Search - Johnny Copeland :: Texas Twister

A collection of four of the Texas guitarist's sessions for Rounder Records, Texas Twister doesn't quite pack the punch of the individual albums, but is still an excellent introduction to the guitarist's work. Underappreciated until the last years of his life--though daughter Shemekia has been shaking things up since her debut album was released in 1998--Copeland had everything that epitomized the Texas blues: scorching guitar riffs; a growling, expressive voice; and a sense of the grand that one rarely finds in any other flavor of the blues. From smoking slow blues like "It's My Own Tears" and "Honky Tonkin'" to more uptempo numbers like "Claim Jumper" and "Love Utopia," everything here is rock-solid. What's extra special, though, are the final three tracks--drawn from 1986's Bringin' It All Back Home--which, by setting Copeland's blues to African rhythms and backing music, highlight both the family resemblance between the two types of music, and how far they've diverged. --Genevieve Williams