Sue Foley – One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar
This album is a surprise, for most folks know of Sue Foley as a blues guitarist, and this album takes a sharp detour from that route. The entire album is Sue singing and playing one acoustic guitar (a Flamenco Blanco purchased in Mexico) but even that shouldn’t be quickly categorized, there’s power here. And it’s a “tribute to the female pioneers of guitar,” with Sue studying the individual styles of each of the songwriters. So the album is a sonic smorgasbord.
One Guitar was produced by Mike Flanigin; recorded and mixed by Chris Bell with assistant engineer John Ziola. It was recorded at Blue Rock Studios in Wimberley, Texas and mastered by Oli Morgan of Abbey Road Studios in London.
The entire album is Sue Foley on one acoustic guitar and vocals.
Launching the album, Elizabeth Cotten’s “Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie” is quite healthy and dynamic under Sue Foley’s interpretation, and respectfully so, as Foley demonstrates Cotten’s Piedmont picking playing style and sings like a lark.
“Lonesome Homesick Blues” is a Mother Maybelle Carter song that Foley accomplishes with a steady rhythm and playing over the top, a feat of concentration, and a tribute to the reason Johnny Cash said of Maybelle, his mother-in-law, that she was one of his greatest influences. The song is quite lively and heady.
“Maybelle Carter” is a masterpiece of distinctive guitar playing on the original Sue wrote to commentate Maybelle and the Carter Family’s influence on the American songscape. As she recounts the tale she plays the difficult and sonically delightful “Carter scratch” technique amazingly.
“Mal Hombre,” by Lydia Mendoza, sounds like the Tejano style that it originated, as Sue has translated two of the verses, originally in Spanish, into English. And the flamenco guitar sparkles on this one.
The two instrumentals on the album, “Romance in A Minor” (a takeoff from Ida Presti’s version) and “La Malagueña,” a flamenco song made popular by Charo, are a treat to listen to. The album is an important showcase of a slice of history, and ought to be part of the annals of history.
Find the music on BandCamp, and also here: https://stonyplainrecords.com/suefoley/
Enjoy our previous coverage of Sue Foley here: REVIEW: Sue Foley “Pinky’s Blues”
Album photography was captured by Mark Abernathy with the interior photo by Scott Doubt. Makeup was courtesy of Adrienn Ihasz and album design was by James Mejia.