This is modern Italian blues woman Elli De Mon's seventh album and was recorded as an accompaniment or soundtrack for her book Countin' The Blues Indomitable Women (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Countin-blues-Donne-indomite-Musica/dp/8862317166) that I'd love to read an English translation of. This album covers some absolute classic blues songs of the 20's, many of them have been covered endlessly over the years and she still manages to bring something to these great old songs, all that was missing for me would be some songs by Sippie Wallace and Wynonie Harris. Elli is a one-woman band and plays everything herself.
The album opens with her version of Ma Rainey's Prove It On Me Blues with great resonating guitar and very blowsy vocals as she starts to stomp along with this good down at heel tale of betrayal.
Bessie Smith's majestic Blue Spirit Blues is a slow spiritual blues howl of pain, that is as influenced by Lydia Lunch singing the blues, as it is by Bessie Smith and would also sound great next to some PJ Harvey, as while it stays true to the original it's a great contemporary almost Cypress Grove style update on it musically.
The version of Alberta Hunter's Downhearted Blues rumbles like a freight train going round a curve while having the intensity of how Guadalupe Plata treats the blues as the howling harmonica scream along with the backing vocals on this is deliciously dark song.
Lucy Bogan's huge hit Shave Em Dry is next, a song that turns up on countless Vintage sex song or female blues compilations, this is a good, distorted update, gone is that hissy warmth of the original and now we have pulsating Rezophonic guitar driving this along like Left Lane Cruiser being fronted by PJ Harvey giving this every bit as much danger as the original had when it came out back in the 20's.
Next up is a take on Victoria Spivey's first million selling single Dope Head Blues that Blind Lemon Jefferson had the first hit version of, although I prefer Victoria's own version of one of the first big hit singles about being strung out on heroin and dope. Elli almost turns this into a Persian Raga blues and takes a song I own dozens of versions of and totally makes it her own in a wonderful way this ought to be another hit version of this timeless song of addiction and despair.
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Elizabeth Cotton's Freight Train is a song I really have lost count of the versions I own of it, as dad loved this song so much it has been ingrained in my mind for a good 50 years now. This is played just with an acoustic guitar being carefully plucked with nice whispery vocals that owe as much to Nancy Whisky as to Elizabeth Cotton.
Lottie Kimbrough's Wayward Girl Blues is also played acoustically and takes us down to Louisiana sat on a porch as her pain pours out for all the trouble she's in and has caused.
The Memphis Minnie standard When The Levee Breaks strips the song right back to its roots and has none of the bombast of certain rock takes on this classic as you get to really hear the sad trauma in the lyrics unfold.
Not sure I've ever heard Bertha Chippie Hills original for Trouble In Mind but I do, like most music fans own a good few versions, so this one is a carefully strummed and plucked take on it, that is close to the Geoff Farina/Chris Brokaw version.
Sadly as my review copy is on cd I haven't heard her take on Geeshie Wiley's Last kind Word Blues that is the bonus song on the Vinyl version of the album. Damn I love that song but then I love pretty much all the songs on this very fine album.
Find out more at https://areapiratarec.bandcamp.com/album/countin-the-blues https://www.facebook.com/ellidemon.onegirlband
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