1 	Do Your Duty 	4:19
2 	Kitchen Man 	4:01
3 	Jazzbro Brown From Memphis Town 	3:36
4 	Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer 	3:47
5 	Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl 	3:20
6 	I'm Down In The Dumps 	6:09
7 	Black Mountain 	4:15
8 	Weeping Willow Blues 	4:11
9 	On Revival Day 	3:53
10 	Empty Bed Blues 	6:36

Rory Block - Primary Artist

Rory Block is a five-time Blues Award winner, and with albums like A Woman of Soul, it is easy to understand why. This is the first in a series of albums called ‘”Power Women of the Blues.” This one is a tribute to Bessie Smith.

The album contains well-known songs like “Do your Duty,” “Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer,” and “Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl.” But Block also offers less familiar tunes like “Jazzbo Brown from Memphis Town,” “I’m Down in the Dumps ,” and the rare, rousing gospel offering, “On Revival Day.”

Then there is my favorite song on the album, the sexy, sassy “Kitchen Man.” Who can resist lyrics like “‘I’m wild about his turnip tops, I like the way he warms my chops, and I can’t do without my kitchen man”?

The selection is amazing enough, but what really inspires admiration is the realization that on this acoustic masterpiece, Block does everything herself. She plays all the guitars and bass. And she provides percussion, using , according to the press release, bongos, hat boxes, plastic storage tubs, oatmeal boxes and wooden spoons!

Block’s voice does not have the power of Smith’s, but she makes up for it by adding extra emotion. Take the aching sensuality of “Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl,” the ragged edge of “Black Mountain” or the bittersweet blues of “Weeping Willow Blues” and the first Bessie smith song this reporter ever heard, “Empty Bed blues.”

All this proves that Block, like Smith, is an important Power Woman of the Blues.” She is a strong contender for the most influential acoustic artist of our time. Her Mentor series has highlighted many blues greats, like Son House and Bukka White. Now this series is set to do the same for the women. Get A Woman’s Soul and join me in waiting eagerly to see what’s next! ---makingascene.org

Blues guitarist and vocalist Rory Block serves up an inspired portrait of and homage to Bessie Smith on A Woman's Soul: A Tribute to Bessie Smith. Block has recorded several "tribute" albums, including Blues Walkin' Like a Man: A Tribute to Son House (Stoney Plain, 2008); Shake 'Em On Down: A Tribute to Mississippi Fred McDowall (Stoney Plain, 2011); I Belong to the Band: A Tribute to Rev. Gary Davis (Stoney Plain, 2012); Avalon: A Tribute to Mississippi John Hurt (Stoney Plain, 2013); Hard Luck Child: A Tribute to Skip James (Stoney Plain, 2014) and Keepin' Outta Trouble: A Tribute to Bukka White (Stoney Plain, 2016). Block's grasp on each artist's unique style is matched only by her innate ability to take this music and make it in her image. This is beyond impressive. It is stone-cold grace.

Bessie Smith is the first female artist in Block's series of tributes. Her homage is made that much more special by the fact that Block sings and plays all of the instruments on the decade's worth of intelligently selected songs from the Bessie Smith book. Block opts for Smith's sexier fare: ""Do Your Duty," "Kitchen Man," "I Need a Little Sugar in my Bowl," and "Empty Bed Blues," and all are dispensed by Block with salacious finesse, a wink, and a wicked grin. Block's slide guitar is nothing short of phenomenal. Her playing on this present album recalls Ry Cooder's landmark recording Jazz (Warner Bros., 1977). "Empty Bed Blues" is the standout piece of the collection, Block hitting her stride, summoning all of humid carnality contained in these blues. Drink deep from this well. ---C. Michael Bailey, allaboutjazz.com

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1.    "Cross Road Blues" (Johnson) – 3:19
2.    "Preaching Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)" (Johnson) – 3:04
3.    "Milkcow's Calf Blues" (Johnson) – 2:29
4.    "Walking Blues" (Johnson) – 2:44
5.    "32-20 Blues" (Johnson) – 4:15
6.    "Rambling on My Mind" (Johnson) – 2:59
7.    "Terraplane Blues" (Johnson) – 3:21
8.    "Me and the Devil Blues" (Johnson) – 3:17
9.    "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" (Johnson) – 3:22
10.    "Come in My Kitchen" (Johnson) – 3:09
11.    "Hellhound on My Trail" (Johnson) – 2:48
12.    "If I Had Possession over Judgement Day" (Johnson) – 2:49
13.    "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" (Johnson) – 3:11

Rory Block – guitar, vocals

On Rory Block's masterpiece concept album, The Lady and Mr. Johnson, it becomes obvious that she and her guitar are one in the same. The two use each other and live through one another. Block's adoration for the blues has allowed her to explore its various sides, while always remaining true to the sound of her blues idols. Since she first became enthralled with the music of Robert Johnson, sometime around 1964, she had the goal of releasing an album of her covering select songs by the King of Delta Blues -- and 42 years later, boy, did she ever do it. After years of studying and perfecting Johnson's style, Block refers to the album as her Ph.D. The Lady and Mr. Johnson features Block at her Delta blues best. The entire album, save for a gospel choir intro on the first track, is entirely Block. It's just a woman, her voice, and her guitar. Block's guitar playing is impeccable, almost unbelievable as she has completely nailed Johnson's technique -- adding a little 21st century edge to it without taking away from the original music's raw beauty. As with any cover album, certain songs work better for Block than others. Possibly the album's best track, for both its neck-chilling slide intro and Block's soulful vocals, is "Last Fair Deal Gone Down," and the same goes for "Come in My Kitchen." Until the winter of 2006, just months before Block released The Lady and Mr. Johnson, she had thought that Johnson had no living relatives, but had often desired to find any if they had existed. Turns out, he has a large family living in Mississippi, including his son. Block phoned the family and arranged a meeting. The album's artwork largely consists of various photos of Block with Johnson's son, grandson, and great grandson. The Lady and Mr. Johnson is a flawless album, easily one of the few solid Delta blues releases by any artist in recent years, and could easily turn out to be Block's leading pride and joy of her entire career. ---Megan Frye, Rovi

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01. Everybody Loves John
02. Avalon
03. Candy Man
04. Frankie & Albert
05. Got The Blues Can't Be Satisfied
06. Louis Collins
07. Richland Woman Blues
08. Spike Driver Blues
09. Stagolee
10. Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor
11. Pay Day

Rory Block - Guitar, Vocals

Rory Block pays tribute to blues icon Mississippi John Hurt on the fifth installment of her "Mentor Series," which also includes previous releases dedicated to Robert Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Son House. Ten of the 11 tracks on the CD are associated with Hurt except for the Block original, "Everybody Loves John." Rory Block first met Hurt in December of 1963, backstage at a gig that also featured old-time banjo player Dock Boggs. Introduced to Hurt by blues historian and acoustic guitarist Stefan Grossman, Block was so impressed that she began to study his songs, his distinct finger picking technique, and his interest in diverse styles of music. Hurt was a bluesman who didn't just stick to the blues form, he embraced folk, jazz, Appalachian country songs, flamenco, music from Africa, and popular tunes of the era. For this session Block chose ten classic songs in Hurt's repertoire including "Candy Man," "Frankie & Albert," "Got the Blues Can't Be Satisfied," "Richland Woman Blues," "Spike Driver Blues," "Stagolee," and "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor." Avalon: A Tribute to Mississippi John Hurt is not only an enjoyable release on its own terms, but it may lead a whole new set of curious listeners to investigate the original recordings made by a classic American blues musician. --- Al Campbell, Rovi

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