Monday , March 18 2024
Multiple-BMA winner Duke Robillard readies his new album...

Duke Robillard Offers Fans Passport To The Blues August 24

Duke Robillard’s recent triumph at the 2010 Blues Music Awards haven’t slowed him down a bit and now he has your ticket and Passport To The Blues, due in stores August 24.

The passport theme is an interesting one for Robillard as he has worn many musical hats throughout his career as a bandleader, producer, and sideman. Recent Robillard records have explored jump blues and swing and he also recently spent time on the road playing lead guitar for legendary songwriter Tom Waits. With Passport To The Blues, Robillard is returning to his native blues home and bringing a bit of his time with Waits back with him. Of the 13 songs on Passport, Robillard wrote or co-wrote 12 of them. The lone exception is Tom Waits’ “When You’re Old You’re Cold.”

Robillard said with the exception of the Waits tune and “Make It Rain,” all the songs for the album were written in a two-week period not long before the band went in and cut them in the studio. The return to a grittier blues sound and his comfort with his band allowed them to work fast.

The decision to return to a blues sound for this record was also inspired by the types of life experiences that have been at the core of the idiom since its inception.

“I’m turning 62 this year and am feeling a little too mature for writing songs like ‘you’re so sexy baby, I’ve gotta have ya,” he said. “I was thinking about that, trying to get started writing new songs that would capture what was on my mind – and then the I.R.S audited me. That got me started writing for the album. I figured if that’s not the blues, what is.”

Robillard can afford to age gracefully and thoughtfully on record because anyone who has seen him on stage recently knows he still burns with passion and energy. I saw him perform for the first time at Rum Boogie as part of Nick Moss & The Flip Tops’ All-Star Jam in Memphis the night before the BMAs, standing on stage with Charlie Musselwhite — who had been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame only hours earlier — and National Treasure and Blues Hall of Famer Pinetop Perkins. I also heard him perform with his band at the award ceremony the next night. This return to the blues is a great thing for music fans everywhere. Robillard hasn’t won his last BMA and it’s only a matter of time before he joins Perkins and Musselwhite in the Blues Hall of Fame.

  1. Workin' Hard for my Uncle (Duke Robillard/Laurene Robillard)
  2. Hong Kong Suit (Duke Robillard/ Al Basile)
  3. Blues Train – (Duke Robillard)
  4. Girl Let Me Tell Ya – (Duke Robillard)
  5. Rhode Island Red Rooster (Duke Robillard)
  6. Fatal Heart Attack – (Duke Robillard/Al Basile)
  7. Make It Rain (Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan)
  8. When You're Old You're Cold (Duke Robillard)
  9. Text Me (Duke Robillard)
  10. Duke's Evening Blues (Duke Robillard)
  11. The High Cost of Lovin' (Doc Pomus/Duke Robillard)
  12. Grey Sky Blues – (Duke Robillard)
    Bonus Track :
  13. Bradford Boogie – (Mark Texeira/Duke Robillard)

About Josh Hathaway

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