2026 – Alligator Records
By Phillip
Smith; Jan. 24,
2026
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
Labor of Love, Tinsley Ellis’ latest album came about after
spending time in Bentonia, Mississippi, birthplace to Skip James
and home to Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ Blue Front Café. While there, he
absorbed a wealth of knowledge in the Bentonia style of blues and even played
with Holmes at The Blue Front. Taking in everything he had picked
up and learned, Ellis wrote thirteen new songs for this marvelous album,
performing them acoustically, using six different open tunings with his 1969
Martin D-35, 12-string Martin D-12-20, 1937 National Steel O Series, and for
the first time, a mandolin.
With a steady thumping beat and hypnotic hill-country style riff, Ellis opens the album with “Hoodoo Woman”. I knew I was in store for an amazing listen after hearing this cut for the first time. With Ellis’ addition of mandolin to this track, it sounds like it could be a long-lost track from an unplugged Led Zeppelin session. The beautiful melodic intro on “The Trouble With Love” instantly captivates me. Played with a Bentonia tuning, Ellis seemingly channels the spirit of Skip James. Another fabulous Bentonia-style track I’m drawn close to is “I’d Rather Be Saved”. The dark and unsettling mood really sinks in. No trip to Mississippi or the South in general would be complete without barbeque, corn bread, soul food, and a cool glass of “Sweet Ice Tea”. I dig how the backing percussion on this song mimics the sound of a spoon stirring sugar into the quintessential beverage. Ellis’ talent for creating period piece songs with nine decades of haunting grit really shines on “Fountain of Love”. Masterfully sung and played, it’s a very striking track. The record concludes with Ellis serving up a gospel blues track called “Lay My Burden Down”. Played on his Martin with slide in the style of Fred McDowell in open-E tuning, the song is delicate and soulful.
It is quite apparent this recording is indeed a “Labor of Love”. This is my favorite Tinsley Ellis album to date and I would love to hear a follow-up album in this same style.
Photo by Bradley Cook 
Photo by Bradley Cook
For more information about Tinsley Ellis, visit his website https://tinsleyellis.com/