Tinsley Ellis has spent four decades earning the right to make a record like this. ‘Labor Of Love,’ out now on CD, Georgia peach-colored vinyl, and digital, is his second acoustic album and his first to feature entirely original material. Self-produced and performed with pure emotional honesty, the 13-song collection pulls from blues tradition while spinning modern tales of floods, voodoo spirits, personal struggle, and hard-won grace. Premier Guitar called him “a legend of American blues music and an American music treasure,” and ‘Labor Of Love’ is the fullest expression yet of why that designation fits.
The new radio single “Too Broke” hits with the kind of lyrical directness that cuts through immediately, inspired by blues great Tommy Johnson’s “Big Road Blues” and built around themes everyone can relate to right now. The album moves through the feral opener “Hoodoo Woman,” a John Lee Hooker-groove on “Long Time,” Skip James-inspired depth on “To A Hammer,” and a Son House-style stomp on “Sunnyland.” Ellis inhabits each song completely, mixing foot-pounding ferocity with moments of genuine, quiet beauty.
The record carries the weight of a specific creative pilgrimage. During recording, Ellis traveled to Bentonia, Mississippi, birthplace of Skip James, where he spent time with blues legend Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and performed at his famous Blue Front Café. “Once I got home,” Ellis notes, “I went right back to the studio and incorporated everything that I just experienced into my music.” That immersion is audible throughout. Ellis recorded using six different open tunings across his 1969 Martin D-35, his 12-string Martin D-12-20, and his 1937 National Steel O Series guitars, and played mandolin on three tracks for the first time in his career.
Ellis is currently touring solo on his aptly named “Two Guitars And A Car” tour, bringing this music directly to audiences across the country. ‘Labor Of Love’ is out now.