Bitter Sweet Blues
Studio album by
Gaye Adegbalola
Released1999
GenreBlues
LabelAlligator
ProducerRory Block
Gaye Adegbalola chronology
Bitter Sweet Blues
(1999)		 Neo-Classic Blues
(2004)

Bitter Sweet Blues is an album by the American musician Gaye Adegbalola, released in 1999.[1][2] Recorded for Alligator Records, it was her first solo album.[3]

Production

The album was produced by Rory Block, who also played slide guitar.[4][5] Adegbalola wrote or cowrote eight of its songs.[6] "Prove It on Me Blues" is a version of the Ma Rainey song.[7] "Images" is a cover of the Nina Simone song.[8] "She Just Wants to Dance" was written by Keb' Mo'.[9] "Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" is a rendition of the song made famous by Bessie Smith.[10] "Nightmare" deals with child molestation.[11] "Nothing's Changed", cowritten by Block, examines the legacy of the civil rights movement.[12] "Front Door Blues" is about an attempt to come out of the closet.[13] Ysaye Barnwell sings on "Let Go, Let God".[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
DownBeat[14]
Edmonton Journal[12]
The Gazette[8]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[13]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[5]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[15]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette deemed the album "emotional and heartfelt," writing that "Adegbalola combines her personal and musical life story into an adventurous and enjoyable package."[15] The Edmonton Journal wrote that "Adegbalola's voice—whether cheeky, conversational or even jazzy in parts—cuts to the real thing."[12] The Gazette determined that Bitter Sweet Blues "makes very effective use of timeless blues forms to deliver messages of feminist and African-American empowerment."[8]

The Asbury Park Press noted that "her lyrics are delightfully saucy and sassy, without being raunchy."[16] The Washington Post opined that "even if one agrees with her progressive politics, one might still wince at her heavy-handed approach."[17]

AllMusic concluded that "each song has either humor or power, sometimes both... The only thing that seems incongruous is the mixture of songs with wildly varying moods and topics."[11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."She Just Wants to Dance" 
2."Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" 
3."You Don't Have to Take It (Like I Did)" 
4."Big Ovaries, Baby" 
5."Nothing's Changed" 
6."You Really Got a Hold on Me" 
7."The Dog Was Here First" 
8."Front Door Blues" 
9."Only One Truth" 
10."Prove It on Me Blues" 
11."Jail House Blues" 
12."Images" 
13."Nightmare" 
14."Let Go, Let God" 

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Craig (9 Dec 1999). "Gaye Adegbalola Bitter Sweet Blues". The Boston Globe. p. 8:3.
  2. ↑ Iglauer, Bruce; Roberts, Patrick A. (2018). Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story. University of Chicago Press. p. 320.
  3. ↑ Shepard, T Brooks (Feb–Mar 2000). "Earworthy". American Visions. Vol. 15, no. 1. p. 49.
  4. ↑ Lehoczky, Etelka (Feb 15, 2000). "Gaye Ol' Time". The Advocate. No. 805. p. 44.
  5. 1 2 Cristiano, Nick (25 Jun 2000). "New from ladies who sing the blues". The Music Report. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 12.
  6. ↑ "Gaye Adegbalola Biography by Richard Skelly". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Summers, Claude J. (2004). The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, & Musical Theater. Cleis Press. p. 200.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Regenstreif, Mike (11 Nov 1999). "Blues". The Gazette. p. D15.
  9. ↑ Hall, Jeff (5 Nov 1999). "Even Solo, Gaye Adegbalola Remains an Uppity Blues Woman". Courier-Post. p. 19T.
  10. ↑ Wallace, Bob (19 Feb 2000). "Disc Reviews". The Morning Call. p. A44.
  11. 1 2 3 "Bitter Sweet Blues Review by Stacia Proefrock". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Levesque, Roger (8 Nov 1999). "Two generations of blues women find the real thing". Edmonton Journal. p. C14.
  13. 1 2 The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 2.
  14. ↑ Hadley, Frank-John (Mar 2000). "Gaye Adegbalola: Bitter Sweet Blues". DownBeat. Vol. 67, no. 3. p. 72.
  15. 1 2 White, Jim (31 Oct 1999). "The Best of a New Batch of Blues Albums". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. G4.
  16. ↑ Skelly, Richard (24 Dec 1999). "Blue Xmas". Asbury Park Press. p. F13.
  17. ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (7 Jan 2000). "Gaye Adegbalola 'Bitter Sweet Blues'". The Washington Post. p. WW15.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.