Guitar Woman Blues
Music Maker, 2022
9/10
The bluegrass and blues singer-songwriter Gail Ceasar survived a devastating house fire last year, which engulfed all her musical possessions, but the artist parlayed that tragedy into this debut album that captures songs she’s been playing all her life.
“Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” opens the listen with Ceasar’s flowing guitar playing amid her raw, expressive singing that recruits a very calm, Southern Blues spirit, and “Guitar Woman Blues” follows with a hypnotic melody populating the intricate and agile guitar progressions.
In the middle, the intimate delivery of “Freight Train” is met with poetic singing and much emotion, while “Rocky Top” carries a folk friendly spirit of coziness that is the equivalent of an old friend coming over for a visit.
Approaching the end, “Ramblin’ On My Mind” tips it hat to traditional blues with no lack of rhythm, and “The Refuge Of My Soul” exits with her classic style, strong attention to tone and the meticulousness of her finger acrobatics making for an admirable finish.
Ceasar has deep roots in rural Virginia, and she brings that history with her to these gritty yet beautiful songs that she relays like an old soul, though she’s not even 40 years old yet.
Travels well with: Nora Brown- Long Time To Be Gone; Christine Sweeney- Heart In A Hurry