Shemekia Copeland – Done Come Too Far

As much of a blues fan as I am, I don’t keep up a lot with the contemporary artists. I’m all over every single new old John Lee Hooker release, but when it comes to the up and comers, I just don’t give them a lot of attention. That’s on me, because man, I might miss something sensational, like this album.

The power of her voice. The passion of the lyrics (mostly written by her long-time manager and songwriter John Hahn, who also worked with her father, Johnny Copeland). This is heart-breaking, achingly powerful blues, and blues about the Black experience. It’s of a piece with Mavis Staples’s “We’ll Never Turn Back.” “The Talk” will rip your heart out. It all will.