Living in a New World
You wouldn't expect songs about social injustice and the struggle for racial unity to boom out of an Alabama juke joint, but singer-guitarist Willie King is as much activist as bluesman, with a history of community work dating back to the '60s. He's also a warm-voiced singer with the soulful phrasing of a country preacher and a knack for plucking raw tones and economical tunes from the heart of his six string. His new album combines beauty and intellect without sacrificing joy. Even while King begs "Will you please hear my call/America, let's come together" in "America," the groove slinks around the dance floor and gets goosed by a sweet-toned solo that fades into a symbolic coupling with a funky sax. "You So Evil," King's growlin' tribute toHowlin' Wolf, and "The Stomper," an ode to a lead-footed dancer in an Arkansas juke joint King frequents, are pure shots of roughhouse blues.But King's best when he's speaking his mind. And he's never clearer than on the riveting "Terrorized," which weds a one-chord,John Lee Hookerriff--King elaborating on it with little flurries of sliding melodies and fills that beckon to Mother Africa--to the lines "Talk about terror/Peoples, I been terrorized all my days ... You took my name and you left me in chains/Wouldn't let me go to school/And you know I didn't know how to read or write." King's last disc, 2000'sFreedom Creek, suffered from shaky musicianship and a lack of energy, but this time, his group and arrangements are as ironclad as his convictions. And that makes this one of the year's best blues CDs.--Ted Drozdowski