‘Red, White And American Blues (It Couldn’t Happen Here)’ was recorded in 2019 and, like most projects, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the thirteen original compositions on Nathan Bell's latest record are every bit as relevant now as they were back then.
Featuring guest appearances by Patty Griffin, Regina McCary, and Aubrie Sellers, the album mixes the blues with Americana, jazz, and rock and enhances Bell’s reputation as an artist worth taking time to invest in.
Bell’s songwriting is phenomenal. At times caustic, dark, and laden with black humour, his lyrics are socially aware, entertaining, and thought-provoking. The opener ‘Angola Prison’ looks at America’s brutal prison regime, ‘American Gun’, the often-conflicting relationship the country has with firearms. Title Track ‘American Blues’ provides a stunning critique of contemporary American society and the contradicting attitudes towards religion, race, and war in the land of the free.
There is a softer side to Bell’s writing too. ‘To Each Of Us A Shadow’ looks at the delicate nature of mental health and ‘A Lucky Man (For My Father, The Original Dead Man)’, is a gentle remembrance and tribute to Bell’s late father. Rooted deep in the blues, the funky ‘Monday, Monday (The Bony Fingers Reprise)’ is a classic tip of the hat to the working-class struggle to make ends meet. Sticking with the genre, ‘Retread Cadillac (Lightnin’)’ honours the legend of blues pioneer Lightnin’ Hopkins.
‘Red, White And American Blues (It Couldn’t Happen Here)’ is an album that speaks volumes about the artist and the state of contemporary America. Given the continuing rise of “Trumpism” and the far-right, not just in the United States but worldwide, the songs are timely reminders that it could happen anywhere.