Ace fingerstyle guitarist Todd Albright’s new album Blues For Dexter Linwood, produced by Charlie Parr (Smithsonian Folkways), is premiering in full today via American Blues Scene, ahead of its April 17 release and the launch of the new Detroit label Misfortune Records. The album includes his interpretations of Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lead Belly, and Mississippi John Hurt, among others. Tom Herbers (Iggy Pop, The Cactus Blossoms, Low, Andrew Bird) recorded the album in mono on a single microphone.
Use the audio player at the top left of the page to hear Blues For Dexter Linwood, as Albright brings pre-war folk and blues repertoire into sharp focus with an authority that feels both studied and instinctive.
Of Albright, Parr says, “He struck me as a very purposeful individual, someone who had a definite destination in mind, which fascinated me because I have never had anything like that. Todd’s guitar playing also fascinated me — purposeful, specific, every note made of blood, every note meant just exactly for that particular spot, each moment of silence designed to be just there and nowhere else.”
When early sessions didn’t convey the energy they were after, Parr had a sudden, clarifying realization. “I realized that the man needed to be recorded in mono,” he says, continuing, “The more I think about it, the more it occurs to me that Todd Albright kind of exists in mono anyway, and that recording him any other way runs counter to his very nature.
“I didn’t produce anything, it was already there when I sat down and listened while Todd laid his fingers on the strings and released the blues from the air around us,” Parr concludes.
The album’s first single, “Step It Up and Go,” arrived earlier this month, built on Albright’s low-tuned 12-string guitar, Parr’s slide interplay, and Dave Hundrieser’s harmonica lines. His fingers move with restless precision across the fretboard, while his weathered vocal delivery settles into the grain of the song.
Blues For Dexter Linwood is Albright’s fourth album, including one on Third Man Records, where he was signed by Jack White. He has played the tenth anniversary of Third Man Records, headlined by the Raconteurs; played at AmericanaFest; toured with Cedric Burnside, The Wood Brothers, Dick Dale; and performed at Merlefest (four times), Juke Joint Festival, SXSW (Third Man Records showcase), The Luck Reunion, and Mile of Music Fest.
Albright was first introduced to finger style blues when he heard John Lee Hooker and Dave Van Ronk for the first time, the latter via his local public library. At 16, he went to see Van Ronk and ‘Spider’ John Koerner in concert and was hooked. He later moved to Detroit, renting a room for $100 a month in a house owned by a member of the Gories.
Albright tells us:
Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands. I felt strongly enough about this collection of songs to start my own record label, Misfortune Records, to ensure that they would be given the best opportunity to be heard.
These songs have all been dipping in and out of my live set for years and have morphed over time, and they will continue to morph. What we have here is a snapshot of an afternoon spent in St. Paul, Minnesota with my pals Charlie Parr and Dave Hundrieser, and once the film was developed, the resulting image is Blues For Dexter Linwood.
I wanted to capture what I do in a live setting as best I could, within the confines of a studio, and I think this album is the closest I could get to that. We recorded it in mono with a single ribbon microphone and didn’t fuss over it. If we made it through the song, that was the take we used.
Todd Albright Tour Dates:
April 17 – Hyattsville, MD – Archie Edwards Blues Foundation
April 19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Acoustic Music Works
April 21 – Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle
April 24 – Charlottesville, VA – The Front Porch
May 16 – Bethlehem, PA – Godfrey Daniels
May 17 – Beacon, NY – Guitar Workshop
May 22 – Northampton, MA – The Parlor Room
June 26 – La Pointe, WI – Tom’s Burned Down Cafe
June 29 – Rochester, MN – Mayo Clinic – Charlton Building
July 14 – Appleton, WI – Stone Arch Brewpub
