Album Reviews
1956: Josh at Midnight
Josh at Midnight (1956)
Album: Genre Recommendation, 8/10 | Specific Genre: Piedmont Blues | Main Genre: Blues, Acoustic Blues | Undertones: Work Songs| Label: Elektra
1956’s Josh at Midnight is one of many examples of White’s low-key, jovial acoustic mix of piedmont-style blues standards, jaunty folk numbers and spirituals. Presented in an understated, mellow setting with just a bass and a guitar (Al Hall), the title does the atmosphere justice, White and co-vocalist Sam Gary thoroughly enjoy going through a program that they must have played a dozen times – but the tracks are alive, White’s meticulous approach of song selection and playful vocal interaction easily bypasses the studio setting: The Josh at Midnight session (New York, 1955) has the spirit of a live concert in a late night bar. Very good stuff, this rendition of “Jelly, Jelly” being a sneaky and slightly wicked highlight.
Josh White is an absolutely astounding and unique figure of (social) music history and, more specifically, blues history. Starting to record as a young country blues man in the 1930s, White never let up for decades – he was so versatile that he always found a niche in any style (blues, cabaret, spirituals, gospel, folk) that offered opportunities. He made a point of writing political lyrics early on, was among the very early blues musicians to make the jump to Europe – in the big social and cultural shifts of blues and folk music, White was always already there, from start to finish. To put this in perspective, the mythical, nebulous figure of Robert Johnson was only about three years White’s senior (and White already had a recording career behind him before Johnson even entered a studio). Since he was a pivotal force in co-creating the folk revival, White ironically did not profit from it in the same manner as some of the mentioned mythical figures did and was denied ‘legendary’ status. White was simply too refined and palatable, his craft – and different popular styles – had been honed to please audiences across the board for decades at a time when fellow folk blues masters where ‘rediscovered’.
Text Lambrecht 