Rory Block – Heavy On the Blues
Aside from Rory’s impeccable guitar playing is her vocal inflection, intonation & phrasing on these vintage blues are so impressive. Rory doesn’t have the lived-in sandpapered voices of veteran blues elders, but does have dedicated skill, tonality, character & personality in her showcase. It’s not the roast beef of Muddy Waters & Bessie Smith, but it’s indeed the brisket of the tradition, done to a turn.
These renditions aren’t mainstream, commercialized blues for mass consumption. It’s rooted deep in the soul of country & Delta blues with its aching lines & pleading perfection. Sample Little Milton’s “Walking The Back Streets,” with guitarist Ronnie Earl. The 10-strong elixirs Heavy On the Blues (Drops Aug. 22/M.C. Records/41:00) was produced by the multi-award-winning Princeton, NJ-born Rory Block (vocals/acoustic/slide guitar/drum programming/bass) with Rob Davis. The majority are 9 covers in Rory’s driving style, with 1 original.
While the Jimi Hendrix tune “The Wind Cries Mary” is fairly rudimentary, it is Rory’s unique perspective & interpretation that make the piece compelling. It’s an interesting take on the classic tune that’s more poetic blues than the surreal original & that’s enough to recommend it.
Charlie Patton’s “Down The Dirt Road Blues” is far better as a blues reinterpretation & it’s better suited to Rory’s voice. A perfect segue into any one of these 3 late-career Bob Dylan blues — “Mississippi,” “High Water,” & “Cold Irons Bound.” Rory has a firm grip on that dark, pristine blues mixed with moonshine. Not stirred but shaken. Quite excellent.
The overall assortment is a mixed bag of covers that work with Rory’s vocal textures. She knows what words need emphasis. Blues not only projects a feeling, but one must understand its varied expressive resonance — its heat & how it moves slowly between the pores of a desperate soul’s skin. Blues is not entertainment. It’s not Broadway. Blues is a harsh spiritual. Being down & out, homeless, brokenhearted, or struggling with the Mephisto lure.
The blues has its musicality. It even comes crudely from the street fruit hawker with his flatbed truck as he sings out to the neighborhood for apples, peaches, melons & limes. Blues isn’t a happy genre. It’s the singer who electrifies with raw, wild joy. It’s absorbing music. Singing the blues can be a confession, an admittance of guilt, or purification. These old blues through Ms. Block’s voice & guitar are illuminated. Did she live the lyrics of Charlie Patton, Little Milton, Willie Brown, & Memphis Minnie? Probably not. But Rory understands their…spirit. Since 1964.
One of the best blues albums of 2025.
Highlights – “High Heel Sneakers,” “Walking The Back Streets,” “The Wind Cries Mary,” & “Down The Dirt Road Blues.”
Musicians – Jimmy Vivino & Joanna Connor (guitars).
CD image courtesy of Sergio Kurhajec. A 6-panel song description insert is included.
Song samples are available at Bandcamp. CD @ Amazon + https://www.roryblock.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: REVIEW: Rory Block “Positively Fourth Street – A Tribute To Bob Dylan”
