Rich Man's War: New Blues & Roots Songs of Peace and Protest is a twelve-song compilation featuring performances from such acclaimed blues and roots artists as Bob Brozman, Guitar Shorty, Candye Kane, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, and Michael Hill, among others. A classic protest album in a 1960s anti-war vein, the collection and its performances were spurred on, in part, by the Bush administration and its policy failures on the economy, natural disasters, and two foreign battlefronts.
Rich Man's War
Rich Man's War was produced by Kenneth Bays, editor of the esteemed blues music publication Blues Revue. "The seeds for Rich Man's War came out of the oft-repeated argument that today's blues music isn't 'about' anything - that modern blues songs are all either about partying, romantic entanglements, or about celebrating the blues itself," says Bays about the album. "I’d heard several people say that, and I knew that it wasn't true, that there was more to today's blues music than just those time-worn topics."
Bays was influenced by a collection of indie rock artists released by the political organization MoveOn.org in 2004 titled Future Soundtrack For America. The producer was inspired by the album, saying "I've always been a fan of the protest song genre, and I thought, 'Why hasn’t somebody done one of these in the blues world? Is it that there aren't enough great protest songs in blues?'"
The Rich Politics of the Blues
Once Bays began digging beneath the surface, he found hundreds of contemporary blues songs that would fit into a blues vein. Once he whittled the list of songs down to a manageable number, he began contacting artists, finding enthusiasm and excitement on the part of his recruits.
And what an impressive line-up that Bays managed to recruit for Rich Man's War! Although it's difficult to pick out single performances from such a stellar line-up, there are a few songs that impact harder and louder than others. For instance, Bob Brozman's "Follow The Money" matches a deceptively upbeat rhythm and lively, fleet-fingered string-bending with intelligent, if disturbing, topical lyrics.
Guitar Shorty is always good for a pulse-pounding three-or-four-minute shockwave, and his "We The People," culled from the album of the same name, does not disappoint. A houserockin' number with strong vocals and powderkeg fretwork, the song touches a definite chord even while Shorty mangles a few chords in the pursuit of the truth.
A Mix of Folk, Blues and Roots-Rock
"Don't Be Afraid Of The Neo-Cons" is a folkish interpretation of the 2000 election by Norm and Nancy Blake, lyric-heavy with smart wordplay and no little satirical bent. The Matthew Skoller Band delivers a powerful blues statement with their "Handful of People," a slow-burning elixir of anguished vocals, dusky guitarwork, and ice-cold blasts of harp to drive home the point.
David Evans "Bring The Boys Back Home" is another topical tale that touches upon September 11th, Afghanistan and Iraq with the lyrical dexterity of a folk song and the striking instrumentation of a country-blues tune (I'm thinking Skip James level of intensity here, people).
Candye Kane's larger-than-life personality is matched by an incredible voice, which she puts to good purpose on the message of peace outlined by "Jesus And Mohammed." Singing in front of a nimble six-string soundtrack, Kane's vocals are subdued, but no less explosive, the skilled singer opting for the strength of nuance over her usual boisterous delivery.
A Time For Peace
Roy Zimmerman's "Chickenhawk" is a rowdy electric-folk song in the style of Patrick Sky, with smart, humorous lyrics and a relentless, driving rhythm. Michael Hill has a long history of socially-conscious lyrics, and his incendiary "Fear Itself" combines commentary as sharp as a razor with Hendrix-inspired pyrotechnic fretwork.
Chicago blues legend Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater delivers the stately, dignified "A Time For Peace" with a Gospel fervor. Backed by choir-like backing voices, Clearwater's elegant vocals spell out the solution to the nation's woes. Rich Man's War ends with Doug MacLeod's "Dubb's Talkin' Politician Blues," a roots-rap protest number in the vein of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." Accompanied by a shuffling rhythm and upbeat guitar pickin', MacLeod outlines the three-card-monte that is laid upon the people by our elected leaders.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Musically, Rich Man's War is a one-of-a-kind collection of inspired and electrifying performances across the board. But perhaps it would be best to let the guiding hand behind Rich Man's War have the last word: "It bothers me when people say that music and politics shouldn’t mix. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have Bob Dylan. We wouldn’t have had Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger. And we wouldn’t have a lot of what we now consider to be classics of the blues genre, either," says Bays.
"Blues music was born from a population voicing their frustration with the great injustices perpetrated against them. So it’s only natural that today’s blues artists would want to voice their feelings about the injustices they observe today. It's part of the tradition." (Stony Plain Records, released October 7, 2008)
