By: Greg Gunther

This is the story as it was told to me. One morning some unamed guy in a suit, driving a Lexus and racing David Letterman on the Merritt, slid an Albert Cummings cd into the changer. The outcome proved life-changing because the road he was on suddenly changed. A bassline drop later the sky above bore a flaming guitar and the highway became the Natchez-Trace Parkway.
Cypress Trees stared down at the businessman. Kudzu seemed to jump at his flesh.

"It’s been so long, since I went out on my own," the guy thought. "I can’t believe how much time has gone." Mezmorized by guitar sounds knawing at him, drawing out his emotions, tears welled in wide eyes. "No matter what I did, that was never right, slightest thing you’d always want to fight. I thought for a while that I would go out of my head. So I decided to leave instead." He played the accelerator like a stratocaster. "Now Im free, oh free at last. Now Im free from my past."

Some say music is so powerfull that you can actually here the voice of God. If that’s the case then I am sure that God speaks with a southern voice. The blues embodies a sweltering heat, a driving rain, a bonafide conciousness. Take the drive from Memphis to New Orleans and feel the blues seep into your blood. God may very well have settled on a farm in Upsate, but his voice is indeed raspy and country from all his nights hanging out on the bayou. With an Albert "Swamp Yankee" Cummings cd in your hand, I think you’ll agree.

As the track Party Right Here, off of Albert’s newest cd WORKING MAN, begins to play, I swear I can smell b-b-q oysters from Tab Benoit’s place in Houma,Louisiana begin to waft around the room. Albert sings, "I got all my good friends and their riding with me tonight," as I grab my road atlas to make sure route 90 does not originate in New York State. "Yeah you don’t need no invitation, to have a celebration. Just leave your worry behind, because now is the perfect time. Get yourself, a nice cold beer, a cold cold beer, let’s have a party right here." Albert Cummings hails from from Albany,New York, but the way in which my heels pop and my knees bend when I listen to his music is proof positive that music has no boundries, no state lines. The blues has as many faces as this great country. Lake Champlain to Lake Ponchatrain, hey that has a nice ring to it.

Rumors is another in a long line of Albert Cummings tunes that tend to be dangerous to listen to in the car. You’ll be testifying to the power of the blues whether you’re stuck in traffic or punching the gas. Either way your commute will never be the same and your tinted windows won’t hide your air guitar shame because the windows will be down ! Say You Love Me makes me want to dance. Again, this can be troublesome behind the wheel. "I tried so hard baby, to believe all your lies. You know I checked out your stories, they dont match your alibies."

As Albert starts to rip, you best better have have a tight grip, you might slip. Working Man from Albert Cummings is a let-loose, light-the-fuse, spirit gripping honkey tonk trip. Find it, hold it, share it with your friends.

GregGunther@Razooli.com

« BACK