My Mind Gets to Ramblin'

Even though Steve Howell was due to celebrate his 56th birthday three days after the release of My Mind Gets to Ramblin', it was only his second solo album. Howell is an accomplished fingerpicking guitarist and a musical scholar, and the disc is his treatment of country blues, including songs by and associated with Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Bo Carter, Robert Johnson, Memphis Minnie, and Mance Lipscomb. Doubtless Howell himself would not claim that he and his talented band, including ace session bassist Joe Osborn, who co-produced the album, improved upon the performances of the originators of these songs. Their interpretations are spirited and exact, but never biting, starting with a version of Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied" that somewhat belies the title. The emphasis is on getting the details right, and they do, even if the emotions underlying the music are more distilled than expressed. Still, their affection for the form, starting with the leader who sings in an agreeable wheeze, is obvious. If Howell hasn't recorded much, it's probably because he is better appreciated in a live setting than on an album that necessarily comes off as more tribute than competition to earlier performers of the material.