Blues Art review of David Honeyboy Edwards Blues, blues

It has become fashionable in some blues circles to knock ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards (sorry, that’s how I have always written it), making the criticism that he is famous either solely for those with whom he has associated (Charley Patton, Robert Johnson etc), or because he has survived so long and outlived the competition. This CD, originally issued on the Austrian label Roots and never very easy to find, was recorded in Vienna in 1975 and it certainly proves that he is a fine artist in his own right – though not in the premier rank of blues artists.

Honeyboy is captured solo in the studio for these recordings at the end of his winter tour, at the age of sixty. He plays a little rack harmonica on several numbers, but mostly this is Edwards the Delta bluesman, confident vocalist and down home guitarist on a programme of varied Mississippi blues, and with ‘Sweet Home Chicago’ the only Robert Johnson number in his repertoire for this session. Yes, his style is derivative, but surely that is an integral part of the Blues tradition he represents, one he did indeed learn first-hand. Agreed, this may not be the most dynamic performance there is, but this is a genuine Mississippi born and raised bluesman playing the music he grew up with. As such, it is an important document (pun intended).

Thanks to Blues Art and Norman Darwen for the review

Click here to buy David Honey Boy Edwards Blues, Blues