Marshall Lawrence - Blues Intervention (2010)

Tracklist

01. So Long Rosalee
02. Traveling Blues
03. You're Gonna Find the Blues
04. Lay Down My Sorrow
05. If I Had A Nickel
06. Your Woman Quit You
07. Going Down To Louisiana
08. Going To the River
09. Detroit "Motor City" Blues
10. Love Like Heroin
11. Once Loved A Cowgirl
12. Walking Blues
13. Going Down the Road Feeling Bad

“When it comes to building a solid foundation of Blues Music in Canada, there is a new cornerstone being laid and standing firmly on top of that stone is one of our truest Ambassador's of the Blues, Marshall Lawrence. For those that know Marshall, they know that he eats, breathes, lives, and loves the blues, and now with his newest release, "Blues Intervention", everyone else will be well aware of that too.” … John Vermilyea – Blues Underground Network

"... It's still delta-style country blues, but new. In fact, I think Lawrence is following in the footsteps of some very important artists like Bernie Pearl and Corey Harris and Taj Mahal in the way that he is at once historical musicologist and contemporary interpreter...." The Sunday Night Blues Project

When spring looks like it is going to stick and stay on the prairies, what comes with it is almost a feeling of salvation for those of us who plodded through another long winter. As calendar pages flip to the last weekend of April, many fine roots music practitioners and fans descend on a charming place slightly off the beaten path. The place is East Coulee, Alberta and the East Coulee Spring Festival announces the arrival of everything that isn't snow or bone chilling winds blowing across everything east of the Rocky Mountains. Arriving in East Coulee is like being transported back to 1958. An old hotel, an old schoolhouse and store fronts from another era stand a few hundred metres from a lazy and beautiful river.

On this late April day bluesman Marshall Lawrence brought his brand of acoustic blues to East Coulee. With resonator guitar in hand, perched on a stool with one leg resting comfortably on a vintage suitcase, Lawrence dug into a batch of new original tunes, many of which are tied to decade's old Delta grooves, yet sewn to his lyrics embracing timeless themes. It was a memorable evening, in a year that had been remarkably memorable for Marshall Lawrence. The singer-songwriter, interpreter and performer had, a few months earlier, received the nod from the national blues community through being nominated for a prestigious and national Maple Blues Award. This nomination pushed this hard working and passionate musician’s profile up a couple of plateaus, and deservedly so.

Lawrence had also been working hard in the studio with two of his respected peers, harmonica player Sherman Doucette and onetime B.B. King bassist Russell Jackson. At those Edmonton recording sessions Lawrence captured his best recorded performances to date, which is what you are listening to now. Assisted by award-winning engineer Barry Allen, Lawrence found his comfort zone and dispensed his acoustic blues with conviction, and a voice that is distinctly his own. The four participants also produced a disc with fine dynamics where the instrumental interplay was given room to breath.

While listening to this disc, picture an old, character school house in a magical prairie hamlet, and an attentive audience soaking up the sounds of a prairie bluesman who for an hour or so owns the stage, and that all involved are loving this traditional sound that is announcing a new beginning.

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