"Scott Ainslie isn't all that well known but he should be. If you love the delta style blues you will wear this CD out. Playing in the style of one man, one insturment, Mr. Ainslie demonstrates a mastery of blues that will blow your socks off. He has a fantastic blues voice coupled with a technical and artististic mastery of the guitar. He does Robert Johnson better than Robert Johnson did. You absolutely won't be disappointed if you are a Bluesman."
NICE EFFORT!
deepbluereview | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA USA | 05/19/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Scott Ainslie is a blues historian, teacher and fine musician that has compiled 4 originals with 4 Robert Johnson tunes and a sprinkling of tunes written by Bukka White, Gary Davis and others. Ainslie performs solo on all numbers but two--"Change my Name" where he is accompanied by son Gabriel on percussion and "My baby walks on fire" where he is accompanied by Jazz/Blues guitarist Scott Sawyer. On the various tunes Ainslie plays his 1931 National, electric guitar and a one string "diddley bow". While Peter Green does a better interpretation of the Robert Johnson tunes on his "Robert Johnson Songbook" and "HotFoot Powder" CD's, the combination of materials on this Cd make this a well done delta blues album."
Nice, but...
Matthew Agnew | Christchurch, New Zealand | 01/01/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"While I can't fault Ainslie's playing (it's really good), the singing just sounds contrived. Not to sound racist, it just sounds weird to have a white voice trying so hard to emulate a black one. It just doesn't do it for me. If you want to hear these songs, listen to them as recorded by the original artist. The diddley-bow playing is interesting but only goes so far - there's just so much you can do with one string. My hat goes off to Mr Ainslie for trying this hard, but I'd rather hear an album of instrumentals or originals sung in his "natural" voice. "Terraplane" gets three stars due to his excellent guitar work."
Blues Knows No Color, Baby
Hallie Johannson | Chicago, IL | 10/12/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Just a quick note to anyone that might be new to listening to delta blues...please don't pay any mind to the reviews spouting dislike of "white people trying to sing black!" This CD's music speaks for itself and the blues is an attitude, not a color! An artist singing from the soul is just that....and should not be compared to what some narrow-minded folks think a blues voice should be. I have been, and always will be, drawn back to this music and my feeble attempts to play my resonator because of the music of many of the blues greats which include Scott Ainslie, Rory Block, and Chris Whitley (get his "Dirt Floor" CD and see what I mean), all of whom happen to be caucasian! Listen with your ears and your heart and your soul."