Give in Kind
Although this New Yorker is the son of actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, he sings as if he was not only born into a hard Mississippi life, but swallowed it piece by piece, each injury scarring his vocal cords on its way down. Add to that the buzzing acoustic slide tones he opens the disc with and the dark sentiments on the alcoholic's lament "Good Liquor" and the plea for remembrance "Six Feet of Cold Ground," and the result is Davis's most potent blues recording. When Davis's harmonica makes occasional appearances, it's as rich in emotional resonance as his frayed voice. The solo that tags "Loneliest Road That I Know," a take onFred McDowell's "61 Highway," is especially expressive, blowing short phrases of fragile melody over an already moody bed of Hammond B-3 organ. Davis augments his music with a full electric band here, but it's his musicianship that leads the arrangements--sometimes into unpredictable territory. The roadhouse love song "Layla, Layla" is colored by Davis's didgeridoo playing, and he picks five-string banjo on his original spiritual, "I Will Be Your Friend." Another surprise is the finger-picked guitar tune "Honeydew Melon Rag," the kind of instrumental that jug bands used to perform on Memphis's legendary Beale Street 70 years ago. Davis also makes room for his folk-music roots in his blues, offering "Grandma Is Dancing" as a warm-hearted tribute to a matriarch, complete with a shaky, home-spun group melody on its chorus. Altogether, this CD's 15 tunes offer a pleasing, well-rounded overview of Davis's art.--Ted Drozdowski