Duke Robillard & His All-Star Band – Six Strings Of Steel – M.C. Records MC-0092

As a rule, the collections that get highlighted in my “Essential Blues Recording” section are those from artists who have earned the lofty stature of being seminal figures in the genre who created such significant assemblages of work as to render them of the highest tier of quality; those of enduring, historical importance.  For as long as recorded blues has been available, the amount of remarkable, timeless blues recordings is seemingly endless when using the music’s vast timeline as a basis for mining artists and their high recorded achievements to profile that are ultimately deemed as being essential.

So, it is something rather unusual to present now as an essential recording a collection that will not be released until June 23, 2023 on the M.C. Records label; Six Strings Of Steel by Duke Robillard & His All-Star Band.  What makes this modern-day outing so special?

First, for those not aware of Robillard, he burst upon the scene and into the minds of many due to his work with the fabled Roomful Of Blues, a group he co-founded way back in 1967 with keyboard ace Al Copley.  In 1990, Robillard further enhanced his resume by replacing founding member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds Jimmie Vaughan.  As if that weren’t enough, Robillard was vital to Bob Dylan’s thirtieth studio album entitled Time Out Of Mind, and he also toured with him, as well.  Additional touring partnerships include those with Robert Gordon and Tom Waits.  Robillard has also been influential in album producing, working with the likes of blues and gospel greats Jimmy Witherspoon, Jay McShann, Joe Louis Walker, and Otis Clay, among many others.  In the U.S. and abroad, Robillard’s broad skill sets have earned him Grammy Award nominations, Handy Awards, Blues Music Awards, along with additional conferrals for his vast musical talents.

On Six Strings Of Steel, Robillard is found taking a look back at the quite diverse guitar and song designs that were instrumental (no pun intended) in his long route through his decades in a world where styles and resonances always change.

With a band of musical co-conspirators including Marty Ballou providing great low-end magic on acoustic and electric bass, percussionist Mark Teixeira keeping perfect time, Chris Cote offering sterling vocals, Doug James affording superb baritone and tenor saxophone, Bruce Bears creating fabrics of keyboard sound, and special guest Katie Shore from Asleep At The Wheel lending fiddle on one cut, Robillard plies his stunning guitar chops with a taste, touch, tone, and exemplary quality throughout while also delivering his vocal prowess.

Robillard’s choices of songs is striking, with works by Barney Kessel, Smiley Lewis, Eddie Ware, Chuck Willis, Bob Dylan, Leo Parker, Fats Domino, Ike Turner, Lowell Fulson, and Link Wray selected for Robillard’s interpretation, along with two originals.

Why this compilation makes it into my essential catalog is that for a modern recording, in a time when many are offered with sonic blasts of sound from all players involved, infused with astonishingly rapid guitar soloing steeped with a million notes for notes sake, lacking any measure of feeling, and where voluminous over-the-top vocals in a display of fake emotionality bordering on yelling a story line, Robillard’s brand is one where all participants stay in their lanes, play to the strength of the song and it’s message, finding nuance and sparseness as pluses, with the ensemble being far more important than the individual contributions.

Robillard segues effortlessly between songs and approaches, the way one would expect of a true professional with his unique pedigree.  His brand of guitar attack is to fully understand and command the required peaks and troughs of a tune, allowing a proper tapestry of artisanal quality to emerge through attention to the smallest of structural details.

Often it is said, “They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.”  Well, here they did, and for the reasons mentioned above, this modern-day masterpiece, where each cut stands upon its own elevated merits, where there is not one toss-away selection, and one where all involved fully understand tastefulness and respect for others and the whole of the individual songs and collective band, this phenomenal new outing is considered essential in understanding what is possible in the modern blues recording realm when true talent lends its formidable hands.

Below are the CD’s running song titles.  Bravo, M.C. Records!

Song Titles

• Git With It!
• Shame, Shame, Shame
• Lima Beans
• Love Struck
• In Perfect Harmony
• Watching The River Flow
• Billy In The Lion’s Den
• I’m Gonna Be A Wheel Someday
• Take Your Frame Home
• Groovin’ In The Swamp
• Lovin’ You
• Rumble

Those who strive to construct modern-day blues releases should deeply study this collection by one of the masters of the genre.  Essential blues right here!