Rory Block, Blues Walkin’ Like A Man: A Tribute To Son House

Block plays and sings acoustic blues with power and authority, to say nothing of rhythmic drive and pop. And she'd better — this is the music of Son House, after all. Not only does she grok the Delta bluesman's singular, complex slide style, but she manages to interpret him — impulsive, throbbing guitar, powerhouse voice and all — rather than ape him. This puts her a step or two ahead of the competition automatically. Her rich bottleneck sound on "My Black Mama" is remarkably full and varied, as if there's more than one guitarist at work here; her singing on "Preachin 'Blues" likewise conjures up several voices and moods in just over three minutes while embracing all the secular vs. sacred contradictions House wrestled with for his entire life. Block employs other singers and players sparingly — but usually effectively — mixing House's best-known tunes with relative obscurities. And if her choice of songs plays up the tension and turbulence within House, with "Grinnin 'in Your Face" pretty much summing up his feelings on the matter, her decision to close with the pastoral "I Want to Go Home on the Morning Train" wasn't a bad move. Is all this enough to attract listeners beyond the usual guitar weenies and Delta blues fanatics? It should be.