Willie Kent Long Way to Ol' Miss

Willie Kent
Long Way to Ol' Miss
Delmark Records

Willie Kent is a Mississippi native who has mixed in traditional and modern blues elements. His new Delmark album, "Long Way to Ol' Miss," eschews novelty for straight-forward blues. Kent's gruff vocals and firm bass anchor the performances which mix shuffles and midnight grinders with nice playing as keyboardist, Kenny Barker, and guitarists Chico Banks and Willie Davis tossing in apt fills and solos.

The back cover highlights Banks, so he may be the featured player here. Kenny Savdak spells Barker on four tracks including "Dirty Works", an effective reworking of Little Joe Blue's back door blues classic and Mississippi Heat guitarist James Wheeler adds guitar to a couple of his originals, the high-stepping shuffle, 'It Ain't Right" (where he also sings), and "Extension 309". 

There are also covers of the a classic Charles Brown recording "Black Night," and Amos Garrett's" Ain't No Love in My Heart," along with eight Kent originals. "My Friend," is a nicely rendered shuffle suggestive of a top-flight B.B. King number from the late fifties. There are some flaws like Kent's "Ain't Got Long to Stay," with its messy accompaniment, but that is the exception here.

Certainly those who have enjoyed Willie Kent's past albums or live performances will find plenty to like here. Others will discover a bluesman worth hearing.

I believe this review appeared in a 1996 DC Blues Calendar, the newsletter of the DC Blues Society. I received my review copy from Delmark Records. Here is a video of Willie Kent performing.