In December we reported the news of a new Son House album of previously unreleased tracks.
Forever On My Mind, from Easy Eye Sound, the independent label operated by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, is the premiere release from Dick Waterman’s personal cache of ’60s recordings by some of the titans of Delta blues. His collection of quarter-inch tapes — which are being restored to remarkable clarity by Easy Eye Sound — have gone unreleased until now. The collection is due out March 18, 2022.
Today, Easy Eye Sound released a video of the title track, a previously not-on-record song from the pre-World War II blues originator, Son House. Directed by Robert Schober, the video combines stark images with ghostly orbs and apparitions to make for a haunting visual.
Auerbach says:
I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the song. To find out it was an unreleased song, it was a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself.
Schober adds:
Upon hearing it, I was haunted by this particular Son House song and lyrics and thought about rumination, being a trace of one’s self lost in the eroded and overgrown lands of the past.
Edward James “Son” House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was influenced by Charley Patton and actually preceded Robert Johnson, Skip James and Bukka White in helping define the Mississippi Delta blues.
“Forever on My Mind,” was never attempted in a recording studio, but it would be essayed from time to time in House’s concert performances. On the present album, the song, which contains snatches of his friend Willie Brown’s classic “Future Blues” and his own “Louise McGhee,” serves as a living lesson in the improvisatory Delta blues tradition.
Forever On My Mind is scheduled for release on March 18th.
