‘Coal Mining Blues’ is Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist MATT ANDERSEN'S latest album. Since he debuted in 2002, he has released seven albums, and has gone from strength to strength in both popularity and musical maturity. This album was recorded at the Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York, and features the late Levon’s daughter Amy Helm on backing vocals on several tracks.
There are twelve tracks on the album, all which fall firmly within the blues category, but where Matt gets it right is by varying the styles of blues, from acoustic Delta blues, to rocking juke joint stomps, ensuring that each track is a delight. This is topped off with some penetrating lyrics that talk of the daily drudgery of working in the mines, the problems faced by the workers in both their personal & professional lives, and at times offers some salvation and solace from the depressing state that is the working week.
The title track, ‘Coal Mining Blues’ is the piece de resistance of the album, a piano, keyboard blues which makes use of trumpet and organ to give a layered depth, this is just a great track. The lyrics are as biting as the northern wind, and cut to the bone: - “Spend all my days, going down to the mines/ Under the ground where the sun never shines/ Breaking my back, I put heat in your house/ I’ve got the roar of a lion and the breath of a mouse.” Here, there is nothing for the character in the song, who has slaved for years at the coal face, just the thought of sickness and being old before your time: - “The man in the mirror looks nothing like me, just a weary reminder of what I used to be/ The sunken red eyes and the lines on my face. A tired old man has taken my place.” The song ends with the character hoping that God’s light will give the poor broken miners a degree of relief.
‘Fired Up’ is a country blues song, which makes use of a resonator guitar, the sort that is regularly used in bluegrass music. This is a real love song, in which nothing matters, except for the lady in question: - “I’ve tossed all my wishes, down the wishing well/ Spoke my last words, with nothing left to tell/ You came along to catch me, just before I fell/ You are my saving grace.”
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‘Make You Stay’ is a Delta blues stomp, featuring Matt on acoustic guitar, and Geoff Arsenault on drums. This is a song that carries and doesn’t need further instrumentation or orchestration. Another love song, this mixes some good imagery with the sort of sounds that emanated from Mississippi over one hundred years ago, but still have a relevance today: - “You’re a fire fuelled by passion, baby. You’re a raging, burning flame/ I can feel my temperature rise, if I just think about your name/ If love like this is poison, I’ll just live this life in pain.”
‘I Work Hard For The Luxury’ is a fantastic heavy keyboard blues which has echoes of the mid 1970s. An upbeat song, which focuses on the singer’s relationship, which in this case is one that makes the daily grind worthwhile: - “The good life’s been so good to me; I’m right where I want to be/ She’s all I’m ever going to need. I love living in the lap of her luxury.”
The closing track on the album, a cover of a Charlie Rich song, ‘Feel Like Going Home’ is a sure winner, Matt’s vocals with only a stark melody of John Sheard’s piano, gives a haunting beauty to this song and makes it a worthy cover: “Lord I feel like, going home. I tried and I failed/ I’m tired and I’m weary/ Everything I’ve done was wrong And I feel like going home.” Despite the subject matter, I found this uplifting, and a song that brings the album to a pitch-perfect close.
Overall, this is a classy, blue-collar blues album, which would fit well in any aficionado’s collection. If you're a sucker this stuff, then disappointment sure won't enter into the equation.
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