“EVANGELINE” - AN AMERICAN MUSICAL FEAST FROM BLIND LEMON PLEDGE

The harsh rattle of work gang chants, the lilting blues of a New Orleans speakeasy, the biting rock of a Southern roadhouse, the quick percussion of a Latin combo, the haunting slide of a Delta holler, the touching romanticism of heartfelt ballads, Jump Jive and American Songbook styles all combine in a tasty gumbo that is “Evangeline”, the latest album from San Francisco based singer/songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Blind Lemon Pledge.

Releasing April 2018, Blind Lemon Pledge (aka James Byfield) displays deft thematic skills in a surprisingly diverse array of styles, all anchored down with his wordsmithing talents and melodic gifts. Says Byfield, “I wanted to do an album that really captured the different influences that have gone into my songwriting. My concept was to hone each arrangement to capture the feeling of the variety of genres.” Listening to the album is like taking a tour through America’s Roots Music legacy with overtones of deep Southern blues, Hoagy Carmichael swing, and almost Byrds-like melodicism.

Working from his Bay Area studio, Blind Lemon Pledge fronts an eponymously named performing band, while maintaining a separate branch of his career with a string of solo album releases featuring a variety of side musicians. Along the way he has garnered international critical recognition and airplay, a batch of Best Song awards, and 7 slots on the first round Grammy ballots. And his original compositions have earned acclaim for their musicality and eclecticism.

With “Evangeline”, Blind Lemon Pledge hopes to reach across musical genres and find a new audience for his unique blend of Blues and Americana styles.

The album opens with “Buley’s Farm” an acoustic field holler with a cigar box guitar backing. Byfield comments “I have always loved the sound of those old John Lomax chain gang recordings. And I wanted to do a modern take on the genre while still keeping the sound and feel of the old recordings.”

Very quickly, the album shifts gears and moves into “Jennie Bell”, a folk ballad which continues some of the themes introduced in the first song, while hinting at the variety of styles that are set to come throughout the album. “Brimstone Joe”, a dark and devil-tinged blues with a decidedly New Orleans feel comes next, leading, after a long fade, into “Midnight Assignation”, a roadhouse rocker with a mean slide guitar sound reminiscent of early Allman Brothers. The first four songs create a mini song cycle reflecting the movement of blues from the country to the city.

As the album progresses we are treated to “Go Jump the Willie” – Jump Jive a la Louis Jordan; a salsa tinged trip to Puerto Rico in “Language of Love”; a Cole Porterish “Ham and Eggs”; “How Can I Still Love You” – a jazz/blues number reminiscent of Mose Allison; and a Byrds-like folk rock ballad with “You Had Me at Goodbye”. The album ends in a musical bookend with another roots number, the title song “Evangeline”. Gliding along on a sinewy bottleneck guitar, this deep blues echoes the country blues of Son House and other early pioneers of the genre...and it provides a fitting end to our American music journey.

Betsie Brown ● Blind Raccoon ● betsie@blindraccoon.com ● 901.268.6065