Show Me the Way Home, Honey

Known internationally in his profession as the “Doctor of the Blues,” Marshall Lawrence operates with a guitar instead of medical instruments. The Canadian Ph.D. in Psychology espouses a holistic approach to music that not only cures what ails you, but is a preventative as well. His latest release follows the critical accolades for Where’s the Party (2003), The Morning After (2008) and Blues Intervention (2010) with a timely visit from the good doctor.
The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist presents 11 originals and two covers spanning acousticcountry blues and R&B backed by Dave “Hurricane” Hoerl (harmonica), Russell Jackson (upright bass), David Aide (Hammond B-3 organ), Barry Allen (background vocals), Dwayne Hrinkiw (drums) and special guests, the legendary Holmes Brothers. The toe-tapping hoedown of “Mean Momma Blues” dares you to sit still as Lawrence, Hoerl and Jackson raise a ruckus while the leader files a classic complaint against his woman in his understated drawl. His urgent slide guitar in dynamic stop-time helps drive home the kissoff in “I Got to Ramble” with “You cook my dinner, but you don’t bake my bread…I’ve had enough of your cold, cold bed.” The Holmes Brothers lend their heavenly gospel harmonies to sweeten the raw Delta shuffle of “Factory Closing Blues” as Lawrence throws down a poisonous indictment at the feet of hard-hearted big business. “Please Help Me Find My Way Home” rocks with an easy shuffle beat under Lawrence in his plea to a “brother” for assistance in getting his debauched life back on the path with Hoerl and Aide offering gentle instrumental encouragement.
The surging “The Ballad of Molly Brown” rolls and tumbles with the authenticity for which Lawrence is justly lauded, his deftly-picked rhythm and slide guitars driving him back to Molly with palpable energy. Striking Latin rhythms and inventive minor key melodies inform “Biscuit Rolling Daddy” with a poignancy rarely encountered in a braggadocio blues. The insinuating slow tempo of “Rich Man Can’t Get the Blues” provides the proper musical venue for Lawrence to show sympathy for “rich and poor, black and white” and for Hoerl to give out with his most expressive “Mississippi saxophone” solo. Lawrence flaunts his Delta blues virtuosity on Tommy Johnson’s classic “Canned Heat Blues,” his drop D-tuned axe sprinkling sparkling notes on top of the simultaneously thumping chordal accompaniment.
“I Wanna Love You” has Lawrence spouting sly euphemisms over his bump and grind acoustic guitar flavored with slide and mandolin as Hoerl twists his lusty harp over and around the proceedings. “Another Saturday Night” mixes an amazing combination of poly-rhythms courtesy of layered guitars to evoke the anticipation of an end of work week good time. Bittersweet longings lyrically and instrumentally blend expressively in “Long Way Back Home,” the chugging rhythm of his cleanly-picked acoustic guitar replicating the sound of a train steaming down the track with uncanny verisimilitude. Turning up the heat in the boiler, Lawrence blasts his main squeeze on “Hey Girl (Tired of Your Lying)” in no uncertain terms over an intense headlong boogie beat that threatens to careen off the rails. Continuing the theme, Lawrence ends his show with the traditional “Death’s Black Train” clacking along over Hrinkiw’s martial drum beat as Allen harmonizes with him on the chorus of ‘Oh, the little black train is coming, get your business right, you better get your house in order, cause the train be here tonight.”
Marshall Lawrence accurately calls his music “Neo-Delta Blues & Roots.” As an inoculation against the ills of the modern world, House Call delivers a shot of blues power directly to the soul. ~Dave Rubin, KBA recipient in Journalism