(ST. LOUIS) This spring, Broke & Hungry Records, the label responsible for some of the most harrowing country blues in recent memory, releases its most unusual project to date - a record shrouded in such mystery that even the name of the artist who recorded it is a secret.
"The World Must Never Know" represents the debut recordings of a 78-year-old Delta bluesman dubbed the Mississippi Marvel. Like countless bluesmen before him, he has lived a life steeped in two separate and opposing traditions: The reckless abandon of a juke joint on Saturday night, and the healing redemption of church on Sunday. And like many of those earlier bluesmen, this artist has never reconciled these two warring factions of his identity.
Although he still occasionally turns up at his neighborhood juke, the artist today devotes more attention to his local church community. And like many conservative black churches in the South, his still regards blues music as something shameful, even sinful.
Fearing the rejection of this community, the artist steadfastly refuses to release any music under his own name. And so, the Legend of the Mississippi Marvel is born.
Featuring 10 tracks recorded at a secret session in a Delta juke in 2006, the CD represents country blues at its raw, primal best. Although many of the songs are standards, the performances are anything but. The Mississippi Marvel's voice is an instrument of incomparable intensity, full of power and fury. His rich vibrato recalls some of the region's most legendary singers. His guitar playing is all jagged lines and raw fury.
The CD will be available from the Broke & Hungry Records Web site www.brokeandhungryrecords.com on April 15 and from fine record stores and online retailers worldwide beginning in May.
For more information on this exciting release, contact Jeff
Konkel of Broke & Hungry Records by e-mail at jeff@brokeandhungryrecords.com.
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