Tracy Nelson
Life Don’t Miss Nobody
(BMG)
4 out of 5 stars
It’s unfortunate, if not especially surprising, that Tracy Nelson is not held in greater esteem. After all, releasing an album every decade isn’t exactly a recipe for success in the music world.
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Regardless, she is a respected five-plus decade veteran, one whose earliest albums fronting the roots blues/country outfit Mother Earth in the late ’60s brought her notice as a formidable, husky-voiced vocalist who could belt ‘em out with a gutsy, tough attack even when she was singing ballads. Nelson wasn’t specifically a blues singer, but she brought aspects of the genre to recordings where she dabbled in country, soul, and gospel.
Despite a clutch of rugged, uncompromising releases in the ’70s and ’90s (she mostly took the ’80s off), Nelson never cracked the mainstream like say, Bonnie Raitt or Maria Muldaur, perhaps because she refused to shift towards pop in her repertoire. The terrific Sing It! project, shared with Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas, made a brief splash in 1998 (nominated for a Contemporary Blues Grammy), but it wasn’t enough to attract crossover attention to Nelson’s formidable pipes and dedicated roots music approach.
Apparently, Nelson has been busy in the recent past with various live appearances, but the aptly titled Life Don’t Miss Nobody is the first release under her name since 2011. It helps to have assistance from high-profile names like Willie Nelson, blues harpist Charlie Musselwhite (killing it on a swamp-infested version of Willie Dixon’s “It Don’t Make Sense”), and young Delta bluesman Jontavious Willis (digging deep with his resonator guitar on Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Your Funeral and My Trial”). Old pals Ball and Thomas return to assist on a rollicking Latin-ized take on Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” and a spirited run-through of Naomi Neville’s “I Did My Part,” featuring esteemed pianist Kevin McKendree, that sounds like we’re eavesdropping on the trio having a party in the studio.
Terry Hanck brings his sax and voice to the soulful jazz standard, “Compared to What,” Nelson rocks out on a thumping cover of Sister Rosetta Tharp’s “Strange Things Happening Every Day” (as applicable to current times as when it was written in 1944), and gets slinky on the last call noir of Ma Rainey’s “Yonder Come the Blues,” highlighted by Doug Mosher’s clarinet.
Willie Nelson (no relation) could sing Hank Williams’ “Honky Tonkin’” in his sleep, but he turns in a vibrant performance dueting with longtime friend Tracy as he has done in the past.
Although not known as a songwriter, Nelson has co-penned two fine selections that flawlessly join these covers; the boiling Latin title track, complete with a horn section, and the searing gospel blues of “Where Do You Go (When You Can’t Go Home),” co-written with Ball.
Despite being in her mid-70s, Nelson’s voice is as sturdy, powerful, and booming as in her prime. Sure we could do with more than an album every ten years, yet this is another example of one of Americana’s finest and most dependable artists near the top of her game, doing what she does best.
Photo by Amy Richmond / Mark Pucci Media