Mississippi Delta Blues

This is a solid collection of acoustic tracks recorded by McHouston "Mickey" Baker in London in 1973. The tunes feature Baker on vocals and acoustic guitars, but Stefan Grossman helps out some, as does itinerant percussion master Ray Cooper. While there are solid and highly individual covers of material here by J.B. Lenoir ("Good Advice"); Charley Patton ("High Sheriff Blues"); Leadbelly ("Whoa! Back Buck"); Son House ("Sun Is Going Down"), and Robert Johnson ("Sweet Home Chicago" and "Terraplane Blues"), it is Baker's originals that really shine. The funky "Trouble Is a Woman" with Cooper and Grossman; "Drucilla," written by Baker and Peter Chatman, and another of their collaborations in "Animal Farm" (the latter with one of a few selections recorded with a string section). This may be authentic Delta blues, but Baker is a restless man and is not content to let things be. The string arrangements are off-putting at first, but upon repeated listening make perfect sense in lieu of the material. Mississippi Delta Blues is as fine an introduction to Mickey Baker as there is.