Judy Roderick was a folk and blues singer/songwriter starting in the 1960s. She landed a deal with Columbia Records after moving to New York City in the early 1960s, and her first album she made was the album I’m checking out tonight, Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues (1963). I’ve caught a bit of a folk music bug after listening to John Fahey last night, and after seeing a lot of Roderick’s accolades on Wikipedia, I’m even more excited to give this album a listen. Roderick unfortunately passed away at the age of 49 in 1992 from a heart attack due to diabetic complications, but it seems she left behind plenty of music for the world to enjoy. With that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“Wild Women Don’t Sing the Blues” starts out with some super tasty blues harmonica and a really groovy airy drum beat and some smooth bopping bass to get the track going. Oh wow, the vocals from Roderick are awesome – it’s got the sound of the latter part of the beat movement with a nearly bluesy conversational tone. Oh wow, some really tasty acoustic guitar comes on to add some accentuations to the soundscape, and some horns come on to really expand the sound a ton in this tune. Great tune.
“Come Back, Baby” has a super delicate bluesy feel with just the acoustic guitar and Roderick’s bluesy, crooning vocals. Roderick has a really tasty raspiness to her voice that reminds me a lot of Janis Joplin sans the rock and roll, though with a ton of the blues. Oh wow, the electric organs add some great dimension and melodic work to the soundscape, while the drums and bass almost give a sort of relaxed jazz club type of sound. Really sweet tune.
Oh wow, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” starts out with a super tasty folksy blues acoustic guitar lick, which sets a really nice, nearly somber tone for the tune. Oh wow, the harmonica adds to the bluesy sound a ton, while the organs add a nearly ominous tone to the soundscape from the background. The drums and bass both get the tune grooving along nicely in a really sweet r&b type of way. Holy smokes, this tune is sweet. This is the type of tune I can imagine the early Grateful Dead playing, and they might have actually done so. The organ picks up a bit as the tune progresses along and adds a ton of somber, bluesy flavor to the soundscape. Great track.
“Mamma Goes Where Papa Goes (Or Papa Don’t Go Out Tonight)” has a bit more of folk feel than some of the previous tunes, while retaining a really flavorful bluesy sound. Wow, this sweet – this almost has a bit of an acoustic bluesy jazz sort of feel. Roderick’s vocals have a ton of great texture to them, and almost sound like she smoked a cigarette between each recording – not healthy, but brings a ton of flavor to her vocal performances. Oh wow, she even gets pretty guttural with some of her vocals. There’s almost like a big band jazz swing for a moment as well – super sweet. Great tune.
“Baltimore Oriole” starts out with some extremely bluesy sounding piano, accompanied by some super airy drums with some great snare beats, and a super gentle bass line that barely keeps the track inching forward – super sweet. Oh wow, I’m really digging this bluesy, soulful vocal performance from Roderick. Oh wow, the harmonica brings a ton of bluesy flavor to the soundscape in this one too. Super sweet track.
“Miss Brown to You” starts out with a nearly big band jazz sort of feel with the different horns, bopping bass, and the really nice swing from the drums. Roderick brings a nearly pop-like blues approach to the vocals in this one, which really keeps the sound in the album dynamic as it progresses. Really sweet tune.
“He Was a Friend of Mine” starts out with some seemingly meandering acoustic guitar, which is soon joined by some bluesy folk vocals from Roderick and some super tasty harmonica. This is a track I’m almost positive that the Grateful Dead covered in the 1960s from time to time. Holy smokes, this track is awesome. The drums seem to keep moving on forward with a bit of a folksy sound alongside the blues tone also prevalent in the song. Great track.
“Blues on My Ceiling” starts out with a super bluesy sound in just about all facets, with the guitar chord progression rife with VII chords, some super bluesy, nearly crying harmonica, and some incredibly intriguing percussion that has a bit of a galloping reverberated clapping sound to them. This is all tied together with Roderick’s delicious bluesy vocals – wow, this is awesome. Great tune.
“I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song” starts out with some nearly rollicking piano as the tune turns into a sort of bopping jazz inflected acoustic blues track. Holy smokes, the horns bring a ton of great flavor as they seem to accentuate the vocal melody delivered by Roderick. There’s almost a celebratory feeling to this track, served up in a nearly major blues setting that grooves along nicely with the sturdy drums and bopping bass, while the harmonica digs in for some super tasty blues-inflected flavors. Really sweet track.
“Things About Going My Way” has a really tasty blues club sort of sound with only the soft, warm bluesy piano, which accompanies the bluesy crooning from Roderick super flavorfully. Oh wow, the drums come on and the tune picks up a ton, which also introduces a super tasty bluesy harmonica and gets the piano digging into that bluesy flavor even more. Oh wow, there’s a bit of jazz-inflected orchestral blues section with different horns and woodwinds for a moment. Wow, this tune has some really great flavor. Great track.
Oh wow, “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” starts out with a super tasty blues piano lick, accompanied by some gently, airy drums that feature a really tasty snare, some gently grooving bass that moves the tune forward very gradually, and some accentuations from an acoustic guitar from time to time, bringing some gentle strumming from time to time, which adds a great dimension to the soundscape in this track. Oh wow, this tune continues to pick up steam gradually, and really has a great, strong bluesy beat by the track. Great track.
“Moanin’ Low” starts out with some super tasty blues from all the piano, harmonica, and vocals nearly right away, with the rhythm section of the drums and bass gently moving the track along, almost as if to avoid bumping and/or reopening an old wound. Oh wow, the bluesy piano solo brings a ton of great feeling to the tune, which is furthered by the gentle bops of the horns and tasty playing from the harmonica, which all bring out the feeling from Roderick’s vocals even more than is already prevalent. Really sweet sounding blues club tune with a ton of tasty, airy blues flavor. Great tune.
Wow, I’m glad I checked out this album tonight. There’s a ton of really tasty blues flavors prevalent throughout the album, with a slight tinge of folk and jazz all carried throughout. When I listened to this album I could imagine the music being played around midnight of some beat club in San Francisco in the early 60s – super intriguing, with a lot of great blues sensibilities that befit the time period of living under the threat of the bomb at a young age. If you dig the sound of early 60s blues, or jazz inflected blues, you might want to check out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the experience at least as much as I did.
-A