The acoustic duo's first album in three years doesn't substantially alter the twosome's established game plan. But its well-recorded mix of studio and live tracks -- including one with a full yet laid-back band -- shows them to be at the top of their form. Combining
traditional
Delta
and
Piedmont blues
gospel
classics like
Robert Johnson
's
"Last Fair Deal Going Down"
(a concert staple that finally makes it to disc),
Blind Boy Fuller
's salty, suggestive
"Something Smells,"
Skip James
'
"Sick Bed Blues"
with their similarly styled originals proves they are not stuck in the past, even as they revel in visiting and interpreting it.
John Cephas
"The Pimp in the Pink Suit,"
with its
cowboy
chorus, could just as well have been written in the '30s.
Phil Wiggins
shines on
"Burn Your Bridges,"
an instrumental showcase for his lip-shredding harmonica gymnastics that is as compelling as anything from the great
Sonny Terry
, an obvious influence. While the torchy, supper club
jazz
of
"Darkness on the Delta"
(featuring
Tal Farlow
on guitar) is an interesting tangent, it doesn't really fit with the rest of the more roots-oriented material. But with their devotion to authentic
ragtime
,
folk
, deep
blues
, and religious music,
Somebody Told the Truth
is another uncompromising entry into
Cephas & Wiggins
' exceptional catalog. ~ Hal Horowitz