Whenever a blues artist comes along with something fresh and personal to say, it’s cause for celebration. Let us now celebrate EG Kight, a woman who eschews the clichéd methodology too often endemic to the genre in lieu of her own uniquely rural, deeply personal sound and style.
This Georgia peach is a former country singer whose head turned toward the blues after she heard veteran Chicago vocalist Koko Taylor in 1995. Since that time, Kight’s work has taken a striking turn toward the sensibility — if not the literal method — of her hero; it’s to her lasting credit that Kight developed her own voice rather than merely aping her new guru.
Kight’s vocals more closely resemble such county-tinged, swamp-pop singers as Bobbie Gentry, Dusty Springfield, and Jackie DeShannon than the Kokos, Ettas, and Shemekias on the scene. Where many white blues singers resort to over-the-top histrionics that border uncomfortably on minstrelsy, Kight is comfortable just being her naturally soulful self; you can take the country out of the girl, but….
On this mostly acoustic album, Kight’s material runs the gamut from the sort of hooky, pop-friendly R&B Carole King used to specialize in (“I’ll Believe It When I Feel It”, “Takin’ It Easy”) to playful, dance-happy jump material (“I Don’t Wanna Start Over”); from sultry torch jazz (“When You Were Mine”) to greasy, gutbucket back-porch blues (“Nothin’ Ever Hurt Me”, “Peach Pickin’ Mama”). Kight’s tasty originals are complimented by her astute cover selection: how can you go wrong with Duke Ellington and the Allman Brothers Band?
The cast of musicians on hand includes Ann Rabson, pianist for Saffire — the Uppity Blues Women; Greg Piccolo, former longtime saxophonist with Roomful of Blues; and Chris Hicks, guitarist with the Marshall Tucker Band.
The warm resonance of Kight’s own tight rhythm comps on her Taylor 312ce is evident throughout, but since releasing this CD she’s switched to a 512ce with Expression System. “It’s got a bigger, warmer, more acoustic sound,” she notes.
— Buddy Blue
Whenever a blues artist comes along with something fresh and personal to say, it’s cause for celebration. Let us now celebrate EG Kight, a woman who eschews the clichéd methodology too often endemic to the genre in lieu of her own uniquely rural, deeply personal sound and style.