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Storytelling singer and guitarist Doug MacLeod has been delivering his brand of acoustic-flavored blues on record for decades; his debut album, No Road Back Home<\/i> was released in 1984. MacLeod \u2013 a multiple Blues Music Award nominee and two-time winner \u2013 recently relocated to Memphis, and the spirit of the Bluff City informs his latest album, A Soul to Claim<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The record was produced by Jim Gaines, a pro with a long list of high-profile credits who got his start behind the recording console at Stax. And A Soul to Claim<\/i> builds on MacLeod\u2019s skillful, expressive acoustic guitar work, supported here by bass guitar (Dave Smith), keyboards (Rick Steff) and Steve Potts on drums. The arrangements are subtle, with lots of spaces between the notes and a warm, intimate character. The bass, drums and keys are often felt more than heard; sometimes the band sits out altogether, as on Dodge City<\/i>.<\/p>\n
And while MacLeod\u2019s guitar work on A Soul to Claim<\/i> isn\u2019t strictly acoustic \u2013 he plugs in now and then \u2013 there are no instrumental fireworks. That\u2019s because A Soul to Claim<\/i> isn\u2019t that sort of album. As is typical for MacLeod, the focus here is on his lyrics. MacLeod\u2019s story-songs all have a point, and his liner notes helpfully provide the interested listener with some context and background. While he\u2019s a lyricist possessed of a fertile imagination, MacLeod tends to draw upon real-life perspectives and experiences for his songs.<\/p>\n
The title track is about overcoming addiction and the cycle of abuse. \u201cBe What You Is\u201d takes a lesson about authenticity from animals. \u201cWhere Are You?\u201d addresses American society\u2019s obligation to combat veterans. With its double-entendre title, \u201cDodge City\u201d is a pointed number about politicians in our nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly Porter at the Station\u201d is a metaphorical love song with some inspired turns of phrase. \u201cMud Island Morning\u201d is an ode to MacLeod\u2019s home on the Mississippi River. A wryly humorous number, \u201cDubb\u2019s Talking Disappointment Blues\u201d is a tale of what MacLeod calls his \u201clady trolling days,\u201d but he includes a disclaimer suggesting that he might have embellished the story a bit for effect. Or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrease the Wheel\u201d uses a well-worn phrase to make a simple point about taking charge of one\u2019s own life. \u201cSomewhere on a Mississippi Highway\u201d draws from the same rascally well of inspiration as \u201cDubb\u2019s Talking Disappointment Blues.\u201d And for the record\u2019s final track, MacLeod sets aside humor and delivers a heartfelt, hopeful song inspired by his son Jesse\u2019s successful battle with melanoma. \u201cNo matter how dark things are for you,\u201d he writes, referring to the song\u2019s title, \u201cremember, There is Always Love.\u201d In the song itself, he speaks more than sings, doing so in a hushed whisper that draws the listener close.<\/p>\n
But then most everything about A Soul to Claim<\/i> \u2013 from its understated instrumentation to MacLeod\u2019s insightful and incisive words \u2013 has that effect, warmly inviting the listener into the world of this masterful blues songwriter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Storytelling singer and guitarist Doug MacLeod has been delivering his brand of acoustic-flavored blues on record for decades; his debut album, No Road Back Home was released in 1984. MacLeod […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,49,65],"tags":[4879],"class_list":["post-23301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-new-release","category-review","tag-doug-macleod","cat-9-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23303,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301\/revisions\/23303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}