Chocolate to the Bone
Singer, guitarist, and harp man Guy Davis's sixth album is a study in restlessness. He leaps from style to style--string band, solo folk blues, stone country blues, bouncyJohn Hurtstorytelling, Appalachian jigs, lush contemporary soul--as often as the characters in these 14 songs ride the rails. What's surprising is how well Davis does it all. The organ and weeping single-note guitar runs of "Set a Place for Me" establish the mood for its murderous protagonist's hard reckoning with God. And Davis turns the children's play song "Shortnin' Bread" into a clog-stepper's romp. Alongside plenty of originals, Davis visits the catalogs ofJohn Lee Hooker,Ishman Bracey,Blind Lemon Jefferson, andCharles Brownwith easy conviction. The link through all of these songs and styles, besides their ties to African-American tradition, is Davis's old worn boot of a voice. It's full of creases and cracks, but his gruff delivery resonates with a sense of experience that makes everything he tackles sound honest, comfortable, and inviting.--Ted Drozdowski