Jonah Tolchin built his reputation as an Americana artist and even more so as an acclaimed producer. Due to several life-changing events, and his newfound Buddhism, Tolchin has transformed himself into a blues artist, at least for now but likely for the foreseeable future. Born Jewish, Tolchin seems intent on picking up the mantle, or at least finding solace, from two of his favorite guitarists who also bear Jewish heritage, Peter Green and Mike Bloomfield. Call it spiritual reawakening or simply a change that better suits one who has battled depression, divorce, a psychotic breakdown, and re-marriage and fatherhood. All those factors led to Tolchin reaching deep into the blues and reaching out to Luther Dickinson, who prods Tolchin’s guitar leads with his rhythmic riffs and co-produced the album recorded at the titular Dockside studios in Louisiana.
Tolchin is banking on leveraging his 93,000 monthly Spotify listeners into his new sonic path, and, for the time being, his followers should not expect much or any touring. With Dickinson’s partnership, the sound leans far more toward Mississippi Hill country with shades of Delta than classic Chicago or Memphis. It’s evident from the opening track, a drastic, wah-wah-assisted reimagining of Little Walter’s “Blues with a Feeling.” The album features Tolchin on lead guitar, harmonica, and vocals, Dickinson on rhythm guitar, Terence Higgins on drums, and Nic Coolidge on bass and rhythm guitar. Guests include keyboardists Chris Joyner and Carey Frank and vocalists Chavonne Stewart and Marley Munroe. The album was laid down live, with few overdubs.
“Searching for My Soul” is a syncopated raveup with plenty of background vocal support. The chorus “Step on the gas…” is infectious but too much reliance on the wah-wah in the guitar break detracts from a very catchy groove. The trance-like “Nothing’s Gonna Take My Blues Away” features a poignant guitar solo as Tolchin’s vocal, sung with the utmost conviction, has the refrain quietly easing out but leaving a lasting impact. “Save Me (From Myself)” bursts in with that heavy North Mississippi sound with another singalong chorus. Again, his guitar speaks loudly, reinforced with Dickinson’s rhythm support. The swaying “Can’t Close My Eyes” has tinges of soul and Joyner’s swirling B3 as Tolchin rips off another declarative guitar statement. Tolchin pulls out his blues harp for the back porch stomper, “Endless Highway” while “Trust Someone” also stays in a deep acoustic groove, with a gospel chorus that coincidentally evokes Dylan’s “Gotta Save Somebody” and guitar leads from Dickinson.
The whispery, seductive vocal of Chavonne Stewart colors the haunting “Too Far Down” with Tolchin’s expressive guitar spot on. “Suffering Well” brings Dickinson to the forefront for a distortion-laden guitar break before he launches into even more heated territory on his second turn. “Mama, Don’t Worry,” co-written with Coolidge, slightly strays from the blues structured material but is imbued by Frank’s piano. Tolchin gets in and out quickly with a piercing guitar break, extending it much further in his second time up where he’s all over the fretboard. The steady-moving slow blues of “Vermilion River” has some of the most dynamic interplay between the two guitarists with Tolchin taking searing bottleneck leads with lyrics invoking the typical blues dichotomies of water and whisky, water and gasoline, nodding to the studio, Dockside, in the closing verses, as if made up on the spot. The slow burner “Lucille” is the bonus track, an instrumental revealing yet more impassioned axe-slinging.
Completely out of left field, but with the right producer in tow, Tolchin has delivered one of this year’s more exciting blues albums. The combination of several interesting songs and original guitar playing in a genre often plagued with those who try to mimic the greats bodes for a strong future in this idiom.
