Lucky Peterson got the taste for the blues when he released his first single at the age of five back in 1969. Written by Willie Dixon, “1-2-3-4” was actually something of a hit for the little guy, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that he really made a career out of his talents. A hot-shot guitarist and keyboard player, Peterson has released albums of blues, gospel, jazz, and R&B over the years.
He’s actually been out of the spotlight in recent years after a run of albums on Alligator and Verve. Coming back to the limelight with his second release this year, Peterson defies all prior expectations with You Can Always Turn Around, a record that fits blues snugly into a contemporary adult alternative world.
Lucky Peterson's You Can Always Turn Around
Peterson is joined by a crack band which includes multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell who, in just the last two years, has appeared on records by Rosanne Cash, Levon Helm, Willie Nile, Buddy & Julie Miller, Jorma Kaukonen, the Black Crowes, and Peter Wolf. The rhythm section is manned by bassist Scott Petito and drummer Gary Burke. The four players work beautifully together throughout the album. For the most part, Peterson plays a duolian resonator, the stunning metal-body guitar which produces such a richly evocative sound, as heard on early records by the likes of Son House and Tampa Red. Peterson, whose guitar playing skills have been thoroughly documented over the years, is a delight throughout the record on the resonator, especially when he uses the slide to further up the reverberating ante.
There are a handful of songs from the Blues 101 songbook, such as “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom,” “Statesboro Blues,” and “Death Don’t Have No Mercy.” But these are not museum pieces for Peterson – he’s playing them with verve and a personal style which makes them sound entirely contemporary. Robert Johnson’s “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” is a powerful statement of purpose to open the record. Peterson’s resonator and Campbell’s tough acoustic guitar set a hard groove. Peterson gives the song a strutting, cocksure vocal take that’s more mad than sad, and his solo takes off from the Elmore James template (admittedly built on Johnson’s original) we’ve heard so many times, and flies away into something original and exhilarating.
Blind Willie McTell's Statesboro Blues
Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues” acknowledges the Allman Brothers version, but sounds its own celebratory approach. Peterson sweetly snaps the slide throughout, and Campbell plays a stunning mandolin solo that almost steals the whole song until Peterson answers with an equally intoxicating solo of his own. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” originally by the Rev. Gary Davis, is as sorrowful a take as can be imagined. The resonator cries, and Campbell’s acoustic guitar solidifies the groove. Peterson speaks the truth that death will strike everyone, and offers no relief in the vocal or guitar. By the last verse, though, he’s no longer resigned, and sounds angry, fighting back against what cannot be defeated. His moans over an explosion of notes from the resonator are powerfully defiant.
Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” is a gospel piano romp which Peterson sings with his wife, Tamara. They sound like they’re having a blast trading off variations on “I sing ‘cause I know” in joyous fashion. Bobby Charles’ “Why Are People Like That” is the only other somewhat traditional bluesy number. Peterson makes it a tour de force, transferring the New Orleans rhythmic sense to the resonator, along with acoustic guitar, bass and drums. There is an insistent slide hook, and he plays with the rhythms in his vocal, speeding up and slowing down words and phrases, and frequently echoing the rat-a-tat-tat insistence of that slide. He’s eventually singing in tongues with lyrics built on “I want to know why come people act like that.”
Inspired Covers
The rest of the album, save “Four Little Boys,” an autobiographical original survival song about Peterson's father, comes from sources rarely acknowledged by contemporary blues performers. Peterson covers songs by Smog, Ray LaMontagne, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, and Curtis Mayfield. The Smog song “I’m New Here” was actually the title track to the recording return of Gil Scott-Heron earlier this year; Peterson treats it as a talking blues, and delights in its gentle, funny characterization. Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble” is a real surprise. Peterson goes fully into its Southern rock gospel blend, and builds to long, joyous declarations of love with a thick, loud sound at the end.
“Trampled Rose,” written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, is turning into a modern standard – in the last two years, it’s been covered by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and now Peterson. Peterson adds a new wrinkle to it, turning the wordless moan of the hook into a middle-Eastern chant. He retains the moody, mysterious, minor-key nature of the other versions, all of which stand as individual variations on a song of existential sorrow. “Atonement,” probably the strongest song Lucinda Williams has written in the last fifteen years, gives Peterson a chance to switch to electric guitar for some full-on shredding while Campbell riffs on the acoustic. Peterson rants the lyrics over the stomping beat of the band, and is eventually speaking in tongues again, though this time in opposition rather than affirmation.
Steve's Bottom Line
The album ends with a sweet take on Curtis Mayfield’s instrumental “Think,” from the Superfly soundtrack. Peterson plucks notes out of air and hangs them up to dry against a delicately picked and strummed acoustic guitar and Campbell’s luscious pedal steel. By this time, we’ve seen a wide range of approaches Peterson can take to add to the already impressive repertoire of styles he’s recorded over the years. (Dreyfus Records, released September 28, 2010)
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