Praised as ''suave, soulful, ebullient'' (Tom Waits)
and ''a meticulous researcher, a graceful writer, and a
committed contrarian'' (New York Times Book Review),
Elijah Wald is one of the leading popular music critics
of his generation. In The Blues, Wald surveys a genre at
the heart of American culture. It is not an easy thing
to pin down. As Howlin' Wolf once described it, ''When
you ain't got no money and can't pay your house rent and
can't buy you no food, you've damn sure got the blues.''
It has been defined by lyrical structure, or as a
progression of chords, or as a set of practices
reflecting West African ''tonal and rhythmic
approaches,'' using a five-note ''blues scale.'' Wald
sees blues less as a style than as a broad musical
tradition within a constantly evolving pop culture. He
traces its roots in work and praise songs, and shows how
it was transformed by such professional performers as W.
C. Handy, who first popularized the blues a century
ago.He follows its evolution from Ma Rainey and Bessie
Smith through Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix; identifies the
impact of rural field recordings of Blind Lemon
Jefferson, Charley Patton and others; explores the role
of blues in the development of both country music and
jazz; and looks at the popular rhythm and blues trends
of the 1940s and 1950s, from the uptown West Coast style
of T-Bone Walker to the ''down home'' Chicago sound of
Muddy Waters. Wald brings the story up to the present,
touching on the effects of blues on American poetry, and
its connection to modern styles such as rap. |
|