Back to the Country (Johnny Shines album)

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Back to the Country
Studio album by
Johnny Shines
Released1991
StudioLoma Ranch
GenreBlues
LabelBlind Pig
ProducerEdward Chmelewski, Jerry Del Giudice, Johnny Nicholas
Johnny Shines chronology
Hangin' On
(1980) 		Back to the Country
(1991) 		Traditional Delta Blues
(1991)

Back to the Country is an album by the American musician Johnny Shines, released in 1991.[1][2] He was accompanied by the harmonica player Snooky Pryor.[3] It was Shines's final studio album.[4] Back to the Country won a W. C. Handy Award for country blues album of the year.[5]

Production[edit]

Recorded at Loma Ranch Studios, in Fredericksburg, Texas, the album was produced by Edward Chmelewski, Jerry Del Giudice, and Johnny Nicholas.[6][7] Due to the effects of a stroke, Shines was unable to play guitar on the album.[8] Nicholas was recruited to play guitar and piano; Kent DuChaine also played guitar.[9][10] Four of the songs were written by Shines's mentor, Robert Johnson.[11] "Hey Bobba Re Bop" is a version of the Lionel Hampton song.[12]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide[13]
Orlando Sentinel[12]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[14]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[15]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[16]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues[17]

The Houston Chronicle called the album a "down-home selection of gut-bucket Delta blues that makes no apologies for its likeness to Robert Johnson... Shines is in great form, and the music is at once ageless and fresh, too authentic to have to be reinvented."[18] The Washington Post noted that "Pryor's pungent harmonica is another asset, as is John Nicholas's deft guitar work, and except for some mediocre songs, the album's lulls are far and few between."[11] The Pittsburgh Press deemed Back to the Country "raw and powerful."[19] The Orlando Sentinel determined that the pair's "flawed jubilance is uplifting."[12] The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that Shines's "flat, grim delivery on 'Trouble in Mind' gives lie to the lyric's optimism."[15]

AllMusic said that "Shines and Pryor have a nice rapport which shines through despite difficulties—but overall, it's hard not to view this as a nostalgia exercise."[8]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Trouble in Mind" 
2."Corrina Corrina" 
3."Cool Driver" 
4."They're Red Hot" 
5."Crossroads" 
6."Lost a Good Woman" 
7."Evening Sun" 
8."Peace in Hell" 
9."Send Your Man to War" 
10."Come On in My Kitchen" 
11."Blues Come to Texas" 
12."Moon Is Rising" 
13."Hey Bobba Re Bop" 
14."Terraplane" 
15."I Make You Happy" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ Anderson, John (24 Mar 1991). "Shining in Johnson's Light". Part II. Newsday. p. 2.
  2. ^ "Johnny Shines Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  3. ^ Harris, Paul A. (29 Mar 1992). "A Wizard on Blues Harp". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3C.
  4. ^ Komara, Edward (2004). The Blues Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 878.
  5. ^ "Buddy Guy wins 5 awards at Handy blues program". The Pantagraph. AP. 5 Oct 1992. p. B4.
  6. ^ Point, Michael (8 Aug 1991). "Nicholas, last seen...". Jazz / Blues. Austin American-Statesman. p. 13.
  7. ^ "Back to the Country by Johnny Shines and Snooky Pryor". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 44. Nov 2, 1991. p. 86.
  8. ^ a b c "Back to the Country Review by Thom Owens". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  9. ^ Heim, Chris (26 July 1991). "Going up the country". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. R.
  10. ^ Krakow, Steve (February 11, 2021). "Johnny Shines belongs in the pantheon alongside Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf". Music. Chicago Reader.
  11. ^ a b Joyce, Mike (6 Sep 1991). "Lending an Ear to Latest Acoustics". The Washington Post. p. N16.
  12. ^ a b c Gettelman, Parry (18 Oct 1991). "Johnny Shines and Snooky Pryor". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 8.
  13. ^ MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 334.
  14. ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. 2006. pp. 578, 579.
  15. ^ a b DeLuca, Dan (10 Nov 1991). "Blues". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 10G.
  16. ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 731.
  17. ^ Larkin, Colin (2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues. Virgin.
  18. ^ Racine, Marty (4 Aug 1991). "Johnny Shines, one of a select group...". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 15.
  19. ^ White, Jim (11 Aug 1991). "Blues". The Pittsburgh Press. p. E5.
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