Let’s be honest here … blues isn’t the most ‘intellectual’ music in the world.  As a genre it relies far more on the heart than on the head, and its simplicity is arguably the source of its power.  Blues touches the heart because it comes straight from the heart …

Does that mean there’s no room in the blues for considered thought or reflections that aim a little deeper than the bottom of the bottle?  Paul Reddick offers a resounding rebuttal with the magnificent Sugarbird, his third solo outing on the ever-adventurous NorthernBlues label.

Reddick, based in Toronto but seemingly a soul of the world, is credited with influences that range from mystic William Blake to the early field recordings of Alan Lomax.  Working to blend the visceral punch of the blues with the power of poetry, he’s once again crafted a stunning collection that taps into timeless themes, yet this time out casts his ruminative reflections in sepia-toned sunlight.

Gone is the sense of claustrophobic menace that permeated Reddick’s earlier efforts.  The passing of time finds him more concerned with matters of the heart, and his music, as a result, feels far more personal, the songs sinking straight into the bones rather than wrestling with existential weight.  If there’s a melancholic air of resignation about much of the material, it’s tempered by a sense of accumulated wisdom, the sound of a man coming to terms with the world and his own place in it.

On board to help out once again is co-writer and producer extraordinaire Colin Linden, a master at bringing roots sounds into modern times.  The sound is moody and atmospheric yet thoroughly organic, the instrumentation sparse, primarily acoustic and impeccably applied for maximum effect.

Despite an absence of boogies and shuffles, this is a thoroughly bluesy disc, if more by feel than structure.  Thoughtful, poetic (Reddick even adapts and incorporates Marlowe’s immortal “Come live with me and be my love”), Sugar Bird is  an unqualified masterpiece by an artist whose vision is determinedly unfettered by convention, yet who exhibits the utmost respect for timeless traditions.

This one’s absolutely essential!