LURRIE BELL

The Devil Ain’t Got No Music

Aria B.G. Records ABG2

By Eric Steiner

Lurrie Bell’s 2012 CD, The Devil Ain’t Got No Music, follows his critically-acclaimed Let’s Talk About Love. The new CD is a world away from that decidedly secular, earlier release; instead of driving, incendiary electric guitar-filled blues, The Devil Ain’t Got No Music allows Lurrie to explore his gospel roots which were planted when he was growing up in Mississippi and Alabama. On this CD, Chicago artist Bell (son of the late Carey Bell) picks up where Rev. Gary Davis and Pops Staples left off, by combining sacred lyrics with blues stylings on acoustic guitar.

The Devil features a rare gospel gem from Muddy Waters, ““Why Don’t You Live So God Can Use You,” on which Lurrie’s expert picking and soulful singing remind us that McKinley Morganfield sang gospel and the blues long before arriving in Chicago after World War II.  While the majority of the CD features Lurrie Bell on acoustic guitar, guests include producer/harp player Matthew Skoller, Billy Branch and the rhythm section of Josef Ben Israel on upright bass and Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith on drums. Alligator Recording artist Joe Louis Walker contributes some thoughtful background slide guitar on “Peace in the Valley,” one of two songs from noted gospel pioneer and songwriter Thomas A. Dorsey.  Also known as “Georgia Tom” when he played blues in the secular realm, Dorsey wrote “Peace in the Valley” for Mahalia Jackson, and earned a number of accolades in his career as a songwriter and music historian.  The other Dorsey composition on The Devil, “Search Me Lord,” is delivered as a traditional blues ballad with Bell on acoustic guitar backed by Mike Avery and James Teague’s heavenly harmonies.

There are many magical moments on this CD including: the opening “Swing Low” which is unlike any version I’ve heard before, the relaxed ensemble playing on “Don’t Let the Devil Ride,” along with Bill Sims, Jr.’s hand-claps and Joe Louis Walker’s testifying on “I’ll Get to Heaven on My Own.”  Another personal favorite is the sweet note-bending and slide guitar on “It’s A Blessing,” with Joe Louis Walker on guitar, backed by the economic and subtle, but effective, engine room of Ben Israel and Smith.  Covers of gospel inspired songs by James Taylor (“Lo And Behold”) and Tom Waits (“Way Down in the Hole”) are given the Lurrie treatment.

Bell has received exceptional recognition from the Chicago Reader, Living Blues Magazine, Blues Blast Magazine, and Blues Foundation members have honored him with 11 Blues Music Award nominations.  Lurrie was one of six recipients in 2009 of an unrestricted grant from the prestigious 3Arts organization in 2009, and funding from that grant partially supported the production of The Devil Ain’t Got No Music.  (3Arts supports Chicago’s minority artists, women artists, and artists with disabilities to contribute to the arts and cultural diversity http://3arts.org/pages/about/).

Lurrie Bell will kick off the 2012 Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park in June and, as part of the Chicago Blues: A Living History Tour,  will play the Blues on the Fox Festival in Aurora on June 16^th.  In Aurora, Lurrie will rejoin Living History bandmates Billy Boy Arnold, Matthew Skoller, John Primer, Carlos Johnson, and Billy Branch to recreate the magic that garnered them a 2012 Blues Music Award in the Traditional Blues Album category for Chicago Blues: A Living History the (R)evolution Continues on Larry Skoller’s Raisin’ Music imprint.

The Devil Ain’t Got No Music features liner notes from producer Matthew Skoller.  After reading Lurrie’s compelling story, I got a sense that Matthew wasn’t writing about just another artist and just another recording session behind the mixing board at Joyride Studios alongside engineer Blaise Barton.  He was writing about a dear friend. In fact, Skoller penned the title track for Bell, inspired by a quote from Mavis Staples. When asked whether or not blues was “the devil’s music,” she responded: “The devil ain’t got no music. That’s why it’s called hell.”

I know that 2012 is barely half over, but I’ll make one prediction to Chicago Blues Guide.com readers:  it’s highly likely that The Devil Ain’t Got No Music will land on my (and probably many others’) list of Top 10 blues CDs of the year.  Wait, let’s make that Top Five.

Eric Steiner is president of the Washington Blues Society in Seattle, Washington and a member of the Board of Directors of The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee.