Sid Whelan – The Story of Ike Dupree
Led by Fred Wesley’s funky ‘bone, Harlem-based singer/guitarist Sid Whelan serves up a brassy gumbo on his latest, The Story of Ike Dupree. The fictional Dupree is a Katrina survivor who has been rewarded for his efforts — “saving everything that was out there floatin’” — by being rounded up as a looter by a vigilante squad of “blackwater men.” They cage him at the Greyhound station with “no water, no food, no sanitation / no lawyer, no papers, no Miranda rights / no bed, no blankets, just mud and floodlights.” After a brawl with some other inmates, Dupree escaped. Now he works in a short order joint, playing trombone on the side, illustrated by a soulful Wesley solo that sounds like it fell off the JB’s ’74 classic, Breakin’ Bread.
Whelan says his protagonist is a symbol of survival against injustice, specifically the abuse of police powers in New Orleans after Katrina. But this disc isn’t all about the Crescent City.
Even though its entitled “Too Cold Ohio Blues,” the tune is closer to the N.C. Piedmont blues of Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry.
Whelan shows his versatility in a variety of styles, channeling King-worthy guitar licks from Albert and B.B., shuffling along like T Bone as well. But every time Wesley shows up with his ‘bone, even if for only a few tasty glides, he steals the spotlight.
It’s a big sound Whelan calls “Dark Blue Americana,” with dense, intense lyrics fitted so tightly in the space between notes, you have to have your ears on full alert so you don’t miss a nuance. The Story Of Ike Dupree is a rootsy roundup any blues fan would be proud to ride along with.
Grant Britt