On her seventh studio album, Down Hearted Blues, Eilen Jewell steps back in
time to unearth 12 vintage blues gems written or made famous by an array of
artists, from Willie Dixon and
Memphis Minnie to Charles Shefeld and Betty James. Like expert stonecutters, she
and her band chiseled the songs into exciting new shapes and forms, honoring
history while breathing new life into each discovery.
Recorded live and in just two days, Down Hearted Blues finds Jewell making each song her own, while paying homage to her beloved inspirations. “We really love to uncover the past. It’s almost like digging for buried treasure,” Jewell says. “For me, that’s where music is at. I like all kinds of music as long as there’s the word early in front of it.”