[Harp-L] First of the Reviews/follow-ups....Keith Dunn

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

I've been procrastinating long  enough....
 
Keith Dunn's CD "Alone With The  Blues"  has been played to death in my CD 
player for a couple of months  now...when one orders a CD through CD Baby they 
expect a review....and I've  been so remiss after promising to follow up. 
 
My delay is by no means an  indictment of the music...I already gave a 
mini-rave after hearing just a  snippet of a couple of the tracks off this album. 
There are so few Blues  harp/vocal artists today who could possibly speak or 
sing with the   voice of a Keith Dunn.  The sweetness of his vocals softens the  
political activism of his songs while keeping it very real (something I  
admire)....and that amazing percussion he creates both vocally and with his harp  
along with its jazzy, bluesy, almost sax-like tone ... even  to allowing spaces 
and deep silences  to underscore his lyrics  (no overdubbing or other 
musicians)...makes it clear just how deeply he feels  about his subject as in 
"Strange things are Happening in the Neighborhood" and  "Need to Make a Dollar".  I 
didn't fully understand the message behind  the brevity of the six-line long 
"California Dream",  mainly because I  wanted to hear more of it.  My favorite 
track remains "Trouble Is Going  On"...although any musician putting time in on 
the road could surely  relate to Keith's "Playing the Blues" lyrics of "bad 
hotels and hours of  driving", and "you get to the club the sound system is 
broken - you've got one  funky mike stand...".   Altogether an excellent CD.  I 
get  more out of it with each play.  Keith,  who doesn't live in the  States, 
is still the closest thing we have to being a  modern-day throwback to the 
authentic American Blues  sound.
 
Elizabeth