Luke Winslow-King
I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always
Bloodshot Records
Delta bluesman Willie Brown is known for saying “The blues ain’t nothin’ but a good man feeling bad…” and by that definition, Luke Winslow-King is the blues. His newest, I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always was recorded after his wife and performing partner Esther Rose (featured on his last two Bloodshot releases) and he divorced and he spent a few weeks in a Michigan prison for carrying pot. That’s some damn blues!
But it’s the sign of a great artist that they are able to make significant works out of pain, and King has certainly done that. Opening with a solitary slide guitar part with “On My Way”, King and his top-flight band, which includes Italian Roberto Luti, (last seen in the Playing for Change band on electric resonator guitar), King sounds strong despite the events of the last few years. Granted, a few of the songs are a bit pointed, such as “Change Your Mind” and “Esther Please”, but they aren’t cruel- just heartfelt.
“Watch Me Go”, with some funky Wurlitzer from Mike Lynch and “Louisiana Blues” sound like a Friday night in New Orleans (King’s home), with some excellent Little Feat-style boogie, while “No More Crying Today” ends the record on a hopeful note, a man that has been beset by a love lost, but not down on his knees. One hopes that Luke Winslow-King’s love life improves, although if he got a record as strong as I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always out of it, well another blues phrase- “Serves you right to suffer” – might be equally valid.
