Jambase, June 29, 2004

Jessie Mae Hemphill: Dare You to Do it Again by Sam Katz

On the cover of Jesse Mae Hemphill & Friends new album is a picture of a dangerous looking older lady sitting in a chair in the middle of a field with a lit cigarette in one hand and a gun (possibly loaded) in the other. With a cover like that you know the music inside has got to be good.

In 1993 Jessie Mae Hemphill, aka Miss Jessie, Queen of the Guitar Boogie, suffered a stroke that left her unable to play. Thankfully she still has her voice and for her latest album Dare You To Do It Again she's gathered a number of notable musicians from all across the country to help her out. Essentially a "field recording," this CD was recorded in one evening in an old barn in the "hill country" outside of Como, Mississippi. There is something of a "renaissance" going on right now for the North Mississippi blues, probably thanks in part to the North Mississippi Allstars and the native songs they are sharing with the younger generation. R.L. Burnside is experiencing the greatest success of his career, Fat Possum Records has established a fantastic lineup of authentic Mississippi musicians and has even mounted a successful tour with some of them, calling it the Juke Joint Caravan.

Some of the musician's included on this new Hemphill album are DJ Logic, Chris Chew (NMA), Cedric and Garry Burnside (R.L.'s sons), Papa Mali, Kinney Kimbrough, and Ruthie Foster, just to name a few. The listener can immediately tell that Miss Jessie is a devoutly religious person, even without reading her liner notes, where she praises Jesus numerous times. Disc I consists of takes on traditional songs, including "Nobody's Fault But Mine," "Old Time Religion," "Saints Go Marching In," and "This Little Light of Mine." Jessie's voice sounds weathered, like she's been to the gates of hell and back, yet still retains a joyful quality that enthralls the listener. It's an honest voice, one where you can tell she truly believes what she is singing, which is very refreshing to hear and really captivating.

While Disc I sticks to traditionals, Disc II allows for all the musicians to have a little fun extending the songs and really digging into the jam. The disc starts off with a Miss Jesse original, "God is Good to Me," where she essentially thanks God for everything he's done for her. Sample lyric: "He been so good to me/He made me well when I was sick/He been my doctor/He been my surgeon/He everything to me," and you can tell Miss Jessie really means it. "God is Good to Me" begins to let the backing musicians have some fun but they really get into it on the next track "Treat Me Right," another Miss Jessie original. By far the longest track on the album at nearly 25 minutes, we're treated to a fantastic acoustic blues jam. It's impossible to tell who's playing what but the end result is awesome. There's some really rough but great guitar soloing and the rhythm is very strong from start to finish. The drummer really holds it down on the kit and all the while you can hear a nasty harmonica in the background.

I couldn't help but think how much fun it would have been to see this monster outdoor jam session in person. This CD makes a great addition to the serious blues fan's collection and should prove to become quite a historic recording as time goes on. I'll leave with this, a quote from Miss Jesse's Bio: "She is sweetness incarnate, but you really wouldn't want to mess with her either."