Homemade (Cephas & Wiggins album)
| Homemade | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1999 | |||
| Genre | Blues, Piedmont blues | |||
| Label | Alligator | |||
| Producer | Joe Wilson | |||
| Cephas & Wiggins chronology | ||||
| ||||
Homemade is an album by the American musical duo Cephas & Wiggins, released in 1999.[1][2] It was their second album for Alligator Records.[3] The duo supported the album with a North American tour.[4] Homemade was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award for best "Traditional Blues Album".[5]
Production
[edit]The album was produced by Joe Wilson, who also cowrote a couple of the songs.[6] Cephas helped write eight of the songs; Wiggins worked on one.[7] Wiggins considered the selections to be enlivening rather than sad or depressing.[8] The album opens and closes with covers of Blind Boy Fuller tunes.[9] "Slow Blues" is a version of the instrumental Reverend Gary Davis song.[10] Two originals, "Jelly Roll" and "Meeting the Mule", explore the differences between life, and women, in the metropolitan North and country South.[6] "I Was Determined" is an autobiographical song about wanting to play the blues after hearing neighbors singing blues standards.[11]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [13] |
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | [14] |
| The Star Democrat | 6/10[15] |
| The Sunday Age |  [10] |
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that "Cephas plays in ragtime-like guitar rhythms, with Wiggins's airy harp a perfect complement... Cephas's vocals are fittingly light, even though the blues are still the blues."[14] The Sunday Age said that Cephas "succeeds where few have dared, mimicking Skip James's keening vocals and unusual tuning on 'Illinois'."[10] The Toronto Star deemed the album "accessible rural dance music with low-key engaging grooves."[16] The Washington Post determined that Wiggins and Cephas weave "voice and guitar together so seamlessly that one mind seems to govern both mouths and all four arms."[6] The Star Democrat considered the album forgettable and an example of "generic" blues.[15]
AllMusic noted the "rustic, laid-back charm."[12]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mamie" | |
| 2. | "Meeting the Mule" | |
| 3. | "Spider Woman" | |
| 4. | "Trouble in Mind" | |
| 5. | "Jelly Roll" | |
| 6. | "Walking Mama" | |
| 7. | "A Lot of Them Blues" | |
| 8. | "Illinois Blues" | |
| 9. | "I Was Determined" | |
| 10. | "Sounds of the Blues" | |
| 11. | "Worried Life Blues" | |
| 12. | "Me and My Chauffeur" | |
| 13. | "Slow Blues" | |
| 14. | "Leaving Blues" | |
| 15. | "Pigmeat" |
References
[edit]- ^ Wiggins, Phil; Matheis, Frank (2020). Sweet Bitter Blues: Washington, DC's Homemade Blues. University Press of Mississippi. p. 255.
- ^ Lien, James (Feb 15, 1999). "Roots 'n' Blues". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 57, no. 605. p. 27.
- ^ Cochran, Rebekah (12 Jan 2000). "Cephas & Wiggins brings Piedmont blues to Carnegie Lecture Hall". New Pittsburgh Courier. No. 4. p. B5.
- ^ Cooper, Matt (9 Apr 1999). "Piedmont Blues Greats Cephas, Wiggins to Play Museum Next Week". Yakima Herald-Republic. p. E1.
- ^ Ellis, Bill (15 Jan 2000). "Walker Tops Nominees for Coveted W. C. Handy Blues Honors". The Commercial Appeal. p. F1.
- ^ a b c Himes, Geoffrey (9 Apr 1999). "Cephas & Wiggins 'Homemade'". The Washington Post. p. N14.
- ^ Hillis, Roger (Jul 30, 1999). "Cephas & Wiggins". Go!. The Daily Times. p. 4.
- ^ "Acoustic Stage presenting concerts". Hickory Daily Record. Mar 25, 1999. p. 3B.
- ^ Fontenot, Robert (March 1999). "Cephas and Wiggins, Homemade". Reviews. OffBeat.
- ^ a b c Schwartz, Larry (14 Mar 1999). "Music". Applause. The Sunday Age. p. 10.
- ^ Isola, Gregory (Jun 1999). "John Cephas: Homemade Piedmont Blues". Guitar Player. Vol. 33, no. 6. pp. 29, 32.
- ^ a b "Homemade Review by Thom Owens". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 113.
- ^ a b White, Jim (28 Feb 1999). "New Blues Releases to Check Out". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. G5.
- ^ a b Mangold, Mark (Apr 9, 1999). "Bluesmen get it right, but don't excite". Weekend. The Star Democrat. p. 2.
- ^ Chapman, Geoff (27 Mar 1999). "Blues Reviews". Entertainment. Toronto Star. p. 1.