Payin' for My Sins

Payin' for My Sins
Studio album by Grady Champion
Released	1999
Studio	Dog House Recording
Genre	Blues
Label	Shanachie
Producer	Dennis Walker
Grady Champion chronology
Goin' Back Home (1998) Payin' for My Sins (1999) 2 Days Short of a Week (2001)

Payin' for My Sins is an album by the American musician Grady Champion, released in 1999. ^{[1] [2]} It was his first album for Shanachie Records. ^[3] Champion supported the album with a North American tour. ^[4]

Production

The album was produced by Dennis Walker. ^[5] Champion cowrote or wrote eight of its songs. ^[6] Alan Mirikitani contributed on lead guitar. ^[7] "Don't Start Me Talkin'" is a version of the Sonny Boy Williamson II song. ^[8] "She's Some Kind of Wonderful" is a cover of the Soul Brothers Six song. ^[3] "Goin' Down Slow" uses the music of the Jimmy Oden song to relate a story of a cousin succumbing to AIDS. ^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[10]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[11]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette	[12]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that "Champion's strengths in this sometimes funky, always soulful outing, are his strong vocals and songwriting skills, in which he blends his urbane vision into a traditional style." ^[12] The Independent opined that the production gives the "material a subtlety and classiness not shared by much of the competition." ^[13] The Philadelphia Inquirer concluded that "you can hear echoes of [Robert] Cray in tracks such as 'You Got Some Explaining to Do', with its tension between the pointed lyrics and smooth, horns-and-organ groove... But his engagingly robust and reedy voice gives Champion a commanding presence of his own." ^[11] The Clarion-Ledger opined that "Champion's gravely voice and more than capable harmonica make this a very entertaining album." ^[14] The Star Tribune deemed Payin' for My Sins "one of 1999's most stirring blues platters." ^[15]

AllMusic said that Champion's "voice is rough, more a shouter and screamer than a trained singer, sandpaper over silk, with imprecise phrasings." ^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I'm Smilin' Again"
2.	"You Got Some Explaining to Do"
3.	"Good as New"
4.	"She's Some Kind of Wonderful"
5.	"My Rooster Is King"
6.	"Goin' Down Slow"
7.	"Payin' for My Sins"
8.	"Troubled Mind"
9.	"Let Me Be"
10.	"Roberta"
11.	"Don't Start Me Talkin'"
12.	"Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City"
13.	"Dreamin'"

References

1. Krampert, Peter (2016). The Encyclopedia of the Harmonica. Mel Bay Publications, Inc. p. 35.
2. "Champion to play". Springfield News-Sun. October 13, 1999. p. 5.
3. McGuinness, Jim (May 26, 2000). "Once a Rapper, Now a Champion of the Blues". Lifestyle/Previews. The Record. Bergen County. p. 14.
4. Schardl, Kati (July 21, 2000). "Playin' the blues". Tallahassee Democrat. p. G12.
5. "Grady Champion". Miami Herald. June 4, 1999. p. 25G.
6. Hall, Jeff (November 5, 1999). "Champion's Blues". Courier-Post. p. 19T.
7. "Grady Champion". Retford Times. November 18, 1999. p. 38.
8. Wallace, Bob (October 16, 1999). "Grady Champion: Payin' for My Sins". The Morning Call. p. A59.
9. "Payin' for My Sins Review by Michael G. Nastos". AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
10. The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 113.
11. Cristiano, Nick (December 26, 1999). "A Time to Rejoice and Get the Blues". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. I14.
12. White, Jim (October 31, 1999). "The Best of a New Batch of Blues Albums". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. G4.
13. Trapp, Roger (December 4, 1999). "Jazz & Blues". Features. The Independent. p. 39.
14. Snow, Donnie (September 23, 1999). "Grady Champion promising new blues talent". The Clarion-Ledger. p. 17F.
15. Surowicz, Tom (October 8, 1999). "Hurricane Grady". Free Time. Star Tribune. p. 11.