Grant Dermody & Frank Fotusky: “Digging In John’s Backyard” (2022) CD Review

The John of the album’s title, Digging In John’s Backyard, is John Jackson, a blues musician who began playing in the 1940s but wasn’t really discovered until the mid-1960s. Both Grant Dermody and Frank Fotusky became friends with the elder bluesman, who also served as mentor to them. This album was created in honor of John Jackson, though interestingly only one of the tracks chosen for it was written by him. Grant Dermody is on harmonica, and Frank Fotusky is on guitar, with both providing vocals. This album has a great classic blues sound, and is thoroughly enjoyable.

The album opens with “Hey Hey Daddy Blues,” written by Arthur Phelps, who apparently also went by the name Blind Blake, as well as Arthur Blake, though that’s not confirmed. It’s kind of an adorable number. “Hey, hey, your daddy’s feeling blue/Well, I’m worried all the time.” While the man of this song might be struggling, might in fact be close to death, the guitar work is so cheerful. That’s followed a cool rendition of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Peach Tree Blues,” featuring some great stuff on harmonica. “I like your peaches so well/They have taken effect on me/I’m gonna get myself a ladder/Climb way up on your top limb.” Then “Police Dog Blues” has a gentle vibe and outlook, beginning with these lines: “All my life I’ve been a traveling man/All my life I’ve been a traveling man/Now I’m living alone, doing the best I can.” John Jackson included this song on Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down, a compilation of his 1960s recordings. It was written by Blind Blake. If Blind Blake and Arthur Phelps are in fact the same person, it is interesting that on this album one song is credited to one name, another to the other. And, yeah, once a woman has set the police dog on you, it naturally follows that you’d be saying “Good Morning Judge,” which was written by Carl Martin. I especially dig the instrumental work on this track, particularly that section in the second half. And he sure seems to be assuming the best of the judge when singing the lines, “Good, kind judge, won’t you listen to my plea/And let my baby come back home to me.” Or assuming a little flattery will do the trick.

“Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar” is a song that was included on John Jackson’s Country Blues & Ditties. “I’m telling this world goodbye/I’m telling this world goodbye/I’m telling this world and my dear little girl/That I’ll soon tell them all goodbye.” This is a great blues number about impending death. The blues can make even death sound okay, palatable, you know? That’s followed by “You Better Lie Down,” which begins with a great burst on harmonica, a lonely but powerful cry. This one has something of a darker vibe. It’s a slow, cool tune. “I may be crazy, but I ain’t no fool.” We then get the album’s sole song actually written by John Jackson, “Boats Up River,” a song that was included on Jackson’s Blues And Country Dance Tunes From Virginia, released in the mid-1960s, and also on Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down. Frank Fotusky recorded a version of this on his own, including it on his debut solo album, Teasin’ The Frets, where it is listed as “Boats Up The River.” On this new version, he and Grant Dermody take turns singing sections, then halfway through their voices join together for these lines: “I’m going away to leave this ol’ country/I’m going away to leave all alone/Ain’t that a shame/And I wonder if my baby’s on that train.”

“Shake And Break It” is a whole lot of fun. Didn’t Canned Heat cover this song? Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Just shake it, you can break it/You can hang it on the wall/Out the window, mama, catch it before it falls/Shake it, break it/Hang it on the wall/Out the window, catch it before it falls/My jelly, my roll/Sweet mama, don’t you let it fall.” Totally delightful, right? In addition, this track features some delicious guitar work. Things then get darker with a good rendition of Skip James’ “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues.” “Now then you say you got money/You had better be sure/Because hard times will follow you from door to door.” That’s followed by “Seattle Rainy Day Blues,” a song written by John Cephas and originally recorded by Cephas & Wiggins. I lived in the Pacific Northwest for several years, and, yeah, the rain eventually got me down. Anyone who has lived up in that area knows just what this song is about. “Pack up my clothes, sweet mama/Riding on that midnight train/Where I get to riding/Gonna be better than all this rain.”

“Death Don’t Have No Mercy” is a song I first heard on a Grateful Dead concert tape when I was in my early teens, and it got its hooks in me immediately. It still gets in my head quite often, and I sometimes find myself singing a verse of it aloud before I realize it. “Well, death don’t have no mercy in this land/Death don’t have no mercy in this land/He’ll come to your house, he won’t stay long/Look around the room, one of your family’ll be gone/Death don’t have no mercy in this land.” This song was included on John Jackson’s Front Porch Blues. Grant Demody and Frank Fotusky deliver a really good, effective rendition. That’s followed by “Papa’s On The Housetop,” a fun one to raise our spirits a bit after the previous track. It features some great stuff on harmonica. “Well, hush little baby, don’t you cry/The blues gonna leave you by and by.” The album then concludes with a traditional song, “Alberta,” which has been covered by a lot of artists over the years. It provides a rather sweet-sounding ending to this wonderful album.

CD Track List

1. Hey Hey Daddy Blues
2. Peach Tree Blues
3. Police Dog Blues
4. Good Morning Judge
5. Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar
6. You Better Lie Down
7. Boats Up River
8. Shake It And Break It
9. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
10. Seattle Rainy Day Blues
11. Death Don’t Have No Mercy
12. Papa’s On The Housetop
13. Alberta

Digging In John’s Backyard was released on January 14, 2022.