Ruf Records announces an October 7 release date for Rich Man's War: New Blues & Roots Songs of Peace and Protest, a 12-song CD compilation of performances from a dozen artists that brings the protest song art form into the 21st century.
Produced by Kenneth Bays, editor of the internationally celebrated magazine Blues Revue, the new CD includes performances from such established blues and roots artists as Bob Brozman, Guitar Shorty, Norman & Nancy Blake, Candye Kane, Eddy “The Chief" Clearwater, Michael Hill and Doug MacLeod, as well as a number of rising stars in the blues field.
“The seeds for Rich Man's War came out of the oft-repeated argument that today's blues music isn't 'about' anything -- that modern blues songs are all either about partying, romantic entanglements, or about celebrating the blues itself," says Kenneth Bays. “I'd heard several people say that, and I knew that it wasn't true, that there was more to today's blues music than just those time-worn topics.
“In 2004, the progressive political organization MoveOn.org put out a CD called Future Soundtrack For America that consisted of indie rock artists performing songs that were politically themed -- some subtly so, others less subtly. Beyond its message, though, it was just a great, enjoyable collection of music that I found myself listening to over and over again. I've always been a fan of the protest song genre, and I thought, 'Why hasn't somebody done one of these in the blues world? Is it that there aren't enough great protest songs in blues?'"
With that idea, Bays began a quest and discovered literally hundreds of recent protest songs from blues artists both established and unknown. He culled them down to those songs that were very clear in their focus, that had an intelligent point to make, that were performed with the greatest passion, and that were just plain good to listen to. Because of space limitations, he wasn't able to include many of the others he uncovered.
“It was when I started reaching out to the artists that I knew we had something really good," remembers Bays. “All the artists I contacted were excited and enthusiastic about the CD, and many of them said they'd waited a long time for a disc like this to come about. New York bluesman Michael Hill called it 'an important and much-needed project.' Matthew Skoller said 'the blues world is frightfully devoid of projects such as this, and I applaud you for doing it.' The artists were unanimous in allowing us to use their songs.
“It bothers me when people say that music and politics shouldn't mix. If that were the case, we wouldn't have Bob Dylan. We wouldn't have had Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger. And we wouldn't have a lot of what we now consider to be classics of the blues genre, either. Blues music was born from a population voicing their frustration with the great injustices perpetrated against them. So it's only natural that today's blues artists would want to voice their feelings about the injustices they observe today. It's part of the tradition.
“My greatest hope is that blues artists will hear Rich Man's War and say, 'You know, maybe it IS okay for me to sing about the things I see going on in the world. Maybe it's okay for me to write about issues I believe in. Maybe somebody will listen.'"
Complete Track Listing:
- Bob Brozman - “Follow the Money"
- Guitar Shorty - “We the People"
- Norman & Nancy Blake - “Don't Be Afraid of the Neo-Cons"
- Matthew Skoller Band - “Handful of People"
- David Evans - “Bring the Boys Back Home"
- Candye Kane - “Jesus and Mohammed"
- Charlie Wood & the New Memphis Underground - “You Don't Really Wanna Know"
- Pat Boyack Band - “Mr. Wesola's Lucky Number Dream Book Part II"
- Roy Zimmerman - “Chickenhawk"
- Michael Hill - “Fear Itself"
- Eddy “The Chief" Clearwater - “A Time for Peace"
- Doug MacLeod - “Dubb's Talkin' Politician Blues"
For more information contact Just Roots PR.
