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One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of
One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of

One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of in Bloomington, MN

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Since releasing her 1992 debut,
Young Girl Blues
, Canadian-born, Texas-based guitar slinger, singer, and songwriter
Sue Foley
has emerged as one of the most revered blues musicians on the planet. In addition to her bountiful catalog, she's amassed more than 100 credits playing with others.
One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar
, is a project she's been obsessed with for years. The 12-song set finds
Foley
swapping her signature Pinky Telecaster for a nylon-stringed Flamenco Blanca acoustic made by luthier
Salvador Castillo
in Paracho, Michoacán, Mexico.
's album showcases tunes written by and/or associated with eight female guitarists, from the 1920s to the '60s. It also includes a pair of originals, as well as original arrangements. One voice and one guitar, it doesn't get more direct than that.
Opener "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" is one of two numbers here composed and recorded by
Elizabeth Cotten
, using her iconic Piedmont picking style. Add
's canny, timeless vocal to her playing, and you get a masterpiece. The other
Cotten
tune is "Freight Train," delivered with strident, driving playing and a high-lonesome vocal that reflects joy and loneliness simultaneously. "In My Girlish Days" is one of two tunes associated with
Memphis Minnie
(who was as instrumental as
Muddy Waters
in introducing the electric guitar to the Delta blues). It was written by husband and guitarist
Ernest Lawlers
for her.
's command of the instrumental phrasing, elastic 12-bar timing, and dazzling picking make this and the rowdier "Nothing in Rambling" set highlights.
also pays tribute to
Mother Maybelle Carter
of country music progenitors the
Carter Family
.
Carter
loved blues and translated them through the folk forms and mountain melodies of her home region. "Lonesome Homesick Blues" was written by
and originally recorded with a mountain folk arrangement. With sticky fills and accents being translated to blues,
's vocal carries within it the grains of history and the Delta tradition. She wrote "Maybelle's Guitar" for the country matriarch, a hyper-strummed country blues wherein
paints a dreamy portrait of
's era. One of the set's biggest surprises is the inclusion of Tejano icon, singer, and guitarist
Lydia Mendoza
's "Mal Hombre."
translated the Spanish lyrics, and she adapts the arrangement via acoustic blues.
Elvie Thomas
' "Motherless Child Blues" is harrowing, cautionary blues from a mother to her daughter.
offers tribute to guitarist
Sharon Isbin
with her reading of
Paganini
's "Romance in A Minor."
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
's bluesy spiritual "My Journey to the Sky" is delivered with affirmation, while
Geeshie Wiley
's haunted, spooky, harrowing "Last Kind Words Blues" is resonant in its poignancy. The set closes with the Mexican standard "La Malaguena."
's version is inspired by the dazzling 1977 version by
Charo
. Since returning to recording in 2018 with
The Ice Queen
,
has been on a roll;
One Guitar Woman
is a high-water mark for the guitarist and arguably a career-defining album. ~ Thom Jurek
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