Back to the Country (Johnny Shines album)

Last updated

Back to the Country
Back to the Country (Johnny Shines album).jpg
Studio album by
Johnny Shines
Released1991
StudioLoma Ranch
Genre Blues
Label Blind Pig
Producer Edward Chmelewski, Jerry Del Giudice, Johnny Nicholas
Johnny Shines chronology
Hangin' On
(1980)		Back to the Country
(1991)		Traditional Delta Blues
(1991)

Back to the Country is an album by the American musician Johnny Shines, released in 1991. [1] [2] He was accompanied by the harmonica player Snooky Pryor. [3] It was Shines's final studio album. [4] Back to the Country won a W. C. Handy Award for country blues album of the year. [5]

Contents

Production

Recorded at Loma Ranch Studios, in Fredericksburg, Texas, the album was produced by Edward Chmelewski, Jerry Del Giudice, and Johnny Nicholas. [6] [7] Due to the effects of a stroke, Shines was unable to play guitar on the album. [8] Nicholas was recruited to play guitar and piano; Kent DuChaine also played guitar. [9] [10] Four of the songs were written by Shines's mentor, Robert Johnson. [11] "Hey Bobba Re Bop" is a version of the Lionel Hampton song. [12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [12]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]

The Houston Chronicle called the album a "down-home selection of gut-bucket Delta blues that makes no apologies for its likeness to Robert Johnson... Shines is in great form, and the music is at once ageless and fresh, too authentic to have to be reinvented." [18] The Washington Post noted that "Pryor's pungent harmonica is another asset, as is John Nicholas's deft guitar work, and except for some mediocre songs, the album's lulls are far and few between." [11] The Pittsburgh Press deemed Back to the Country "raw and powerful." [19] The Orlando Sentinel determined that the pair's "flawed jubilance is uplifting." [12] The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that Shines's "flat, grim delivery on 'Trouble in Mind' gives lie to the lyric's optimism." [15]

AllMusic said that "Shines and Pryor have a nice rapport which shines through despite difficulties—but overall, it's hard not to view this as a nostalgia exercise." [8]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Trouble in Mind" 
2."Corrina Corrina" 
3."Cool Driver" 
4."They're Red Hot" 
5."Crossroads" 
6."Lost a Good Woman" 
7."Evening Sun" 
8."Peace in Hell" 
9."Send Your Man to War" 
10."Come On in My Kitchen" 
11."Blues Come to Texas" 
12."Moon Is Rising" 
13."Hey Bobba Re Bop" 
14."Terraplane" 
15."I Make You Happy" 

References

  1. ↑ Anderson, John (March 24, 1991). "Shining in Johnson's Light". Part II. Newsday. p. 2.
  2. ↑ "Johnny Shines Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  3. ↑ Harris, Paul A. (March 29, 1992). "A Wizard on Blues Harp". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3C.
  4. ↑ Komara, Edward (2004). The Blues Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 878.
  5. ↑ "Buddy Guy wins 5 awards at Handy blues program". The Pantagraph. AP. October 5, 1992. p. B4.
  6. ↑ Point, Michael (August 8, 1991). "Nicholas, last seen...". Jazz / Blues. Austin American-Statesman. p. 13.
  7. ↑ "Back to the Country by Johnny Shines and Snooky Pryor". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 44. November 2, 1991. p. 86.
  8. 1 2 3 "Back to the Country Review by Thom Owens". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  9. ↑ Heim, Chris (July 26, 1991). "Going up the country". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. R.
  10. ↑ Krakow, Steve (February 11, 2021). "Johnny Shines belongs in the pantheon alongside Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf". Music. Chicago Reader.
  11. 1 2 Joyce, Mike (September 6, 1991). "Lending an Ear to Latest Acoustics". The Washington Post. p. N16.
  12. 1 2 3 Gettelman, Parry (October 18, 1991). "Johnny Shines and Snooky Pryor". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 8.
  13. ↑ MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 334.
  14. ↑ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. 2006. pp. 578, 579.
  15. 1 2 DeLuca, Dan (November 10, 1991). "Blues". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 10G.
  16. ↑ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 731.
  17. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues. Virgin.
  18. ↑ Racine, Marty (August 4, 1991). "Johnny Shines, one of a select group...". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 15.
  19. ↑ White, Jim (August 11, 1991). "Blues". The Pittsburgh Press. p. E5.
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