Guitar Gabriel, Toot Blues (Music Maker)


Like malted scotch, country blues is an acquired taste. You either like it, or you don’t. Guitar Gabriel was one of the last of the true East Coast country bluesmen, and this album was recorded in 1991, when Gabriel was in his mid-’60s. He still had a smooth, melodic slide guitar style that borrowed from the Carolina’s blues and spiritual traditions. (He played a steel bodied resonator guitar and wore a fright wig.) His voice here is raspy, yet attractive, which worked for the blues he played. On songs like “Just A Little Bit” and “She’s Been Gone Too Long,” he uses a familiar verse at the beginning, but the rest of the lyrics pertain to incidents in his life. In fact, most of his originals are highly personal which hooks discerning blues listeners every time. Check out “I Got A Right To Cry” and “Done Got Tired”—that kind of raw emotion can’t be faked. Gabriel has a go at traditional numbers like “Careless Love,” and “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” which are done well, but they don’t have the spark his originals pack. Toot Blues isn’t for everyone, but this is one scribe who thinks this is damn good CD.