Blues Review The World's Blues Magazine

Doug MacLeod

There’s A Time

Reference Recordings

BluesWax Rating: 7 out of 10

The Minstrel Makes It Happen Again

Before forming his own band, blues singer/songwriter and guitarist Doug MacLeod served his long apprenticeship in Los Angeles with Big Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton, and George “Harmonica” Smith. MacLeod’s 1984 album No Road Back was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award the same year. Nearly 30 years and a plethora of worthy albums later, this is Doug’s first CD for the excellent Reference Recording label; it is also available on vinyl.

Doug MacLeod is the consummate itinerant blues minstrel, troubadour, storyteller, and entertainer. These qualities do not detract from his status as a serious bluesman, confirmed by tracks such as “Ghost,” the anguished, haunting vocals peppered with piercing notes and chords reflecting his hurt and frustration as he lays his burden down. “The Entitled Few” has a contemporary theme, the able-bodied man who misuses a handicapped card to gain a better parking space. MacLeod heaps shame and scorn on this man who is given no place to hide or run, declaring, “When death calls your name, there is no such thing as the entitled few.” The depth and quality of the lyrics reflect his philosophy, “Never play a note you don’t believe and never write or sing about what you don’t know.”

Not surprisingly, blues legends from Eva Cassidy to Albert Collins have recorded MacLeod’s songs. My favourites here are “The Up Song,” featuring a 12-string National, and “I’ll be Walking On,” which is about how to react positively when a love dies by wishing that person well and walking on to a new sunrise. Although recorded in a studio, the natural rapport and spontaneity between the three musicians, including bassist Denny Croy and Jimi Bott on drums, make the listener believe this is an intimate, live gig. MacLeod will be well known to Blues Revue readers for his regular, insightful, and humorous column in the magazine.

- Dave Scott is a contributing writer to BluesWax.

Doug MacLeod

“The Entitled Few”

There’s A Time

March 14, 2013

The Bing Lounge

Portland, Oregon

April, 5th 2013