Avalon Blues: A Tribute to the Music of Mississippi John Hurt (CD - 2001)

Includes liner notes by Peter Case.

AVALON BLUES was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.

Personnel: Bill Morrissey (vocals, guitar, bottleneck guitar); Geoff Muldaur (vocals, guitar, banjo, kazoo); Peter Case (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Mark Selby, Ben Harper (vocals, guitar); Chris Smither, Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams (vocals, acoustic guitar); David Rawlings (vocals, electric guitar); Bruce Cockburn (vocals, 12-string guitar, harmonica); Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men, Jenni Muldaur (vocals); Victoria Williams (acoustic guitar, rainsticks, background vocals); Peter Mulvey (acoustic guitar); Dawn Hopkins (electric guitar, lap steel guitar, harmonica); David "Goody" Goodrich (mandolin); Richard Greene (fiddle); Cormac McCarthy (harmonica); Janice Powers (keyboards); Chuck Fields, Will Rigby (drums); James Cruce (washboard, percussion); Sandy Chila (percussion, background vocals); Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: David Rawlings; Dawn Hopkins; Jim Wirt; Matt Andrews; Mike Poole; Mills Logan.

Recording information: Artist Media Workshop, Boston, MA; Chaparrel Bottoms, Joshua Tree, CA; Doghouse, Nashville, TN; Fourth Street Records, Santa Monica, CA; Highway 61 Recording; Moraine Recording, Nashville, TN; Nevada, Nashville, TN; Pinhead Records, Toronto, CN; Sounds Unreel, Memphis, TN; Sun STudios, Memphis, TN; Tanning & BBQ.

Arranger: Mark Selby.

If you assemble a bunch of above-average artists to pay tribute to a major artist, is the result an above-average tribute record? Not always, but in this case it is. Organized and executive-produced by Peter Case, this contains covers of the Mississippi bluesman's songs by more than a dozen medium-big and very-big names from the folk and rock worlds, including Beck, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle (dueting with Justin Earle), Ben Harper, Peter Case & Dave Alvin (performing together), Geoff Muldaur, Gillian Welch, and John Hiatt. It's more a folk-rock-blues crossover album than a Delta blues one, which is fine: tribute albums shouldn't be re-creations of the originals, and whether or not it was the intention, it will expose some of John Hurt's songs to fans who identify themselves primarily as folk or rock listeners. And not many of these songs are very well-known, with the exception of "Candy Man" (done by Steve & Justin Earle) and "Stagolee" (sung by Beck). The arrangements are low-key and respectful, the best ones being Ben Harper's "Sliding Delta" (which is one of the bluesiest performances) and Victoria Williams' "Since I've Laid My Burden Down," which has very eccentric banjo sounds. ~ Richie Unterberger minimize