HANS THEESSINK & TERRY EVANS featuring RY COODER

DELTA TIME

2012-09-12

This cross-Atlantic collaboration between Dutch native Hans Theessink and Mississippi born soul/gospel singer Terry Evans is a delight from beginning to end. With Theessink's deep baritone vocals laying down the bottom end and Evans soaring through the mid and high end range, the duo work their way through old classics including "Pouring Water On a Drowning Man", Bobby Charles' "How Come People Act Like That?", J. B. Lenoir's "Down In Mississippi", and Jimmy Reed's "Honest I Do" along with a number of Theessink originals. Sometimes harmonizing, other times trading verses the duo's voices merge into a nearly perfect mix. In addition to melding their voices, the two also weave an effective musical backdrop with their acoustic guitars playing off one another as if they have shared the same stage forever instead of only occasionally. "Mississippi", "Heaven's Airplane", "Build Myself a Home", "Shelter From The Storm" (not the Dylan song) and the title track, get an added boost from guests Willie Greene, Jr and Arnold McCuller who add warm gospel harmonies. Ry Cooder (who frequently featured Evans and duo partner Bobby King on his own releases) also guests on a couple of cuts creating a rich tapestry of guitar sounds. While a number of the tracks are very low key traditional blues, the duo lets loose on "I Need Money" which percolates with the energy of a Keb' Mo' number and on the old Turnarounds classic, "The Birds and the Bees", which the two threw into the mix to honor the fact it was the source of Evan's first real money when he sang it over 50 years ago. Smitty