Trouble in Mind (Mance Lipscomb album)

Trouble in Mind
Studio album by
Mance Lipscomb
Released1961
Recorded1960
LabelReprise[1]
ProducerChris Strachwitz, Mack McCormick
Mance Lipscomb chronology
Texas Songster
(1960) 		Trouble in Mind
(1961) 		You Got to Reap What You Sow
(1964)

Trouble in Mind is the second album by the American musician Mance Lipscomb, released in 1961.[2][3] It was his only album for a major label.[4] Lipscomb promoted the album by playing various folk festivals.[5]

The songs were later released on various Arhoolie Records compilations.[6] Trouble in Mind was rereleased in 2003 with 13 additional tracks from the same recording sessions.[7]

Production

Recorded in Lipscomb's Texas home, the album was produced by Chris Strachwitz and Mack McCormick.[8] The pair had intended to record Lightnin' Hopkins, who was out of the state; Lipscomb was suggested, and they recorded him in Lipscomb's kitchen.[9] Lipscomb played many of the songs with a capo on the guitar neck.[10] Lipscomb did not appreciate having to record multiple versions of the songs, vowing that he was never again going to perform the title track.[11] The hopeful "Trouble in Mind" was a favorite of many mid-century acoustic blues musicians.[12][13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[14]

The Journal of American Folklore wrote that "this great Texas songster absorbed the hard blues and spirituals, the ballads and dance songs, and renders them in a rich, appealing understatement."[15]

No Depression said that "Lipscomb's picked, rhythmic style and grab-bag repertoire had a profound influence on pop artists."[8] AllMusic wrote that Trouble in Mind constitutes "Lipscomb and his acoustic guitar, affably picking and singing his way through an assortment of largely traditional material."[7] The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings noted that "the separation of voice and guitar into different speakers is distracting," although it praised "Rocks and Gravel Makes a Solid Road".[14]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Captain, Captain" 
2."Careless Love" 
3."When Death Comes Creeping in Your Room (Run, Sinner, Run)" 
4."Alabama Bound" 
5."Buck Dance" 
6."Night Time Is the Right Time" 
7."Rocks and Gravel Makes a Solid Road" 
8."Johnnie Take a One on Me" 
9."Motherless Children" 
10."Which-a-Way Do Red River Run" 
11."Trouble in Mind" 
12."Ballad of the Boll Weevil" 

References

  1. ^ Herzhaft, Gérard (January 1, 1997). Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press.
  2. ^ Ruggiero, Bob. "Houston Concerts Unearthed from Texas Bluesman Mance Lipscomb". Houston Press.
  3. ^ Jasinski, Laurie E. (February 22, 2012). Handbook of Texas Music. Texas A&M University Press.
  4. ^ "Mance Lipscomb Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  5. ^ The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Summit Books. 1983. p. 330.
  6. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 425–426.
  7. ^ a b c "Mance Lipscomb Trouble in Mind". AllMusic.
  8. ^ a b "Mance Lipscomb – Trouble In Mind". No Depression. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  9. ^ Dingus, Anne (April 1998). "Mance Lipscomb". Texas Monthly.
  10. ^ Hamburger, David (August 25, 2007). The Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Method. Hal Leonard Corporation.
  11. ^ Hall, Michael (April 2002). "Mack McCormick Still Has the Blues". Features. Texas Monthly.
  12. ^ Wheat, John (1996). Juneteenth Texas: Essays in African-American Folklore. University of North Texas Press. p. 262.
  13. ^ Friedland, Ed (Apr 2015). "The Eight-Bar Blues". Bass Player. Vol. 26, no. 4. pp. 52–53.
  14. ^ a b The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books Ltd. 2006. p. 397.
  15. ^ Wilgus, D.K. (Apr–Jun 1962). "Record Reviews". Journal of American Folklore. 75 (296): 185.

Information related to Trouble in Mind (Mance Lipscomb album)

The Trouble with You