Glenn Kaiser, Ripley County Blues (Grrr Records, 2002)
"I love the blues because it is the most human, vocally-based music I know of. It tends to be very honest, because it tells it like it is rather than posing or pretending that life is 'cool', nothing hurts, people always treat each other fairly, etc...It makes total sense that blues music came out of the black experience in America."
Glenn Kaiser
Glenn Kaiser has been playing music for most of his life. For the last 25 years he's been part of the Resurrection (REZ) Band, a Christian rock band/community responsible for a series of exciting and forward thinking gospel/rock albums; but more recently he's been exercising his love of the blues in a series of blues-based albums with his own band. Ripley County Blues is the latest of these recordings. It is so new, that the website doesn't even have a cover design, nor are there liner notes for the album. The disc arrived in one of those little white envelopes with the cellophane window...and through the window is a gorgeous picture of the chrome plated coverplate of Kaiser's beloved Dobro. As a Dobro owner and player myself I am always drawn to albums which feature these beautiful guitars on the cover. I have bought some of the world's strangest records because the artist promoted it with a snapshot of the guitar that resembles the bumper of a '68 Biscayne.
The Dobro is just one of several guitars played by Kaiser on this album. As well as sliding on the resonator, he also burns up the bandwidth with a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Strat and an old Danelectro with a lipstick pickup. He is a fiery electric guitarist, who shines on acoustic guitar too. Ripley County Blues is a collection that was recorded in the spring of '02 in a wooden lodge in southern Missouri at the edge of the Mark Twain National Forest. Kaiser repaired to this site with bassist Roy Montroy and drummer Ed Bielach to enjoy the natural reverb on the building, in a glorious setting. He has managed to capture the honesty, and humanity that he admires most about the blues, while providing a collection of songs which, while not all strictly adhering to the blues form, are well grounded in blues feeling.
The music is raw and invigorating. Kaiser starts the ball rolling with the hard rockin' "Nick of Time," an opportunity to lay down a riff and play some stinging guitar over top. His throaty vocals are a cross between Robert Johnson's hitch-pitched voice and Howlin' Wolf's growl. The rhythm section is solid throughout the album, providing a firm foundation for the frontman. Rhythm is not the only thing with a firm foundation on this album though. Kaiser uses the blues to pass on a message. He is a follower of Jesus Christ, and it is his intention to spread the gospel message through his music, although he does this without hitting his listeners over the head. His lyrics are practical and poetic and delivered with urgency and style: "He didn't promise you a Cadillac...payback...[a lottery] win...He'll meet your needs in the nick of time."
"Blue Rainfall" is a fingerpicked meditation on life and death with some haunting slide Dobro. "Do Lord" is the old hymn given a rough and ready blues treatment with lots of slide electric guitar and the power rhythm section -- what a workout! The record virtually alternates the quieter acoustic pieces with the electric tunes. "Ripley County Blues" is a story song about a man named Amos living in poverty in Ripley County; it's moving and thoughtful. "Show & Tell" features Kaiser's 12-string and a bit of his harmonica work, which is as strong as his guitar playing. "Til You're Chokin'" is a boogie which really cooks.
This is a fascinating and utterly enjoyable exercise in the blues. The gospel overtones are not out of place or distracting, because they are true to the origins of the music. Read some biographies of the classic bluesmen and see the juxtaposition of the spiritual with the secular, and sexual, lives they led. Glenn Kaiser has an equally interesting web-site where he discusses his faith, and his music, clearly and openly. I have had to guess at song titles though, as there was no information on the promo package, but this is a driving, foot-stomping collection of serious music. Look for it in early September!
