Someone asked me that onerous question last week, "If you were deserted on an island what three albums would you take with you?" Ack! That is hard anyway, but even harder when one is put on the spot to answer. I will spare you the mind's gnashing of gears to try to whittle it down to three, but on the way home that night, I just happened to have the entire 1995 Joan Osborne album Relish on my iPod, and after digging into it, I wished I had included that on my list of three. That was the album that introduced Joan to most of us initially, and I am eternally grateful for her depth, range, and choices in music then and now.
Joan Osborne is set to release a new album, Bring It On Home, on March 27th. It is a collection of blues, soul, and R&B tunes, the flavors of which have informed Joan's palette since her early 20's when she was running around New York City. Me, I am loving the reemergence of the Mojo Triangle's rhymes and rhythms coming from so many artists I admire. On the forthcoming album, there are nods to legends like Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and Slim Harpo. There has been one song released from it already, Slim's classic "Shake Your Hips." We found a video for you, below, for the album’s emergence. And here is the Slim Harpo recording, though it is audio only from YouTube.
- Jessie Scott
