Richland Woman Blues

Performer: Maria Muldaur
Artist: Taj Mahal; John Sebastian; Bonnie Raitt; Tracy Nelson; Alvin Youngblood Hart; Roy Rogers; Dave Matthews
Producer: Maria Muldaur; John Jacob
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Personnel: Maria Muldaur (vocals); Alvin Youngblood Hart, Taj Mahal (vocals, guitar); Bonnie Raitt (vocals, slide guitar); Angela Strehli, Tracy Nelson (vocals); Roy Rogers (guitar, slide guitar); John Sebastian, Ernie Hawkins (guitar); Amos Garrett (12-string guitar); David Wilkie (mandocello); Dave Matthews (piano). Engineers include: John Jacob, Dave Wellhausen, Mike Dysinger. Includes liner notes by Maria Muldaur. RICHLAND WOMAN BLUES was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Best known for that ditty about camels, Maria Muldaur has since established herself as one of the finest folk/country/jazz/blues/gospel interpreters ever to have a Top Five single. After 26 years and 24 solo albums, Muldaur -- inspired by a trip to Memphis' Beale Street -- digs deep into her roots and pays tribute to the classic blues women of the '20s and '30s. Aided by the similarly inclined Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, Muldaur breezes through 14 tunes from icons Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie, as well as obscurities from the Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Blind Willie Johnson. Keeping the unplugged accompaniment stripped way down to a single guitar or piano and occasional bass, Muldaur has room to maneuver her evocative vocals that shift from gritty groans to a high-pitched edgy trill. Far from a dry history lesson, these songs are performed with the strength and tenacity of the women who originally sang them. Whether spinning saucy, double entendre lyrics in "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" ("the way you ride so easy, I can't turn you down") or longing for her Southern home after moving north during the Depression in Bessie Smith's "Far Away Blues," the singer remains invigorated and inspired throughout. By returning to her late-'60s Jim Kweskin Jug Band coffeehouse days, Maria Muldaur has discovered her middle-aged oasis with Richland Woman Blues. And there's not a camel in sight. ~ Hal Horowitz

Rolling Stone (6/7/01, p.115) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Authentic and impressive - one of Muldaur's best. Her journey...has landed back in the fertile blues delta - where she's a natural." Dirty Linen (8-9/01, p.86) - "...Excellent..." Living Blues (5-6/01, p.96) - "...Muldaur lends her magnificent pipes to a set of tunes lovingly picked from the '20s and '30s....one of the best traditional blues albums in recent memory." Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.71) - Included in Mojo's "Best Blues Albums of 2001".

Maria Muldaur got her start in the heady West Village folk scene of the early 1960s with the Even Dozen Jug Band (her bandmates included guitarist Stefan Grossman and future Lovin' Spoonful John Sebastian), and then enjoyed a few years with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, alongside her then-husband Geoff Muldaur. After their marriage split up in 1972, Muldaur focussed on a solo career, establishing an image as a sultry earth-mama chanteuse. Her first album, released in 1973, made a splash, spawning the classic pop hit "Midnight at the Oasis." Although subsequent albums and singles didn't go over as well with the public, Muldaur never stopped recording or touring, and later in her career adopted a jazzier, more timeless repertoire that suits her varied international audiences.

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