Blues on a Holiday
Country blues stylist Rishell is too smart to affect the involved emotional urgencies of the prewar Delta bluesmen he regards with deep respect. Performing solo on nine cuts on his first recording, the Cambridge-based vocalist/guitarist addresses classic material by Tommy Johnson, Blind Blake, and others, with a sharp eye toward capturing the timelessness of themes such as anxiety in hard times and the urge to roam. Far less involving are several tracks with a Chicago-style band, where he sacrifices personality to generic partying-- © Frank John Hadley 1993--From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD