Guy Davis
YOU DON'T KNOW MY MIND
Red House Records 113
available on Red House Records
This disc brings back the familiar friendly growl of modern day traditionalist, Guy Davis, with a pippin' hot baker's dozen of his compositions. Again, on this disc he has some extremely able players to help augment his songs and support the vision he has of them. They walk that fine line of too much/too little with a cutting horses' agility. Never over playing and getting in the way, but providing that constant base of support from which the performer can extend his inspiration. I had the extreme good fortune to have Guy come into my classroom (as part of Tucson Blues Society's "Blues in the Schools" program) and work with 3rd to 5th graders and play a mini concert for them when he was in town to play the blues festival. He has that magic ability to work with children and get them excited about all that he shared with them. This warmth and caring about his material comes across on this disc with a resounding emphasis. In his vocals this warmth is expressed with the way his voice wraps around the lyric and infiltrates it and gives it that 'from the heart' feeling that makes it his song. The music is treated with equal care and understanding, by this gentle giant of a man that has named one of his guitars (a 6 string Gibson), "Grandma", and you can tell that the respect and love he feels for his Grandmother comes through those strings. This is a man who loves his music and knows its roots and origins. He gave the kids a geography lesson that they retained all year. He is a the consummate performer who will always find a way to give his best performance every time he starts to play. As good as his discs are go see him live for a true treat. He is an entertainer in every way.
Songs, musicians and times All songs written by Guy Davis except where noted
1. BEST I CAN - 4:37
Rob Robinson - keyboards; Barry Sonjohn Johnson - bass; Ivan Ramirez - drums, percussion; Guy Davis - percussion
2. PO' BOY - 4:15
Ivan Ramirez - drums; Guy Davis bass
3. IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY - 4:25
Tiye Girand and Cherryl Williams - background vocals; Barry Sonjohn Johnson, Ivan Ramirez and Guy Davis - handclaps
4. GRANDMA'S TEA HOUSE - 4:03
Ivan Ramirez - drums; Guy Davis bass
5. YOU DON'T KNOW MY MIND - 2:44 - melody and first verse by Virginia Liston, Samuel Gray and Clarence Williams all the other verses by Guy Davis
6. GEORGIA FLOOD - 4:32
Ivan Ramirez - drums, percussion; Olu Dara - guest vocals
7. YOU REMEMBERED MY NAME - 2:27
8. HOME COOKED MEAL - 4:36
Barry Sonjohn Johnson - bass; Ivan Ramirez - drums
9. DOROTHY IS HARLEM BOUND- 2:00 - originally titled "HARLEM BOUND" recorded by Freddy Johnson and his Harlemites, melody by Billy Taylor or Freddy Johnson - adapted by Guy Davis
10. PRETTY LITTLE WOMAN - 3:28 - melody and 1st verse attributed to LeadBelly (Huddie Ledbetter), additional verses and adapt. by Guy Davis
11. IF I COULD FLY LIKE AN EAGLE - 2:55
12. MARLBORO BLUES - 2:28
13. EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE ALRIGHT - 5:32 Guy Davis - keyboards, strings, bass: Ivan Ramirez - drums, percussion
Produced by Ivan Ramirez