Digging up the ground he broke on Roll Away The Stone, Kelly Joe Phelps returns, playing slide guitar once again, to his blues/gospel roots that informed his very successful earlier work. With a return to simple songwriting and the slide guitar that made him greatly successful in his earliest years, this album is destined to reconnect with a great deal of his old fans, as well as drawing in new ones with successful promotion. Together Phelps and the veteran producer Steve Dawson embarked on a three day recording odyssey that has resulted in Brother Sinner and the Whale, a record that may very well come to be recognized as the best of an already very impressive body of work.
Review:
In 2009, guitarist and songwriter Kelly Joe Phelps pushed his own envelope
with Western Bell, an all-instrumental, decidedly experimental record that has
carved an iconoclastic niche in his catalog. Many thought it to be among his
finest albums, and others felt it was too far outside the pale of his previous
work to embrace. Their loss. Phelps then collaborated with songwriter Corinne
West on the uneven Magnetic Skyline in 2010. After its subsequent tour, he took
some time off before enlisting longtime friend, collaborator, and producer Steve
Dawson to record Brother Sinner & the Whale. Recorded in mono with only his
voice and guitar, the songs are – mostly – based on themes from the book
of Jonah in the bible's Old Testament. Phelps has referenced and played old
gospel songs throughout his career. In fact, there is a new reading of the
traditional “I've Been Converted” which appeared on his debut album Lead Me
On. But it's the originals, all rooted in country and blues gospel, that
embrace with unflinching honesty a return to Phelps' evangelical roots, but
he's older, wiser, repentant. His bottleneck slide playing and fingerpicking
finesse are deft and fluid as ever. His writing is tight, full of solid
melodies, beautiful couplets, biblical poetry, and lithe passages where lyrics
and guitars blur and intertwine seamlessly. Check the slide blues opener
“Talkin' to Jehova,” where each sung line is trailed by intricate, steely
fills that feed the next one. The weary “Hard Times They Never Go Away”
reflects Doc Watson's ten-fingered folk-gospel style, but the lyrics and the
instrumental interludes are pure Phelps, steeped in his brand of restless soul.
His protagonist is out on the edge of the world, looking toward and longing for
home. Speaking of instrumentals, there are two choice ones here: the gritty
slide blues “Spit Me Outta the Whale,” and the National Steel guitar-fueled
closer, “Brother Pilgrim.” The latter showcases his dazzling fingerstyle
playing. No matter your spiritual beliefs, it's difficult to fault Phelps for
such a warm, inviting, and brave recording. If conviction and quality are the
measure of a songwriter and musician, the songs and performances on Brother
Sinner & the Whale are the very measure of both.
Thom Jurek, AllMusic.com