Product Description:
Solo performer: Corey Harris (vocals, guitar).
Recorded at Bias Recording Co., Inc., Springfield, Virginia on September 2, 1994. Includes liner notes by Dan Forte.
On his 1995 debut, Harris shows himself to be an astute student of traditional Delta blues. Unlike the contemporaneous work of Delta blues revivalists like R.L. Burnside, MIDNIGHT AND DAY is strictly acoustic--just Harris's voice and guitar digging into a deep tradition and finding new things to say. Harris is possessed of a deep, earthy voice that belies the foreboding undertone of the Delta blues. His brand of country blues is full of warmth and vigor, far from the haunted, shadowy figures of Charlie Patton (whose "Pony Blues" is covered here) and Robert Johnson.
Friendly as his vocal delivery may be, Harris has a cutting, trenchant fingerpicking style that's rhythmic and aggressive enough to keep the momentum going. There's an underlying funkiness in his picking, and on Louis Jordan's "Early in the Morning," even a touch of mambo rhythm. Harris's own "Roots Woman" bears a hint of New Orleans (his place of residence), hinting at subsequent developments in his work.
Entertainment Reviews:
Q - 2/96, p.96
3 Stars (out of 5) - "...For a first timer this is an album of rare depth..."
Down Beat - 3/96, p.55
4 Stars (out of 5) - "...[Corey Harris'] engaging, neo-traditionalist take on Mississippi Delta blues is a welcome addition to the contemporary blues community. Harris has a jagged, salt-of-the-earth voice and a rough 'n' tumble, wonderfully rhythmic guitar style..."
JazzTimes - 3/96, p.86
"...A collection of unaccompanied Delta classics performed on National Steel guitar and sung in a husky, affecting style, it is steadfastly un-fashionable, un-flashy, un-hip. And about as powerfully direct and passionate as anything I've heard in years. A real gem."
Dirty Linen - 6-7/96, p.69
"...[Corey Harris] wrings emotion out of his National steel with fingerpicking and a slide which he wields with surgical precision..."
Option - 5-6/96, p.111
"...a big, soulful voice...accompanied only by his bottleneck National acoustic guitar, he delivers a performance of depth and feeling that belies his years..."
Living Blues - 1-2/96, pp.64-65
"...both his singing and his playing are full of surprises.....His voice is rough-edged but has good range and a tense, choked quality that, like his bottleneck playing, comes eerily close to Son House at times..."
