Corey Harris long ago established himself as one of the most important and innovative bluesmen of his generation. He is an amazing musician. With Insurrection Blues, his first album in over three years, Harris has added yet another to a long line of fine albums.
As a musical adventurer, Harris can be compared with Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. He first gained notice with a pure Delta blues style with his straightforward lyrics and fantastic acoustic slide playing. As his following grew, he began incorporating Creole and reggae influences. Each of his early albums had its own feel and style, with his debut album, Between Midnight and Day, for instance, featuring acoustic country blues and his sophomore album, Fish Ain’t Bitin’ in 1997 introducing horns for a more ragtime effect. Greens from the Garden, 1999, was the best of his early work. In 2003, Harris was featured in Martin Scorsese’s film Feel Like Going Home, which was the first installment in the Scorsese-produced series The Blues on PBS. After travelling to Mississippi and West Africa for the Scorsese film, Harris released his own masterful CD, Mississippi to Mali, using some of the connections he had made during filming.
Then Harris began to explore more aggressively in unexpected directions. With Daily Bread in 2005, Harris explored reggae, coupling rasta numbers with traditional blues. Zion Crossroads in 2007 defied any notion Harris could be pigeonholed, with a pure reggae effort – and a great one at that. Since then, Harris has seesawed between genres, teaming with ex-Cephas & Wiggins harpist Phil Wiggins in 2009 to tour and produce a self-released album of acoustic blues. Harris has also toured with his “Rasta Blues Experience” putting on amazingly eclectic shows that run from reggae to blues to jazz and recorded the self-released Father Sun, Mother Earth in 2011. With Fulton Blues in 2013, Harris returned (mostly) to his acoustic blues roots. Throughout it all, Harris has participated in other projects, such as the Billy Bragg/Wilco 1998 collaboration to celebrate Woody Guthrie’s unrecorded songs, Mermaid Avenue, and Otis Taylor’s Recapturing the Banjo.
Harris has never been afraid to address controversy in his music. “5-0 Blues” off Fish Ain’t Bitin’ and “Plantation Town” from Zion Crossroads are early examples. With the title track from Insurrection Blues, Harris again embraces controversy with an eloquent, somber reflection on January 6. Insurrection Blues overall is an acoustic blues album consisting of covers of traditional blues pieces along with a few timely originals. Its simplicity is its strength, with highlights including Harris’ cover of John Jackson’s “Boats Up River” and his own instrumental “Afton Mountain Blues,” performed with Wiggins.
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.