...First Came Memphis Minnie in Bloomington, MN

This set has been announced as
Maria Muldaur
's 40th album, which it is, since she conceived of it and produced it, but it's actually a tribute to the guitar-playing blues great
Memphis Minnie
, and several of the tracks that
Muldaur
sings on here have been previously released, including previously released tracks of
songs that
cut with
Alvin Youngblood Hart
,
Del Rey
Roy Rogers
, and
Steve James
. There are also classic tracks from
Phoebe Snow
and
Koko Taylor
included, again previously released, along with new recordings for this tribute done by
Bonnie Raitt
Rory Block
Ruthie Foster
. So, it's not like this is a new
album, but then it's
's baby, a loving tribute to a one-of-a-kind blues artist.
has been singing
songs (and
Minnie
wrote or adapted over 200 songs throughout her career, which lasted from the 1920s until the mid-'50s) since her career began in the 1960s, including
's signature take on "Tricks Ain't Walkin'" (the song was actually written by
Lucille Bogan
, but
made it her own, as she did everything she touched), included here in a version with
Dave Earl
helping out on guitar and mandolin, respectively. There's nothing fancy here -- the productions are sparse and appropriate, and even though tracks came from different sources and directions, they all fall together into a nice flow. ~ Steve Leggett