Devil Got My Woman

Sound DNA

• Blues

About

<i>Devil Got My Woman</i> turned into James’ swan song when he passed away from cancer in 1969. As with his debut, <i>Today</i>, <i>Devil Got My Woman</i> turns up a few pieces of James’ piano playing (“Little Cow, Little Calf,” “22-20 Blues,” “Mistreating Child Blues,” and “Careless Love”) which reveal a wonderfully choppy style that feels like a ramshackle fusion of Little Brother Montgomery and Thelonious Monk. The unforgettable versions of “Devil Got My Woman” and “Illinois Blues” are played with the utmost deliberation, almost as if James knew these performances were to be his last testament. “Look At the People Standing At the Judgement” and “Lorenzo Blues” deal with the two subjects closest to James at the time of his death — his religion and his wife, Lorenzo — while “Sick Bed Blues” may be the best song he ever recorded. A sequel to “Washington D.C. Hosptial Center Blues” from <i>Today</i>, the nine stanzas of “Sickbed Blues” illustrate James’ feelings as the doctors notify him that his cancer is fatal and close the album with an almost unbearably personal account of despair.

via Apple Music

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