Candice Ivory, When the Levee Breaks: The Music of Memphis Minnie. The idea of a younger artist taking on the songbook of Memphis Minnie at first seems a bit stretched, but one listen to any song on this mesmerizing release says all bets are off. Because Candice Ivory takes these songs so deep into her vast spirit that in many ways they become her own. Ivory infuses them with total feeling, no matter that they originated close to a century ago. One reason this feat is even possible is that Memphis Minnie wrote all these songs herself, and so anything she released between 1929 and 1953 came right out of her heart. If she sang a song it was guaranteed it was worthy of her talent. Because it was all hers, something she had felt so strongly she made it into a song. And now that Candice Ivory has gone through all those songs and chosen which ones she feels she can make her own–or at least give a new zing–guarantees When the Levee Breaks will be a righteous keeper. And not once does this woman disappoint. With producer Charlie Hunter’s guitar and bass, and a quartet accompanying Ivory’s vocals there is a stamp of pure permanence on songs like “Me and My Chauffeur,” “Blues Everywhere” and “New Bumble Bee” break out in a haunting reality. Candice Ivory’s voice comes from another place, one where time doesn’t exist and the overwhelming depth of her singing feels like it has been here forever. This is a woman who has arrived to tell her truth, and there will be no debating that it belongs here now. Listen and love.
https://americanahighways.org/2023/08/25/bentleys-bandstand-august-2023/...
