American Epic Sessions: Laying Down Tunes, the Old School Way

There will be no Pro Tools used to doctor these recordings. Each take is inscribed directly onto disk. There will also be a hard stop at just under four minutes. It has been decades (nearly a century) since records were made this way, but producers T Bone Burnett and Jack White revived the practice for their three-part PBS-BBC special, American Epic. They invited some of the biggest names in contemporary Americana music into their retro-studio to record era-appropriate tunes in The American Epic Sessions (promo here), which premieres this Tuesday on PBS.

The Scully recording lathe produced all the hit records of the early 1920s, but there were no original extant systems left in existence. However, intrepid recording engineer Nick Bergh managed to assemble one from vintage parts. It is an awesome spectacle and a rare opportunity for artists like Taj Mahal to record on the same equipment that immortalized their heroes.

The system is pulley-driven, powered by gravity and a hundred-and-five-pound weight. Sound goes in the iconic Western Electric microphone and comes out on the grooves of the master. It requires entirely different studio practices, but it is as authentic as it gets.

As you would hope, many of the artists are inspired by the setting and circumstances, most definitely Taj Mahal, who lays down a passionately raw rendition of Charley Patton’s “High Water Everywhere” that reverberates with recent memories of Katrina and Sandy. Likewise, Beck’s “Fourteen Rivers, Fourteen Floods” required at least thirteen takes, but the primal power of the stripped down final was worth the effort.

Easily the biggest surprise is the contemporary vibe Nas (finally appearing in a good documentary) and White’s house band give to the Memphis Jug Band’s “On the Road Again,” bringing out the gangster rap sensibilities in the 1928 classic. Rhiannon Giddens also connects with all the earthiness of Victoria Spivey’s “One Hour Mama,” circa 1937. These tunes are ninety-years-old or older, yet they would carry parental advisory stickers if they were released new today.

A few artists contributed new simpatico tunes, including Elton John and his longtime lyricist, Bernie Taupin. “Two Fingers of Whiskey,” recorded as a duet with White, is still completely in keeping with the spirit of the sessions, incorporating blues licks we never knew John had. He ought to add it to his regular set list, because it is surprisingly cool.

Ashley Monroe and the Americans truly sound like they are channeling 1920 Appalachia during “Jubilee.” The Avett Brothers similarly start a stirring “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” but they do not get a chance to properly finish, because the strap holding the weight breaks. Continuing the inclusiveness of Epic, the sessions also feature very nice performances of Mexican and Hawaiian standards, as well as the Lost Bayou Ramblers keeping it real on “Allons à Lafayete.” Even though Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard are meant to be the big finale, they are almost anti-climactic compared to some of the stuff that came before them.

Granted, the American Epic Sessions are a bit inconsistent, but you can’t blame the repertoire. If there is one thing we can say about these tunes it’s that they have stood the test of time. Most of the artists appreciate that fact and display an intuitive understanding of why these songs retain such potency. Recommended for fans of American roots music, The American Epic Sessions premieres this Tuesday (6/6) on PBS.

American Epic: The Roots of Americana Music

We categorize music to emphasize the differences, yet for all their stylistic dissimilarities, early American roots music shared considerable common ground. Although they incubated separately in socially and geographically distinct regions, they all harken back to those old murder ballads and sea shanties. Most importantly, you can always hear that old-time religion in there somewhere. Plus, just about everyone was well acquainted with Stagger Lee and John Henry. The birth of American music as we now know it is chronicled in Bernard MacMahon’s three-part documentary series, American Epic (promo here), which premieres this Tuesday on PBS.

Robert Redford’s stirring introductory narration explains “the first time America heard itself” was in the 1920s, when record companies dispatched representatives looking for new artists to appeal directly to under-served demographic groups. Frankly, that by itself is an insight worth further exploration. The result of this scouring for talent was the discovery of seminal artists, like the Carter family, who are the dominant figures of the first episode, “The Big Bang.”

The Carters literally lived in Poor Valley, Virginia, but they would become the first family of country music. Their influence on country music long pre-dates Johnny Cash marrying into the family. They were arguably the most popular group to come out hill country, but they also played a formative role in the early development of numerous other performers, including Chet Atkins, the greatest guitar virtuoso in the history of country music (and just about any other musical style).

In addition to the Carters, episode 1 also gives a thumb nail introduction to traditional jug bands and chronicles the early history of Beale Street. One of the highlights of the entire series comes courtesy of the great Charlie Musselwhite when he performs “I’ll Get a Break Someday” in one of the last surviving original Beale Street clubs, ironically now re-purposed as a police station.

There are a number of the good old good ones reinterpreted by modern ensembles sparingly sprinkled throughout Epic, but most of the contemporary performances will be heard in full when the companion program The American Epic Sessions airs next month. Instead, MacMahon focuses on the celebrated and unsung originals.

Episode two, “Blood and Soil” is arguable the strongest installment, because it showcases what MacMahon and co-writers Allison McGourty, Duke Erikson, and William Morgan do best—make connections. What starts as a hunt to find any information on Elder J.E. Burch, who recorded a handful of sides with his gospel choir eventually leads MacMahon to the ancestral home of one of the most important jazz artists ever (and that’s no exaggeration).

However, the bulk of the program draws parallels between the lives of sharecropper bluesmen like Charley Patton and coal-mining folk singers, such as the Williamson Brothers and Curry. It would be truly fruitless to argue whether life was harder in the Mississippi Delta or Logan Country, West Virginia. Instead, MacMahon and company emphasize the similarities between the hard-working, God-fearing people. It also ends strong, featuring performances by the late nonagenarian bluesmen Robert Lockwood, Jr. and Honeyboy Edwards, apostolic links to first generation bluesmen Patton and Son House.

Although “Out of the Many, the One” is the longest episode, it serves as a bit of a scattershot lightning round for the diverse ethnic musical traditions that were finally waxed at this time. Of course, it is nice to see the Breaux Family, sort of the Carters of Cajun music, get their due. Yet again, the strongest segments are those that make connections—in this case linking Hawaiian music back to blues and country through the steel guitar invented by eleven-year-old Joseph Kekuku. “Out of Many” ends with the re-emergence of Mississippi John Hurt during the Blues Revival. It is a logical way to bring the series full circle, but it will be a familiar story to anyone who has seen more than one blues documentary (indeed, it greatly parallels the experiences of Mississippi Fred McDowell, whose own documentary recently aired on PBS World).

Throughout Epic, MacMahon gets a real deal blues perspective (and some potent performances) from the legendary Taj Mahal. In making the documentary series, the American Epic team restored quite a bit of music, and rediscovered a number of lost or unknown recordings, immensely enriching our culture in the process. It is indeed all part of our heritage as Americans. You can really feel that when watching Epic, which provides excellent music history, while also celebrating the power of music to edify, unify, and uplift. Very highly recommended, American Epic airs over the next three successive Tuesdays (5/16, 5/23, and 5/30) on most PBS stations nationwide.

Tribeca ’17: Blues Planet (screening & concert)

If you grew up in the early 1970s, you might be more familiar with the blues legend Taj Mahal than you realized, thanks to his soundtrack for the hit film Sounder. Since then, the real deal bluesman and his music have graced many films and soundtracks, including The Hot Spot and Once When We Were Colored. As he approaches his 75^th birthday, Taj Mahal racked up another screen credit in Wyland’s short documentary, Blue Planet: Triptych, which celebrated its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival with a special post-screening concert by the Phantom Blues Band, fronted by Mr. Taj Mahal himself.

Awkwardly, the film itself, written, produced, directed, and featuring uni-named environmental artist and activist Wyland, is pretty much a big nothing. We see Wyland mope around the mucky aftermath of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and listen to his platitudes, like “it will take all 7 billion of us to save this planet” (in which case, we’re done for, since the 2.5 billion people of China and India, or at least their governments, clearly aren’t on board). However, he tantalizes us with scenes of the Phantom Blues Band recording the forty-eight environmentally themed blues songs he wrote, in a New Orleans studio.

Technically, the film is rather unremarkable, to put it diplomatically, but it is well worth sitting through if you get to hear Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band play afterwards. It is a heck of a band, including NOLA’s Jon Cleary on keyboard, Willie K (“the Hawaiian Jimi Hendrix”) on guitar, and perennial jazz poll-topper Steve Turre (known for his long tenure in the Saturday Night Live band) on trombone and shells.

Despite some quickly resolved sound issues, “Dirty Oil” was an appropriate tune to kick off the set. It certainly highlighted Wyland’s eco message, but more importantly, it really brings out the Delta in Taj Mahal’s voice. “Going Back to the Ocean” sure sounds a lot like another well-known Blues standard, but there’s certainly a long “cut-and-paste” tradition in Blues, so who cares, especially when the Phantom Blues Band digs into it. “My Home is Your Home” nicely dialed it down for Nick-I Hernandez’s vocal turn and Cleary’s solo, both of which were quite eloquent. Throughout the set, Cleary laid down some tasty lines on a Roland trying to sound like a piano, while a chugging Hammond gave it a firm bottom, all of which is just such a kind combination of sounds.

Arguably, “Little Ocean Pearl” was the highlight of the set, featuring Taj Mahal on harmonica, Willie K on uke, and Turre on the shells. It is indeed fitting Turre’s shells had a feature spot, given the ocean theme. In this case, his solo was especially melodic and rich in sonic color. “Queen Honey Bee” also sounds like a hummable cross-over hit, with a lovely melody and “honeypot” lyrics that definitely suggest “blues” connotations. There was actually a surprising degree of textural and rhythmic variety in the set, with the pseudo-calypso “All Gone Now” aptly summing up Wyland’s message at the end.

At one point, an audience member shouted out “sound good,” to which Taj Mahal replied “after fifty-five years, you’d better sound like something.” He then added: “I’m just waiting for those rappers to get to 75.” Frankly, it looked like the blues legend could have played all day if they would have let him, and he sounded so good leading the Phantom Blues Band, it is a shame Tribeca didn’t just let him go. As a film, Blues Planet: Triptych is what it is, but getting to hear Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band play afterward is a treat you shouldn’t miss if you have the chance. Viewers will get a hint of what they missed when Wyland’s film also screens as part of the Shorts: S.O.S. program Tuesday (4/25), Wednesday (4/26), Saturday (4/29) and Sunday (4/30), as part of this year’s Tribeca.