America's Child by Shemekia Copeland
5
By Steve Douglas
With a leap and a jump off her last release, Shemekia Copeland brings a whole new release that so reflects the state of our country today. All blues reflects the conditions that one is in. It reaches for far more than simple bubblegum pop rock and Shemekia Copeland succeeds in creating a CD release, that if not all that I consider hard core blues, speaks to the listener as most releases rarely do. I put this in my car CD player and could not take it out. I simply played it over and over again. To add to this, my girlfriend, who doesn't like the blues genre, said she thought it darn good. This tremendously social conscious recording is what many need to open their eyes and wake up to the divisiveness in the USA today. The song 'Americans' brings forth all the many differences and labels that exist in our society while recognizing that, in the end, we are all Americans, all human beings with beautiful differences. 'Would You Take My Blood' is a powerful blues number sung with a powerful and sincere voice addressing the racism and hatred that seems to be growing and pervading our society since our last presidential election. At the same time, Shemekia insists that she just has no need for focusing on the hate with 'I Ain't Got Time for Hate'. Assisting her powerful voice is some really fine instrumentation and backing vocals. Emmylou Harris, John Prine and Tommy Womack are just some of the voices kicking these tunes into gear, but it is Shemekia's own voice that kicks it into its highest gear, never letting up with her determination to acknowledge the foils of society while refusing to let it affect her or her desire to overcome it. Bottom line, this is a CD to be reakoned with....I can't stop playing it.
