Medicine

Telarc

Louisiana singer-songwriter/guitarist Benoit co-produced “Medicine” with Sweden transplant and longtime friend Anders Osborne, who also plays rhythm (on B.B. King’s guitar Lucille) and slide.

Seven Benoit-Osborne compositions commingle with covers of tunes by Johnny Otis/Johnny “Guitar” Watson (“Broke and Lonely”); Michael Doucet/Augie Meyers (“Can’t You See”); Toussaint McCall/Patrick Robinson (“Nothing Takes the Place of You”); and John Magnie/Tommy Malone (“Next to Me”).

The rest of the band is Benoit’s bassist, Corey Duplechin, and Osborne’s drummer, Brady Blade. Keyboardist Ivan Neville assists on several tracks, and Doucet plays fiddle on three cuts. The album was recorded at Dockside Studio, on the banks of the Vermillion Bayou. Benoit again enlisted David Z (aka David Rivkin) as engineer.

The hard-rockin’ title track, according to a BluesWax interview with Benoit, came out of the writing sessions on a houseboat: “A lot of times songs come out of things you least expect. Really, it was just a joke at first. … We go down and spend a couple of nights away from the mainland, and Anders forgot his medicine. So this is 9:30 at night when he realizes that, so we gotta take a boat ride at night to get it, and this is stuff he needs. So it was a joke. It was like, ‘Bring me my medicine.’ ”

“Sunrise,” by contrast, is a slow blues ballad with a “Wind Cries Mary”-style riff. Neville’s wicked Hammond B3 skills are spotlighted on “A Whole Lotta Soul.” There’s a pair of good-time rockers in “Come and Get It” and “In It to Win It.” Things take an acoustic detour for “Long Lonely Bayou,” featuring just Benoit on guitar and Doucet on fiddle. Taking things out is the decidedly spright “Mudboat Melissa,” with its Southern-rock feel and Doucet’s inspired fiddling.

Tracks
1. Medicine
2. Sunrise
3. A Whole Lotta Soul
4. Come And Get It
5. Broke And Lonely
6. Long Lonely Bayou
7. In It To Win It
8. Can’t You See
9. Nothing Takes The Place Of You
10. Next To Me
11. Mudboat Melissa

Total time: 50:12

External links
artist’s website
amazon.com
iTunes Store