Call Down the Thunder

Call Down the Thunder
Studio album by
Guy Davis
Released1996
StudioThe Loft
GenreBlues
LabelRed House
ProducerJoe Ferry, Guy Davis
Guy Davis chronology
Stomp Down Rider
(1995) 		Call Down the Thunder
(1996) 		You Don't Know My Mind
(1998)

Call Down the Thunder is an album by the American musician Guy Davis, released in 1996.[1][2] He supported the album with a North American tour.[3]

Production

Recorded at The Loft, in Bronxville, New York, the album was coproduced by Joe Ferry.[4] Davis considered his writing style similar to Bob Dylan's, where he would fill a page with as many words as possible before editing them.[5] "I Got the Power" is about a deal with the devil.[6] Pete Seeger played banjo on "Jelly Bone Jelly".[7] "Minglewood Blues" is a version of the Noah Lewis song.[8] "When You Got a Good Friend" is a cover of the Robert Johnson song.[9] "See Me When You Can" is a tribute to Davis's grandmother.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
DownBeat[12]
Los Angeles Daily News[13]
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide[14]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[15]

The Los Angeles Daily News opined that "the best song here is barely blues at all... Davis's own 'The Road Is Calling' has a great r&b feel that fits so well."[13] Jeanne Cooper, of The Boston Globe, listed Call Down the Thunder as the second best album of 1996.[16] The Ithaca Journal said that Davis's "gruff voice, spry fingerpicking and command of traditional acoustic blues styles add up to one powerful package."[17] The Sydney Morning Herald concluded that "the beautiful flourish of his performances and the genuine sincerity for his traditional musical culture are not the problem... Davis has yet to find his true voice."[18]

AllMusic wrote that Davis's "slide playing is exceptional and at times very reminiscent of Robert Johnson."[11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Georgia Jelly Roll" 
2."I Got the Power" 
3."When You Got a Good Friend" 
4."Long Train" 
5."Run Sinner Run" 
6."Mama's Gonna Fix It Right" 
7."Jelly Bone Jelly" 
8."See Me When You Can" 
9."Gee the Mule" 
10."Minglewood Blues" 
11."Thanksgiving Day" 
12."The Road Is Calling" 
13."New Shoes" 

References

  1. ^ Burliuk, Greg (February 14, 1998). "Davis finds blues in Fishy Waters". Entertainment. The Kingston Whig-Standard. p. 35.
  2. ^ Gallant, Doug (November 10, 2000). "Guy Davis on stage at Carrefour Theatre". The Guardian. Charlottetown. p. C3.
  3. ^ Rollins, Ron (January 17, 1997). "The Music Man". Go!. Dayton Daily News. p. 16.
  4. ^ Weiss, Ray (November 1, 1999). "Blues artists sing for supper for the hungry and homeless". The Journal News. p. E1.
  5. ^ Zack, Ian (January 2005). "Southern Stories". Acoustic Guitar. Vol. 15, no. 7. p. 54.
  6. ^ Gussow, Adam (2017). Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition. University of North Carolina Press. p. 152.
  7. ^ Dunaway, David King (2017). A Pete Seeger Discography: Seventy Years of Recordings. Scarecrow Press. p. 120.
  8. ^ Blake, Joe (April 29, 1997). "Deep Blues: A new generation renews tradition". News. Times Colonist. p. 1.
  9. ^ "CD review: Guy Davis keeps the blues alive". Mixed Bag. The Daily Advertiser. January 24, 1997. p. 10.
  10. ^ Levesque, Roger (April 10, 1998). "Davis cool with Delta Blues". Edmonton Journal. p. C5.
  11. ^ a b "Call Down the Thunder Review by Bob Gottlieb". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  12. ^ Ouellette, Dan (March 1997). "Call Down the Thunder". DownBeat. Vol. 64, no. 3. p. 57.
  13. ^ a b Cosin, Elizabeth M. (November 29, 1996). "Blues". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L23.
  14. ^ MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 99.
  15. ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 156.
  16. ^ "1996 Top Ten CDs". The Boston Globe. December 15, 1996. p. N8.
  17. ^ Catalano, Jim (August 28, 1997). "'Bound for Glory'". Arts & Leisure. The Ithaca Journal. p. 11.
  18. ^ Reilly, Terry (April 6, 1998). "Blues". The Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 8.
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