Kelly Joe Phelps – Tap The Red Cane Whirlwind

Kelly Joe Phelps has a naturally resonant voice that walks a fine line. He can sound richly appointed but untethered to the earth, a fate that sometimes befalls others with naturally beautifully timbres, such as John Martyn and even the over-earnest Bruce Cockburn (who shoots himself in the foot in plenty of other ways as well). After exploring the studio possibilities with a shifting but sympathetic group of players, Phelps turns, on this record, to a form that has been his mainstay: live, solo performance.

His music is so tied to a sound that the songs can roll into one another, as well as disappear into themselves. Granted, some of those issues can be chalked up to creative subtleties, but there are times when you just want him to change registers and head into the truly unknown. That said, Phelps is a riveting performer, integrating his singing into his playing with results that exude fully committed emotional character.

This nine-song disc offers up seven of his past compositions, plus two covers: “Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues” by Skip James and “I Am The Light Of This World” by Reverend Gary Davis. Both pass by in a pleasing manner, forcefully played. But it is the playing of those two artists that is his musical touchstone, not their singing. Phelps’ singing goes down so smooth I just want him to even let out a cough to rough up the flow at some point.

Highlights among the originals are “Jericho”, with its melody sung and shadowed by the guitar, and “Fleashine”, the intro of which shows just how deep and broad Phelps’ musical vocabulary is.