Fans of old-style acoustic blues will get deep chills listening to this one. On "Got to Move," the way Homesick James approaches the slide -- nearly making the guitar cry out while integrating serious string shaking and bending at just the right moment -- betrays a master at work.
James hugs the form like a race car hugs the road: His tunes never venture past the standard I-IV-V blues progression. But he doesn't force himself on the music, instead letting it flow naturally from him, telling him what to say and how.
Born near the turn of the century in Somerville, Tenn., James left home in his early teens, eventually winding up in Chicago to work with the likes of Lonnie Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson. You'd expect anyone that deeply immersed in the blues to deliver when it counts. James does.
