Ruf Records – 2015
CD1: 15 tracks: 71 minutes; CD2: 16 tracks: 66 minutes
by JOHN MITCHELL. This double CD is a labour of love for producer Norman Davis who was initially inspired by hearing Big Mama Thornton play harp. Realising that female harp players were few and far between, Norman established a website (hermonicas.com) to register as many female harp players as possible. After listing 200 players on the website Norman spent several years putting the material together for this release, involving agreement from 31 different artists before Ruf Records agreed to release the project. This reviewer recognised only a few names on the list: Big Mama Thornton, Annie Raines, Octavia, Roxy Perry, Dana Dixon and Christelle Berthon. Obviously with such a large number of artists it is only possible to discuss a few highlights but there are all styles of blues here from acoustic country to raucous rock and roll. READ MORE