Maria Muldaur - Meet Me At Midnite (Reissue) (1994/2005)

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Artist:
Title: Meet Me At Midnite
Year Of Release: 1994/2005
Label: Shout! Factory
Genre: Folk, Blues, Vocal
Quality: Flac (image, .cue, log)
Total Time: 50:27
Total Size: 371 Mb (scans)
WebSite:

Maria Muldaur - Meet Me At Midnite (Reissue) (1994/2005)


Tracklist:

01. Trouble with My Lover
02. Meet Me at Midnight
03. Send the Man Back Home
04. Sweet Simple Love
05. Power in Music
06. Ease the Pain
07. Trouble with Love
08. Recovered Soul
09. Down So Low
10. Serve Somebody
11. Woman's Lament
12. Mississippi Muddy Water

Line-up:
Accordion – Marty Grebb (tracks: 12)
Bass – James Hutchinson (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 to 10, 12), Larry Fulcher (tracks: 3, 6)
Drums, Percussion – Tony Braunagel (tracks: 1 to 10, 12)
Guitar – John Porter (tracks: 1, 9), Johnny Lee Schell (tracks: 1 to 8, 12), Jon Woodhead (tracks: 5, 7, 10)
Guitar [Dobro] – John Porter (tracks: 12)
Guitar [Slide] – Rick Vito (tracks: 2, 6, 10)
Organ – Bill Payne (tracks: 5, 7), Marty Grebb (tracks: 4, 6, 10), Tommy Eyre (tracks: 2, 9)
Piano – Bill Payne (tracks: 1, 4, 9), Marty Grebb (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12)
Saxophone [Bariton] – Marty Grebb (tracks: 1, 4, 5, 8, 9)
Saxophone [Tenor] – Joe Sublett (tracks: 1, 4, 5, 8, 9), Marty Grebb (tracks: 5)
Trumpet – Darrel Leonard* (tracks: 1, 4, 5, 8, 9)
Vocals – Maria Muldaur

Wisely, Shout! Factory has picked up Maria Muldaur's two early-'90s recordings -- this one and Louisiana Love Call -- from the defunct Black Top label for reissue. While both these recordings are excellent, it's Meet Me at Midnite that offers a portrait of the artist as a hardcore R&B singer of the highest order. Produced by John Porter, Muldaur surrounds herself with crack studio players including Rick Vito, Johnny Lee Schell, Hutch Hutchinson, Bill Payne, and a slew of others. Where Louisiana Love Call focused on the music of New Orleans, Meet Me at Midnite digs deep into various dimensions of the Memphis sound -- soul, R&B, and blues -- and concentrates on the myriad stages and phases of love. While it's true that the set opens with "Trouble With My Lover" by the Crescent City's Allen Toussaint, its vibe is pure Memphis: funky, dirty grooves, packed in a tight cut-time beat and Muldaur shouting the blues with a big, clear ringing voice that wrenches emotion from every syllable. Likewise, the title cut by Vito and John Herron crawls down into the blues alley with killer slide guitar riffs winding their way around Muldaur's seductive vocals. "Sweet Simple Love" is pure soul power. Muldaur's croon is affective, surrounded by a backing chorus that includes Tracy Nelson, stating her pure spiritually amorous intentions in front of a popping horn section and B-3 choogle. The gritty yet laid-back shimmy and funk of "Recovered Soul" bears the marks of all of Muldaur's strengths: steady yet emotive delivery, in-the-pocket rhythmic phrasing, and communicative in both range and articulation. In all, Meet Me at Midnite is one of those overlooked gems that got a second life. It's one of her strongest recordings; don't miss it.