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Shot through with attitude, the songs on Delta Hardware feel
rough-hewn and tough, just as they should for a guy "born in
Mississippi [and] raised up in Tennessee." Charlie cuts loose a good time
in Clarksdale, pipes up for the downtrodden, and gives a lover the ol'
heave-ho. This is raw, passionate music from a howlin' blues legend who's still
invigorated by a youthful spirit.
It's Charlie's mix of wild country abandon seasoned by years of playing urban electric blues in Chicago that spurs the likes of Ben Harper, Tom Waits and Government Mule to welcome Musselwhite onto their stages and records. That same brash, blues/rock rebel vibe was Dan Aykroyd's inspiration for his Elwood Blues persona, and it's what has won Musselwhite pile of blues awards and earned the admiration and respect of his own heroes: Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. John Lee was even the best man at Charlie's wedding.
Pulled, like the albums of R.L. Burnside and the North Mississippi Allstars, out of the storied Mississippi Delta and Hill Country, Delta Hardware is a mixture of songs written over the past few years and ideas fleshed out in the studio, and includes a new twist on the longtime live staple, Clarksdale Boogie. True to the blues as an expression of a range of
honest emotions and stories, Delta Hardware ranges from upbeat jewels like the party track Church Is Out to more socially conscious songs like Black Water and The Invisible Ones. With the latter two tracks, inspired by the devastation
caused by Hurricane Katrina, Charlie paints a stark, honest tribute to
those suffering in and around New Orleans and in his home state:
"Old black water lappin' at your back door/Hello
America, better get ready for more/Trouble, trouble all around here/ just too tired to shed one tear/ Black Water/ It's a sign of our times."
''Things just seem to be falling apart,"Musselwhite says. ''And I think people are waking up to that. I think people
are starting to see that there's something really rotten going on."
Admittedly, the political arena is an odd and uncomfortable arena for him
to step into. ''I don't want to be offensive to anybody. I respect everybody
and their opinion, and I hope they respect mine."
Backed by his touring band, Musselwhite, now based in Sonoma County, California, lends his guitar skills to one track on Delta Hardware and otherwise just goes stompin, blowin' and shouting his way through the album's 10 tracks. The album walks the line between rock and electric country blues, sometimes playing it straight, sometimes taking new turns.
On Clarksdale Boogie, he offers up a virtual mantra for his life behind his
first-ever use of a drum and bass loop: "Meet me where they play good
blues." The crowd noise in this track is sampled from a night at Red's
juke joint in Clarksdale.
Over the years, Musselwhite has released dozens of albums and has contributed to countless others including guesting on
Bonnie Raitt's Grammy award-winning Longing In Their Hearts, The Blind Boys of Alabama's Grammy-winning Spirit of the Century, Tom Waits' Mule Variationsand even playing the driving harmonica on INXS' Suicide Blonde. He was the longtime compadre and musical partner to his friend John Lee Hooker. His recent tour and recording sessions with Ben Harper have led to live and studio tracks featuring Charlie on the limited edition bonus disc of Ben's soon-to-be released Both Sides of the Gun.
Musical institutions have honored Musselwhite, too. With 18 W.C. Handy awards to his credit and 6 Grammy nominations, he is firmly entrenched in musical history. Musselwhite has also been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival in Spain and the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. Perhaps most meaningful to him personally, in 1987, he conquered a long-running battle with alcoholism.
Musselwhite's version of the blues ventures far beyond conventional honky-tonk - though the Harley Davidsons lined up outside Musselwhite's gigs testify that Musselwhite has what it takes to rock the house. Musselwhite himself is simply interested in music with feeling - as he puts it, "music from the heart": "For me, it's about the feeling, and connecting with people. And blues, if it's real blues, is loaded with
feeling. And it ain't about technique either, it's about truth, connecting to the truth and communicating with people."
That connection has been particularly strong with his fans from the start. "I've had Vietnam vets tell me that my music was important to them while they were in Vietnam. I've had people who've had problems with alcohol talk to me about quitting, and tell me that I inspired them to quit, I've had couples tell me that they met at one of my
shows and got married years after."
With Delta Hardware, Musselwhite says simply, "I'm keepin' it real. For the listener, I hope it's like a journey, I hope each tune takes 'em to another little place, and I hope at the end they're glad they went."
