making its percolating funk groove her own, and likewise smoothly revises the Otis Redding hit "Try a Little Tenderness" on a bobbing bass line. (On another Redding number, the down-and-dirty "Hawg for Ya," James lets it all hang out to the rasping harp work of Jimmy Z. Zavala.)

It's good to know that after all these years, Matriarch of the Blues Etta James has still got plenty of blues, with a mother lode of soul to spare.

Drew Wheeler - December 8, 2000
CDNOW Senior Editor, Folk/Blues
Copyright © 1994-2001 CDnow Online, Inc. All rights reserved.



After detours into jazz, pop and country, Etta James is back in the smoking eye of an R&B maelstrom, singing with controlled fury and vinegary bite. Surrounding this queen bee of the blues are two fresh princes: sons Donto and Sametto, who produced and engineered, and played drums and bass, respectively. The young bloods balance classic and contemporary approaches, leaving Mama free to breathe fire into an intriguing mix of tunes. An adroit interpreter, James invests Bob Dylan's cranky "Gotta Serve Somebody" with the air of Old Testament-style authority it demands, while the Rolling Stones' bubbly disco-era hit "Miss You" gets slowed down to a sensual simmer that highlights the heartbreak at its core. The album really finds its rhythm in James' takes on such R&B nuggets as O.V. Wright's salty "Don't Let My Baby Ride," Ray Charles' lowdown "Come Back Baby" and Otis Redding's playful "Hawg for Ya." The singer is given ample space to state her piece, with many songs running in the five-to-seven-minute range. A solid return to roots, Matriarch of the Blues finds Etta James reclaiming her throne -- and defying anyone to knock her off it.

PARKE PUTERBAUGH - RS 861
© Copyright 2001 RollingStone.com



In the 1970's there was a TV commercial for Memorex tape that featured Ella Fitzgerald's amplified voice shattering a champaign glass sitting in front of a speaker. If they had hired Etta James for that commercial, that poor glass would exploded as soon as she walked in the studio. I love Etta James!

In her new Private Music release Matriarch of the Blues, Etta undoubtedly gets down to the gettin' down. She has proven herself ultra-versitile in her career and continues to prove a great singer defies genres. Her life's lessons are in her voice, that of a calming mother who's been there and understands but is not afraid to slap you around the room. We're listening Momma!

Etta James won't let you forget the Blues. Walking The Back Streets and Hog For Ya are expectedly lowdown along with an unexpectedly lowdown 6/8 version of the Rolling Stones' Miss You. Her versions of Ray Charles' Come Back Baby and Otis Redding's Try A Little Tenderness inject some sweet soul into those Blues. Once again Etta takes classics and makes them her own. Bob Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody, a latin guitar enhanced version of Benny Latimore's Let's Straighten It Out and John Fogarty's Born On The Bayou, which starts out almost industrial and ends up almost zydeco, can make you re-assess your definitive version lists. The cool lesson ends up with a most groovy rendition of the rock and roll classic Hound Dog. As long as she keeps recording, we'll all be hound dogs snoopin' 'round her door.

Matriarch of the Blues is a family affair. Etta's sons Donto and Sametto produced the project and served as a rock steady rhythm section. Mike Finnigan on Hammond B3 and supporting vocals and original Meter man Leo Nocentelli on guitar are featured artists. Other contributing artists include; Josh Sklair and Bobby Murray on guitar, David K. Mathews on keyboards, Lee R. Thornburg, Tom Poole, Jimmy Z. Zavala on horns, and Ross Locke on percussion.



Etta James is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has been nominated for the Grammy award six times, owns one Grammy, is on multiple movie sound tracks, written a book, and has been a vocal legend for decades. Beginning her career in the mid fifties, she was a star through the sixties with a string of great hits including "I'd Rather Go Blind," and "At Last." Etta James is truly a blues music matriarch. One who continues to work hard, and still makes fine music. But Etta James is a legend not satisfied to rest on her laurels. In the nineties, she released a great record called Live from San Francisco, and has been in the studio and on the road regularly, putting out at least one record a year for the last five or six years. Miss James is now poised to release another album on Windham Hill's Private Artist called Matriarch of the Blues.

Vrrooomm ... a powerful revved up engine starts the new CD as Miss Etta James gets ready to take us for a spin. With key in the ignition, the engine purring, the strains of Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" rise up on guitar and some very clean horns as EJ performs the nearly seven minute song with effortless power. Miss James once said that if she can feel it, she can sing it. Her talent lies in translating that feeling from her heart to her listener's ear. For the second track we feel her sly smile as she sings, "Don't Let My Baby Ride." She and her band (which includes her sons Donto and Sametto who also share production work on this release) flow through Al Green's "Rhymes," the third track, after which she moves into the Big O section of the record. She has enjoyed singing Otis Redding before and here she covers a song made famous by him, "Try a Little Tenderness." But unlike the great Mr. Redding who roughed up the song quite a bit when he performed it, James goes with a relaxed jazz delivery that stays tender throughout. In between Otis Redding songs she returns a favor to the Rolling Stones. They've covered her in the past so she moans and groans through a rolling version of "Miss You." Plainly a very good blues rock song that fits her somehow, although this version may be just a little bit too long. EJ returns to Otis Redding for the next tune on the record and does "Hawg for Ya," a straight up blues number incorporating tremolo guitars and some nice blues harp that could shake the rafters, if I had rafters. After that raucous down and dirty performance, she slows the pace way down and transforms into a blues crooner again with a ballad called "You're Gonna Make Me Cry." Staying with the blues now, the guitar lights up the dolorous "Walking the Back Streets" as Miss James magnificently laments a lost love. The next cut, "Lets Straighten Things Out," begins with Miss Etta James speaking over the intro about men ("most of the time it's a man that made things crooked in the first place"), as the tune converts from a Spanish feel into a smooth blues number that EJ delivers so well. The record proceeds to wrap up with a spirited take on Credence Clearwater Revival's "Born on a Bayou," an emotive Etta crying "Come Back Baby," and a fun boogie woogie "Hound Dog" that I think Elvis would have liked.

Never scared to take any type of song and make it her own, Etta James and her band does it again with this mix of old rock and roll and new blues. One of the strengths of this record, like many of her recent releases, is her choice of classic songs that she then effectively adapts to her own style; mixing the blues with other forms of music. In fact, her last record was a tasty country music/ blues hash. Matriarch of the Blues is an entertaining, exuberant CD covering many moods of the wonderful Miss Etta James.

Tony LaFianza 12/7/2000



When a legendary singer releases a collection of legendary songs, the listener is in for a treat. Jazz fans and lovers of great music and emotive singing will not be disappointed with the newest CD from Etta James, titled Matriarch of the Blues on Windham Hill’s Private Music label. Drawing from over 45 years of experience in singing jazz and the blues, Ms. James exhibits a maturity and experience that shines through the musical haze of bluesy B-3 organs, saucy Les Paul guitars, and funky brass with “'tude.”

From the opening track, "Gotta Serve Somebody" by Bob Dylan, James sets a tone for the whole recording, matching poignant lyrics with a snappy backdrop of rhthym, brass, organs, and vocals. The tone is classic blues, singing of love lost and found, then lost again. The pining, “Hawg for Ya” says “I’m a hawg for ya, baby / Gonna root all ‘round your door,” while the one-four-five chord structure of the genre thumps its message home. Other highlights are Al Green’s "Rhymes," a toe-tapping, head-bobbing jam with funky horns and a solid beat, and Creedence Clearwater‘s “Born On the Bayou.”

James’ meaty voice is surrounded by skilled musicians playing tightly together, yet with enough improvisation and riffing to add plenty of flavor. One can vividly imagine a smoky club in Memphis with patrons crying their own blues into their drinks throughout the show. It is a bittersweet combination, such talented presentation of such sorrowful emotion, but that is the mystique of good blues music.

Matriarch of the Blues compares favorably with Glenn Kaiser Band's Winter Sun for those who like a straight-up-no-chaser blues sound, but lyrically may be a little too strong for newcomers to the genre. The lyrics are spiritual in the emotional sense, and not meant to convey theology in the traditional sense. This is a woman singing her heart out, broken though it may be. It will connect with the listener, and combined with the full sound of the band will transport you to another time and place.

Zik Jackson 12/11/2000
 

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