Blues In The Northwest (UK)
August 25, 2010

A few paragraphs can’t do justice to the variety of delights discovered within guitar virtuoso Andy Cohen’s Built Right On The Ground (Earwig CD4959).

The well-known, the obscure and the wierdly wonderful are all here and it’s soon more than evident that traditional folk-blues, ragtime, country and good-time piano are all safe in these accomplished hands.

Cohen’s love of his subject is clear and is that of the the folk-lorist. As such, ‘cover’ simply isn’t the right word as he gets right inside the spirit of a range of artists as diverse as Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Minnie and Jimmy Rogers.

The only orginal here is the heartfelt instrumental “Jim Dickinson Stomp” which, in spirit and intent at least, goes straight to the heart of Memphis. Best of all are his ambitious stab at Henry Spaulding’s 1929 “Cairo Blues” – an eccentric and demanding guitar showcase, his swaggering barrelhouse piano on “Honky Tonk Train”, and Bobby Charles’ “Tennesse Blues”, a delicate duet lovingly crafted with wife Larkin Bryant on vocals and mandolin. It’s sweet and near perfection to end what is a truly inspired album.

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