|
REVIEW:
The Crux
BALTIMORE
BLUES SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2012
FAIRFAX
VA based singer and guitarist Cathy
Ponton King has been flying beneath the radar for
well over two decades despite a heavy work schedule (a
longtime fixture at Madams Organ and now Flanangans Harp
& Fiddle in Bethesda, Md). Perhaps in the past this
lack of public perception could be blamed upon a paucity
of significant recorded output -- her first CD, LOVIN
YOU RIGHT came but in 1993, her "message in a bottle",
which actually proved durable and had a long shelf life.
But now there should be no more excuses for her lack of
renown in the blues community after having released the
acclaimed UNDERTOW in 2007 and the brand new THE CRUX,
the latter especially, which should go a long way to rectify
this recognition issue. Maybe she's not quite yet a household
name locally but King has absolutely no problem being
the featured artist on the airwaves in far off Australia
or Argentina and furthermore, doesn't have to twist arms
to engage blues legends such as (in this case) guitarists
Ronnie Earl and Jimmy Thackery, sax stalwart Ron Holloway,
and ex-Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk bassist Butch
Warren, all who generously contributed their time to see
this project through to its fruition. And yet another
feather in Ms. King's cap is her ability to both attract
and maintain a great supporting cast of musicians, including
erstwhile Danny Gatton and Big Joe Maher bassist, John
Previti ,drummer of five years, Antoine Sanfuentes (whose
day job is NBC news DC bureau Chief) and the virtuoso
pianist Bill Starks, a treasured member of King's group
for over 20 years.
At
least two of the reasons that King's catalogue of albums
is relatively limited for her long time spent immersed
in the blues are both her insistence on perfection in
the studio and that the selections be original compositions
(with extremely few covers). Moreover, what she writes
is memorable, derived from intensely personal but universal
experiences which translate into confessional feeling
ballads. "Naturally, I'm inspired to write from what
lifelays before me but also the tiniest phrase may set
me off to write" she said in an interview. And while
well versed in the blues (having been inspired by and
weaned on the music of Muddy Waters, Albert King, and
Willie Dixon), she proved again in THE CRUX that you don't
have to play standard 12 bar blues to be considered a
blues singer (although she's very capable of executing
some of the authentic gut bucket variety if the occasion
demands).
When
I asked Ms. King why she chose the title, THE CRUX, for
this undertaking, she mentioned that this CD represented
the word in all its definitions, including, "an essential
or deciding point" or "crossroads", whereby
she could thereafter take the positive course or she could
try to take bull by the horns, so the speak, to surmount
a "difficult problem" at that juncture of her
life. And amazingly enough, THE CRUX, for the most part
is indeed a concept album (remember them?) ---unified
by the idea of shouldering on, or rising above, a bleak
or negative situation that someone of her mature perspective
is bound to encounter just by enduring long enough on
this earth.
And
the key words throughout this endeavor are "loss"
or "change", be it dealing with or overcoming
the death of someone , personal (possibly unspecified
career) setbacks, or a relationship turned sour. For example,
in the achingly heartfelt, "Tattoo on My Heart",
King ambiguously mourns the passing perhaps of a close
friend (the song is dedicated to late jazz chanteuse and
mentor, Clea Bradford), or of a lover --gone but not forgotten
(the name metaphorically etched).
In
"Cerulean Blues", King wishes to divest herself
of her many cares and woes and throw them in the deep
blue sea and start anew. In the rollicking "Blues
Companion", King wants to begin afresh with a new
love and is ready to go wherever he(or the road) takes
her.
And
in the zydeco infused (courtesy of the accordian work
of Tom Corradino) "I Want You to Be Happy",
King acknowledges that life is too short for sorrow and
she must find a way to stay upbeat and strive with all
her might to let the good times roll.
Three
of the four songs which conclude the CD, the deep bluesy
"Sweet Change to My Heart", the funky "Bridges
that You Burned", and the melancholy "I'm Suffering",
are thematically joined by the notion that whatever untoward
had transpired before, a new love would be able to both
heal and be one's
salvation.
And
this "new love" might take the form of the joys
of a new found tranquil , bucolic existence versus the
petty annoyances of the grimy, noisy city life left behind
in the breezy, jazzy, "Little House in the Country".
So,
THE CRUX, is about all but coping. As King, with longing
and anticipation in her heart, expresses in "Sweet
Change to My Heart", she's sailing and moving on
to distant happier shores.
And
somewhere beyond that sea, better days, she swears, will
be coming.
It's
a message of hope.
And
in these troubled times, it's something we sure can use
a little more of.
--Larry Benicewicz
Baltimore Blues Newsletter, June 2012
|
