image courtesy of Frank Roszak Promotions

Album Review of Mark Muleman Massey: Been a Long, Long Time

Mark “Muleman” Massey has a soulful blues voice that’s broad enough to hit all the notes and is relatively smooth for the most part, but Massey adds a grainy, gravelly texture to the vox whenever the songs get emotionally charged. In other words, the ideal voice for a bluesman. Pair that with song selection that suits his strengths, and the result is a top-shelf blues record like Been a Long, Long Time. To top it off, the album was recorded and produced by Billy Lawson at the historic Wishbone Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

Eight of the record’s eleven tracks are Massey-written originals, while the other three are well-chosen covers.

One of those originals is the title track, “Been a Long, Long Time,” the first song on the album. On my first listen, the opening harmonica part was encouraging; then when Massey’s gruff, perfectly-suited blues vocals came in, I knew I was going to like this record so much I’d review it. Now, I’ve been fooled on occasion, but this was definitely not one of those occasions. Mark Muleman Massey is an elite bluesman. I mean, this opening track is a wordsmithy ode to gettin’ some. After a long layoff, sure – I suppose that’s the “blues” part – but there’s nothing more blues than burying this topic in at least a tiny bit of nuance.

photo courtesy of Frank Roszak Promotions

Track two is a heartbroken ballad, “Baby’s Gone,” in which Massey’s voice displays the pain and gravitas to carry the raw emotion. Another ballad, “Give Me Your Love,” shows Massey’s skills tackling a more of a tender balladeering style.

The other Massey co-penned tracks cover a lot of ground. For example, there’s the the kind of seedy-sounding (matching the lyrics), blues-noirish “She’s Married to the Streets.” Also, “My Used to Be,” a mid-tempo number that’s neither smooth nor particularly energetic, rather sporting a more strolling and strutting rhythm. “Can’t Tell Me Nothing About the Blues” has a smooth rhythm, comparatively harsh vocal delivery, and nifty keys and guitar noodling, telling a true blues backstory.

The last couple tracks are also Massey’s own co-writes. “Going Back to Memphis” is a lively number extolling the virtue of being a bluesman on Beale Street, including the recurring lyric “I’m going back to Memphis, where the women know how to rock and roll.” That’s convincing enough for me. And the disc closes with “Your Good Stuff,” a song that’s not shy about kicking a complaining women to the curb with “Go on and leave, take your good stuff with you,” noting there’s a lot more where that came from, with lots of clever, fun NSFW turns of phrase.

In among all these originals are the three well-selected covers. The first is an energetically funky-blues update of Hank Williams’ “Hey Good Looking.” Next is an almost blues-gospel styled, powerful rendition of Tom T. Hall’s “That’s How I Got to Memphis,” with a big, open sound, well-deployed horns, and Massey’s emotive, insistent vocals pulling it all together. The third cover, of Bobby Womack/Wilson Pickett’s “I’m Sorry About That,” is one of the smoothest tracks on this record, a song that’ll have you swaying side to side, possibly with your eyes closed, as you feel every word.

Beginning to end, Been a Long, Long Time is a well-crafted collection that showcases the world-class bluesmanship of Mark “Muleman” Massey.