WHEN IM GONE

Judy Roderick & the Forbears with Mac Rebennack

Judy Roderick & The Forbears with Special Guest Mac “Dr John” Rebennack - “When I’m Gone”

Dexofon Records

www.judyroderick.com

www.whenimgone.dexofon.com

12 Tracks; 45 minutes 11 seconds; Reference Quality

Style: Folk Revival Vintage Jazz-Country Blues

Judy Roderick 1942-1992

Who would have thought that a young folksy 19 year old Caucasian teenager from Boulder, Colorado via Wyandotte, Michigan could hold her own with the early 1960’s female African American Blues pioneers, much less land Columbia and Vanguard deals with titles like Ain’t Nothing But the Blues and Woman Blue, all by the early age of 21?

You should probably sit with that opening, just for a minute. Maybe go back and read it a second time, to understand what an amazing contribution this less-recognized female blues and folk singer-songwriter made during a time when music was a critical vehicle for youth to communicate the social, political and philosophical sentiments of our nation. Think “Bob Dylan” if you must, who was born in 1941 only 1 year before Judy. And think ‘1964 Newport Folk Festival’, renowned for introducing Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Johnny Cash and Howlin’ Wolf were there too where this ‘60’s blues revival was being rediscovered from its ‘40’s Delta heyday. Yes, that’s the company she was keeping.

Fast track from there to the UK to the Today Show in NYC and lots of performances in between, “When I’m Gone” is the 1982 remastered and rereleased recording of Roderick and her band the Forbears consisting of Washboard Chaz Leary, Don Debacker, Tim Martin and Dexter Payne. Her long time partner, band mate and collaborator, Dexter, deserves major kudos for bringing her back to life for those of us too young or less fortunate to have heard her prior to her much-to-early demise in 1992. Special guest Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack and some great horn players help create a disc that gives us a yearning to go back 40 years ago to a talent said to have inspired the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Joni Baez and Janice Joplin.

Track 1 is a Roderick/Ashford original, Gone To Memphis. This retro-rocking funky county blues tune has Judy sliding all over the pitch of the notes in a powerfully effortless way while the players have fun laying down a whacky blues pocket. Track 2 appropriately falls in place with the cover I’m So Glad, an Ernest “Little Son Joe” Lawlers tune you’ve all probably heard through Memphis Minnie. I LOVE Judy’s folk country blues version with the horns integrating a jazzy Vaudeville touch.

Want a little West Coast a-go-go surf rock lift with a Joplin punch? Listen to Queen of the Street. Sing it Judy! Judy’s tender delivery of Surprises in Track 4—with its slow emoting old timey country-gospel feel—is one that even Johnny & June Cash could appreciate in a Kris Kristofferson song writing way. The enhancement of the horn section with Forrest Means, Chris Lege and Fly McLard and topped off with Dr John’s keys make this one quite heart-wrenching.

There’s great horn arrangements and keys embellishing title Track 5’s When I’m Gone. Playful sassy dialog exchanges back and forth between the horn section and Judy’s sultry vocal delivery with an occasional wallop of male harmony. Ironically, the words Judy sings, “please don’t talk about me when I’m gone” are almost my invitation to be doing just that as I type this!

Track 6 is ragtime post-depression fun—Live in Love (Always) originally by W Walker and G Sullivan. Judy’s rendition is convincing as she shouts Live In Love! Live in Love! at the song’s end. If you like a vintage scratchy not-slicked-up-studio version old school sound, you’ll love this one. All the instrumentals held their own when the ball got tossed their way. The song compelled me to go out on the streets and shout something with a smile, or celebrate something, like when saints come marching in!

Track 7, Your Eyes Remind Me, has a nice harp introduction that leads into a country heart breaking ditty; who hasn’t ‘been there’ where Judy was when she wrote this song? Track 8 (American) Money Blues, is one of my favorite, with the grooving bass start, the psychedelic rock style opening rift, followed by a jazzy intro to what turns into a blues-rock Judy-belted-ballad, about the woes of money blues. Judy nails the blues vibe in this one. History apparently does repeat itself since we still seem to be having us some American Money Blues! I’d love to see this one hit the current XM radio satellite waves.

Our horns and keys come back with Judy and band mates all doing some serious blues struttin’ on Track 9’s Denver to Dallas. “Daddy used to be a rollin’ stone, mama was the kind to keep her man at home’. Track 10 is a wonderfully moving jazz rendition of Dream of You that made me want to be solo sipping Woodford Reserve on the rocks in some obscure dark corner of a smoky off-the-beaten-path jazz joint. It also made me wonder if Amy Winehouse had taken some lessons from the history pages of Judy Roderick.

Track 11 Shout Sister Shout (A. Crudup) starts with a gospel upbeat and jazzy horn intro that continues the pace throughout with horns, guitar rifts, ‘shout’ harmony of the boys, Dr John’s keys and Judy slinging her foot-stomping jazz chords of her own.

The disc concludes with Floods of South Dakota and I felt touched yet sad to see it over: “Someday—you’ll build a cabin on the hillside, someday—you’ll find the gold you’re lookin’ for, and maybe someday, in the diamond mines of friendship, you will find someone to share that winding road. For all time, you can count on me and all that’s mine.” Wow, Judy just emotes sincerely from inside her heart on this moving folk ballad.

Judy was truly one of the same Joplin-Dylan-esk folk-blues magnets that major labels were clamoring for in the 60’s; yet she also crossed all genres and has continued to be respected and admired for her works, to this day. I think sometimes it doesn’t matter how savvy a music reviewer you are: trying to actually put into words the description of tracks you listen to on a CD is DIFFICULT at best. How many adjectives and poetic packages can we use before we all sound the same with the same ole boring reads?

I know I’m lengthy here, but my sincere desire is to educate the reader about the person behind the music, as that's where the best music comes from, the people who can sing it, the people who can write it, and the people who can do both. It’s why we like to take blues cruises with the musicians, meet them face to face and attend their live shows—we want to know the person behind the greatness.

Some say Dylan was probably one of the worst singers, and Judy's no Celine or Patsy Cline, BUT both he and she left profound and inerasable marks, nonetheless; and that’s her great tribute to our music history.

From folk, blues, country, rockabilly, rock and roll, gospel to jazz and swing, Judy certainly had a gift of exploring, crafting, expanding and personalizing all musical styles that were born from original true root blues, as illustrated in this disc. I’m so honored to have met her here. Thank you, Dexter, for introducing her to me, and for sharing her again with those who already knew and loved her.

Belinda Foster is a Columnist and Contributing Writer for Greenville SC Magazine “Industry Mag” and was former manager of Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blues. She currently books blues-rock-jam musicians and is a devoted promoter and supporter of live blues root music and history, making frequent trips to “The Crossroads” and Clarksdale Mississippi, birthplace of the blues. Her column “The Upstate Blues Report” can be found on line at www.industrymag.net

Judy Roderick & the Forbears: WHEN IM GONE [Dexofon]

When blues musicologist Dick Waterman first saw Judy Roderick take the stage of Cambridge’s Club 47 back in the 1960s, he expected to hear something prim and preppy — like maybe “Greensleeves” — from this petite musician, dressed in plaid skirt and sensible shoes.

What Waterman heard was an inspired blues belter, fluent in the form and so much more.

Roderick, who died in 1992 just shy of 50, left behind a modest but remarkable body of work, born of the ‘60s folk revival and enriched by a contagious respect for myriad styles, from vintage jazz to country blues. Her commercial high-water mark was “Woman Blue,” released by Vanguard Records in 1965 and still available in retail racks to this day.”

Her extended family, including notable musicians scattered hither and yon, fans of long memory and kin at Sardinia’s Olmsted Camp, continue to fly the flag for Roderick, who could perform in any company, bar none, and quite admirably.

Longtime collaborator Dexter Payne, witness to this unique talent, has reassembled and re-released “When I’m Gone,” a 1982 recording of Roderick and her incredibly tight band, the Forbears: Washboard Chaz Leary, Don DeBacker, Tim Martin and Payne. The recording, which includes several guest slots by Mac Rebennack, aka Dr. John, is a rollicking reward from the git-go to git-gone.

Extended-play honors go to the title cut, “When I’m Gone,” an achingly clever, slyly hip musing on being here — and not being here. Roderick soulfully surfs the crest of a strong horn section and Dr. John keyboards on three other barn-burners: “Surprises,” “Denver to Dallas” and Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “Shout Sister Shout.” She turns on the slow heat in a slinky and sultry take on Jimmie Lunceford’s “Dream of You.” The disc ends in a folkie mode, mining a late 1970s track of “Floods of South Dakota,” back in the days when Roderick and Payne kept company with a group called The Big Sky Mudflaps.

“When I’m Gone” is a clear view of an amazing artist who deserves much more recognition. It is fresh and vital.

— Randy Rodda (BUFFALO NEWS January 4, 2009)

JUDY RODERICK & THE FORBEARS: When I’m Gone (Dexofon) The late Judy Roderick is mostly remembered for a pair of fine folk-blues LPs of the mid-1960s... she was as comfortable fronting a versatile blues band in 1983 as singing to her acoustic guitar in 1965. Four of the dozen songs feature Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) at the piano. ***1/2

--MIKE REGENSTREIF

Montreal Gazette http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Capsule+reviews/1227719/story.html

Judy Roderick
Woman Blue
Vanguard VCD 79197

In the mid '60s, [a] Midwestern artist named Judy Roderick recorded honest and highly original folk blues as interpreted by [a] young white performer. Thirty years later [her] music still rings as true as ever.
WOMAN BLUE is a reissue of the original 1965 album that Roderick recorded when she was 22 years old. (An earlier LP called Ain't Nothin' But the Blues had already been released by Columbia and another for the same label was never issued.) For the reissue the label has added four additional cuts that had been originally held back because of space limitations. The repertoire consists of traditional, jazz and classic blues material with sparse but tasteful accompaniment by such people as Dick Weissman, Artie Traum, and Paul Griffin. The title song, for example, is apparently the first recorded version of Know You Rider, a song that later became a counter-culture anthem of sorts. However, what makes Roderick so special is her beguiling voice, her understated singing style and her nimble guitar accompaniment.

Roderick was quite possibly the finest female folk-blues artist of her generation, but the recording legacy Roderick left behind is scanty. On January 28, 1992 Roderick died at the age of 49. Fortunately, there is a good possibility that some
unreleased recordings will be made available in the future.

Paul E. Comeau (Comeauville, NS, Canada)

Dr. John/Judy Roderick: Now here's a double bill that should tell you everything you ever wanted to know about white blues. If you've never heard Roderick (a blues folkie of the 1960s), join the cult. August 16 & 17, Lone Star, 61 Fifth Ave, 242-1664. (Giddens)

  RODERICK'S MUSICAL MOVE

For Dr. John to fly to Boulder (CO) for her session says a lot about Judy Roderick's talent. He described her singing as very unorthodox and very original, and contributed both his technical mastery and a genuine inspiration to the other players involved. The band was organized by veteran Boulder guitarist Don "Barbeque" DeBacker, and it included washboard wizard Chaz Leary, saxophonist Fly Mclard, Dusters' drummer Eugene Smith, trombonist Chris Lege and trumpeter Forrest Means of Octavio Figueroa's salsa band, bassist Tim Martin from Eugene, OR, Bernard Grant on backup vocals and Dexter Payne on alto saxophone. The production and engineering work was handled by Randy Rand of San Francisco's Record Plant.

When all the components came together in the temporary studio housed in a log cabin in the Boulder foothills, with a hefty supply of burgers and beers, a special chemistry seemed to take over. Roderick had four tunes on the agenda, two funky R&B type numbers, "Denver to Dallas" and "When I'm Gone," a country ballad, "Surprises," and a swinging Arthur Crudup blues, "Shout Sister, Shout." The band had rehearsed, trying to find comfortable grooves and tightening arrangements. When Rebennack arrived he made some helpful suggestions, hipping something here, changing things in other spots.

The band worked in a real group effort and created a good-time vibration that inspired Roderick, whose small frame and laid-back demeanor belies the energy and emotion packed vocals she delivers. The four songs are to be used as a demo tape that will be presented to rec companies in hope of finding finan support for the film and album project. Roderick is happy with the renewed interest in her music.....

-----Bob Cataliotti (Boulder Daily Camera) Feb 19, 1982

She had a keening energyin a bluesy, country-city style that would have had me riveted if i hadn't been moving all around to the band's nasty beat.

Ira Gitler (Jazz Times)

It was Roderick, and I thought she was probably the most convincing white blues singer since Lee Wiley; with due respect to Bonnie raitt, no one in the intervening years has changed my mind... her unselfconsciously vital and emotional vocal style, and unusual breadth of repartoire.

Gary Giddins (Village Voice, May 6, 1981)