Red House will have no new releases in May, but we've got a treat in June--the
US release of "Cowboy Ceilidh" from David Wilkie and the Cowboy Celtic
Orchestra. In July we'll have the US release from yet another amazing Canadian
artist: Stephen Fearing's "Industrial Lullaby."
Guy Davis
"You Don't Know My Mind"
rhr 113 * available on CD only
"If I could roll like the thunder all across this land, I would roll, I would
roll, I would roll."
--Guy Davis
Guy Davis" new album "You Don't Know My Mind" definitely rolls like thunder.
It has a raw energy and a musical sophistication that takes it leagues beyond
his critically acclaimed albums, "Stomp Down Rider" and "Call Down the
Thunder." Those first discs established Davis as one of today's most important
country blues artists, always spoken of in the same breath as Corey Harris,
Keb' Mo', and Alvin Youngblood Hart. With "Stomp Down Rider" he paid tribute
to his forebears with an album firmly rooted in traditional blues. On "Call
Down the Thunder" Davis spread his wings--showing off his original
compositions, his driving rhythms, passion, and modern edge. Both discs landed
on the Top Ten lists of "Pulse" and the "Boston Globe." "Call Down the
Thunder" was also a Top Ten in "Request," and "Acoustic Guitar" called it one
of the thirty essential CDs from a new generation of performers. With "You
Don't Know My Mind" Davis goes to a brand new place, where his talents and
style are fully realized. It's an incredible piece of work.
Rooted in classic blues, this is an album that simply rocks. Davis loves the
"big stomping sound" of old-time music and it shows on "You Don't Know My
Mind." Rhythmic, passionate, and explosive, it is infused with the electric
sound of Chicago, R&B, gospel, soul, and ragtime. In the first albums he
sounded like he came straight from the blues tradition. On this album, the
tradition has been dropped in '90s New York, and it's got an originality and
fun that will floor blues fans.
With his deep ragged voice, Davis' sounds like he has lived several lives.
It's been compared to that of Howlin' Wolf, Son House, and even Tom Waits. His
work on 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars is sure-fingered and intense, and he
plays a mean harp. He also brings an actor's sense of performance to the disc.
He knows he's putting on a show and it's a damn fine one. But it's also
visceral and real, and what it brings across is Davis' love of this music.
Davis' dedication to music (and his sense of performance) didn't come out of
nowhere. The son of actors, directors, writers, and activists Ossie Davis and
Ruby Dee, Guy has spent his life immersed in and promoting Black arts and
culture. Like his parents he is a gifted actor. He has played parts in soaps
and films, made his Broadway debut in the Hurston/Hughes collaboration
"Mulebone," and performed off-Broadway in the title role of "Robert Johnson:
Trick the Devil." He also performs his own one-man show, "In Bed with the
Blues: The Adventures of Fishy Waters," which earned raves in the "New York
Times" and the "Village Voice." In 1993, he was honored with a Blues
Foundation's W.C. Handy "Keeping the Blues Alive Award," celebrating his work
in theater. For Davis, blues is not just something he takes to the concert
hall, but also to theater performances, school programs, storytelling events,
and any venue where he can pass this music along. For Davis, blues can teach,
inspire, maybe save your life, and always gives you a really great time. One
listen to "You Don't Know My Mind" and youíll know it's all possible.
"Davis' tough, timeless vocals blow through your brain like a Mississippi dust
devil, while the band adds a funky fire that'll make your soul glow."
--San Francisco Chronicle
"Guy Davis and his peers are the blood transfusion acoustic blues needed to
survive into the 21st century...Five Bottles for a wonderful and joyous
collection from a man destined for major fame and
fortune."
--Real Blues
"Davis serves as a reminder that country blues was never meant for a sit-down
audience. More than anyone else in this generation, he plays the blues to get
people dancing."
--Acoustic Guitar
"Davis defies all expectations, fingerpicking sparkling blues on his acoustic
guitar, blowing a wicked blues harp and singing with a phlegmy voice that
sounds like he's been sucking on whiskey, hardship, and Mississippi Delta dirt
for longer than his 40-odd years."
--City Pages
For more information contact:
Megan Rubiner Zinn
Red House Records
P.O. Box 4044
St. Paul, MN 55104
612-644-4161
612-644-4248 (fax)
rhrpub@aol.com