Bitter Sweet Blues

Last updated

Bitter Sweet Blues
Bitter Sweet Blues.jpg
Studio album by
Gaye Adegbalola
Released1999
Genre Blues
Label Alligator
Producer Rory Block
Gaye Adegbalola chronology
Bitter Sweet Blues
(1999)		Neo-Classic Blues
(2004)

Bitter Sweet Blues is an album by the American musician Gaye Adegbalola, released in 1999. [1] [2] Recorded for Alligator Records, it was her first solo album. [3]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by Rory Block, who also played slide guitar. [4] [5] Adegbalola wrote or cowrote eight of its songs. [6] "Prove It on Me Blues" is a version of the Ma Rainey song. [7] "Images" is a cover of the Nina Simone song. [8] "She Just Wants to Dance" was written by Keb' Mo'. [9] "Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" is a rendition of the song made famous by Bessie Smith. [10] "Nightmare" deals with child molestation. [11] "Nothing's Changed", cowritten by Block, examines the legacy of the civil rights movement. [12] "Front Door Blues" is about an attempt to come out of the closet. [13] Ysaye Barnwell sings on "Let Go, Let God". [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
DownBeat Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Edmonton Journal Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Gazette Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [5]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [15]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette deemed the album "emotional and heartfelt," writing that "Adegbalola combines her personal and musical life story into an adventurous and enjoyable package." [15] The Edmonton Journal wrote that "Adegbalola's voice—whether cheeky, conversational or even jazzy in parts—cuts to the real thing." [12] The Gazette determined that Bitter Sweet Blues "makes very effective use of timeless blues forms to deliver messages of feminist and African-American empowerment." [8]

The Asbury Park Press noted that "her lyrics are delightfully saucy and sassy, without being raunchy." [16] The Washington Post opined that "even if one agrees with her progressive politics, one might still wince at her heavy-handed approach." [17]

AllMusic concluded that "each song has either humor or power, sometimes both... The only thing that seems incongruous is the mixture of songs with wildly varying moods and topics." [11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."She Just Wants to Dance" 
2."Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" 
3."You Don't Have to Take It (Like I Did)" 
4."Big Ovaries, Baby" 
5."Nothing's Changed" 
6."You Really Got a Hold on Me" 
7."The Dog Was Here First" 
8."Front Door Blues" 
9."Only One Truth" 
10."Prove It on Me Blues" 
11."Jail House Blues" 
12."Images" 
13."Nightmare" 
14."Let Go, Let God" 

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Craig (December 9, 1999). "Gaye Adegbalola Bitter Sweet Blues". The Boston Globe. p. 8:3.
  2. ↑ Iglauer, Bruce; Roberts, Patrick A. (2018). Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story. University of Chicago Press. p. 320.
  3. ↑ Shepard, T Brooks (February–March 2000). "Earworthy". American Visions. Vol. 15, no. 1. p. 49.
  4. ↑ Lehoczky, Etelka (February 15, 2000). "Gaye Ol' Time". The Advocate. No. 805. p. 44.
  5. 1 2 Cristiano, Nick (June 25, 2000). "New from ladies who sing the blues". The Music Report. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 12.
  6. ↑ "Gaye Adegbalola Biography by Richard Skelly". AllMusic. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  7. ↑ Summers, Claude J. (2004). The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, & Musical Theater. Cleis Press. p. 200.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Regenstreif, Mike (November 11, 1999). "Blues". The Gazette. p. D15.
  9. ↑ Hall, Jeff (November 5, 1999). "Even Solo, Gaye Adegbalola Remains an Uppity Blues Woman". Courier-Post. p. 19T.
  10. ↑ Wallace, Bob (February 19, 2000). "Disc Reviews". The Morning Call. p. A44.
  11. 1 2 3 "Bitter Sweet Blues Review by Stacia Proefrock". AllMusic. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Levesque, Roger (November 8, 1999). "Two generations of blues women find the real thing". Edmonton Journal. p. C14.
  13. 1 2 The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 2.
  14. ↑ Hadley, Frank-John (March 2000). "Gaye Adegbalola: Bitter Sweet Blues". DownBeat. Vol. 67, no. 3. p. 72.
  15. 1 2 White, Jim (October 31, 1999). "The Best of a New Batch of Blues Albums". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. G4.
  16. ↑ Skelly, Richard (December 24, 1999). "Blue Xmas". Asbury Park Press. p. F13.
  17. ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (January 7, 2000). "Gaye Adegbalola 'Bitter Sweet Blues'". The Washington Post. p. WW15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.