Rory Block’s acoustic guitar chops are unmatched. Her recent series of tribute albums to country blues greats continues with Ain’t Nobody Worried, but this time with a twist. Instead of dedicating the whole album to a single blues artist, she mixes it up, covering iconic songs by iconic women. And the usually faithful blues master cast her net wider, not limiting herself to blues tunes for this unusual offering.
Block, who has been known for her thoughtful interpretations of acoustic country blues, the New York City native has long been recognized as a master, netting six Blues Music Awards over the years, including “Acoustic Artist of the Year” in 2019. In recent years, she’s played homage to blues artists of the past, most recently launching her “Power Women of the Blues” series, including 2020’s excellent Prove It On Me, which spotlighted blues women of the early days.
With Ain’t Nobody Worried, Block stepped out of that blues mold and covered songs like “I’ll Take You There,” which Mavis Staples first made famous as one of the Staples Singers in the 1970s; “Midnight Train to Georgia,” made famous by Glydis Knight and the Pips, Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” and Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Block’s interpretations of these songs are respectful and personal.
“The inspiration for this recording was born during the dreaded shut downs,” she wrote in the liner notes. “Being quarantined led us to the idea of Home Broadcasts, which soon blossomed into two concerts per week over two years with an incredible following of views from around the world. We were all hunger for togetherness and music, and found ourselves clinging to the idea that some form of normalcy still existed, somewhere, almost certainly in music. After covering just about every blues, folk and Old Timey song I ever knew, the idea poppsed into my head to reach into the iconic songbook of the 60s, 70s and 80s.”
Thus, this new Rory Block album was born, and the album is an eclectic bag of excellent songs (with the possible exception of Mary Wells’ “My Guy,” which might have been better left in 1964). A master at her craft, Block sang all the vocals and played all the guitar parts, slide, bass and percussion.
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.