2021 – M.C. Records
By Phillip Smith; June 26, 2021
Guy Davis, nominated for the Grammy’s Best Traditional Blues Album in 2017 with Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train, has just released another possible Grammy contender with Be Ready When I Call You. With this new album from the Ambassador of the Blues, Davis brilliantly dissects our American culture with a potent and hearty serving of blues. His talents run deep as he performs his music on acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica, and tambourine with Professor Louie on keys, Gary Burke on drums, John Platania on electric and acoustic guitars, and Mark Murphy on stand-up bass and cello. Also appearing on the album is Christopher James on acoustic guitar, 6-string banjo, and mandolin, Jeff Haynes on percussion, and background singers David Bernz, Timothy Hill, and Casey Erdman.
Davis begins the listening experience with a boisterous journey
aboard the sixteen coach long “Badonkadonk Train”. The record takes a heavy, eye-opening turn with
“God’s Gonna Make Things Over”, as Guy relays the grim and matter-of-fact
account of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
With a hook that’s infectious as hell, title-track “Be Ready When I Call
You” tells the story of Robert Johnson’s legendary meeting with the
devil at the crossroads. Banjo in hand, Davis
advises the listener to don’t drink the water in “Flint River Blues”, a captivating
song about the disasterous 2014 water crisis in Flint, Michigan in which the
water was so full of lead and toxins, people were getting deathly ill. Davis taps into his inner Howlin’
Wolf to fearlessly deliver the blues classic “Spoonful”, the only cover song
on the album. It sounds fantastic. I love the closer “Welcome to My World”. The psychedelic guitar licks he sprinkles into
the song catch my attention as he taps into the current state of the world with
thought-provoking lyrics which flow out of his mouth in a carefully constructed
cadence.
Guy Davis’ Be Ready When I Call You is quite an exceptional album of traditional blues and Americana. It’s very powerful.
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For more information about the artist, visit this website : www.guydavis.com
