''Bringin' It All Back Home'' is an album by the American musician

Johnny Copeland John Clyde Copeland (March 27, 1937 – July 3, 1997) was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer. In 1983, he was named Blues Entertainer of the Year by the Blues Foundation. He is the father of blues singer Shemekia Copeland. In 2017, ...

. It was released in 1985. Copeland supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

Copeland recorded the album in March 1984 in

Abidjan, Ivory Coast Abidjan ( , ; N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population of the country, making it the sixth most ...

, where he collaborated with African musicians. It was produced by his manager, Dan Doyle. ''Bringin' It All Back Home'' is considered the first time an American blues musician recorded an album in Africa. Copeland decided to record there after his 1982 tour of the continent; many of the album's songs were inspired by the trek. Copeland included African percussion and the kora on many of the tracks.

Critical reception

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

wrote that the band "finds a groove somewhere between an airborne

Congolese rumba Congolese rumba, also known as African rumba, is a dance music genre originating from the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). With its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, Congolese ru ...

and a Gulf Coast shuffle with some tricky dance figures thrown in." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' noted that "African rhythms and instruments wind their way in and out of Copeland's more familiar

Texas blues Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock. History Texas blues began to appear in the early 1900 ...

, sometimes seeming exotic, other times seeming perfectly normal." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' stated that Copeland "sings with a strong, persuasive urgency," and concluded that he "comfortably extended his reach by working with an African rhythm section." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' determined that "the singer-guitarist's music at its best moves, and the accompanying horn and rhythm sections here prove a cumbersome weight on the motion." The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' deemed the album "compelling listening, an almost off-handed synthesis of African roots music and raw, elemental blues."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians *

– guitar, vocals * Michael Merritt – bass *

Jimmy Wormworth James Edward Wormworth III (born August 14, 1937, in Utica, New York) is an American jazz drummer. He was described by Leonard Feather in 1960 edition of ''The Encyclopedia of Jazz'' as "One of the most promising young drummers on the New York scen ...

– drums * Jimmy Hyacinthe, Joel Perry, and Malina – guitars * Halial, Jean-Claude Kungnon, and Souliman Moamed – percussion * Koffi Assalé –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

* Bert McGowan –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

* Emmet King – trombone * Ben Bierman – trumpet * Ken Vangel – piano * Djeli Mousa – kora (tracks 4 and 5) Technical * Dan Doyle – producer,

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

* Émile Valognes and Pamphile de Souza – recording engineers * Dominique Samarcq – mixing engineer *

George Peckham George "Porky" Peckham (born 1942) is an English record engineer, widely recognised as among the most accomplished in the business. He has been responsible for producing the master discs from which many vinyl records have been pressed over the ...

– mastering engineer * Ken Vangel –

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

* Steve Billington – design * Albert Loudes – photography * Souleymane Coulibaly – technical assistance

References

{{authority control Johnny Copeland albums 1985 albums Rounder Records albums Texas blues albums Folk albums by American artists