Rollie Tussing Albums

What The Critics Say

There are some folks who say that the retro field is overcrowded, that there are simply too many blues records out there to keep up with it all, and most of it doesn't translate past the "but you oughta see 'em live" standpoint -- music that's great to buy off the bandstand and have the artist sign it, but don't plan on playing it a whole bunch of times. While it is true that the genre is infested with Stevie Ray Vaughan-abees, there's also a nice counterbalance of young players who seem to realize that blues is something more than a bunch of recycled Albert King licks. One such player is young Rollie Tussing III. The sheer fact that this guy would use his real handle is big points in his favor; no fake "Juke Joint Jumpin' Blues Guitar Johnny" for this guy. And, not too surprisingly, his music reflects the same kind of unadorned honesty. We'll keep coming back to the word "refreshing" here because that's just what Blow Whistle Blow is -- a blast of fresh air in a genre that can get awfully stagnant when deep feelings don't infest the walls of its music. Tussing's music has deep feelings and then some.He plays acoustic slide guitar on a steel-bodied National and, as anybody'll tell you, you judge your slidemen (or women) by their touch: is it harsh, is it silky, does it caress the note or slam it down against the fretboard? It's the difference between a Hound Dog Taylor and a Leo Kottke, a Ry Cooder and a J.B. Hutto, a Robert Nighthawk and a Son House. Tussing is part of the new brigade of young players (along with "older" -- at least to him -- players like Kelly Joe Phelps, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and Corey Harris) using country blues as a format to tell their own tales, to put a modern spin on an older American music form. Tussing's voice is still in the developmental stages, but its wispiness is a welcome respite from Boy Scouts strangling their vocal cords trying to sound like Elmore James or Howlin' Wolf, better known as Jonny Lang Syndrome. Tussing's playing, songwriting, arranging skills, and musical choices are superb. He has balls enough to cover "Dark Was the Night" by Blind Willie Johnson, one of the most harrowing pre-war blues/gospel recordings of all time, and actually pulls it off. There are elements of folk in his approach (comparisons to Leo Kottke would be in order except that Tussing was -- amazingly -- never exposed to his music!) along with the overt country blues influences, but the overall effect is warm, cozy, intimate music that sounds good in almost any situation. And records like that are few and far between in these flamboyant times we live in.If there's room for a new breed of acoustic players like Phelps, Youngblood Hart, and Harris, then add Rollie Tussing III's name to the list and be prepared to hear more from this quiet but eloquent artist. His Blow Whistle Blow is the perfect antidote to everything ugly in modern pop music today. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide