WILLIAM LEE ELLIS: Conqueroo

William Lee Ellis

Conqueroo

© 2003 Yellow Dog Records / Bellwether Records (823800104323)

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Acclaimed Americana/Blues guitarist pens a song cycle steeped in the musical language of Appalachia and the Delta. Named "Best of 2003" by Acoustic Guitar magazine.

tracks

1 She Conquered the Conqueroo
2 My Religion Too
3 Where Would I Go
4 How the Mighty Have Fallen
5 Never Be the Child
6 Northern Lights
7 Everything Changes But You
8 King of the Mountain
9 Maybellene
10 Honey Take Your Time
11 Rider on Your Soul
12 Black Sea Blues
13 Rose Hill

notes

From acclaimed Americana/Blues guitarist William Lee Ellis, godson and namesake of legendary bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe, comes Conqueroo, a song cycle steeped in the musical language of Appalachia and the Delta.



Ellis's most personal record to date, Conqueroo is also his most eclectic, a place where a cappella gospel, mountain balladry and rockabilly rhythms intertwine with Big Star-like melancholy, pristine country melodies and song structures that create a new language from old archetypes.



Accompanied by longtime pal Larry Nager, Memphis soul group the Masqueraders, vocalists Susan Marshall and Reba Russell, and his internationally renowned father, Tony Ellis, William Lee Ellis lays out 13 elegant, eloquent tunes, ranging from the soulful ("How the Mighty Have Fallen") to the heartfelt ("King of the Mountain"), while touching on every emotion in between. On Conqueroo, Ellis is the vanquisher, the gentle master in control of his own musical destiny.

reviews

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  • author: Acoustic Guitar

    An Americana gem that sparkles with blues invention and country soul...

  • Clearly one of the standout releases of 2003 in any genre of music.
    author: Blues Bytes

    A completely original, masterful mix of American music... Fans of all kinds of music will find much to savor in Conqueroo. It is clearly one of the standout releases of 2003 in any genre of music.

  • A beautiful album.
    author: Blues Matters!

    Fresh, delicate but powerful... His lyrics are thoughtful, playful and even poetic. Conqueroo on Yellow Dog Records is a beautiful album.

  • If you leave this album in the store, you’re doing yourself a great disservice.
    author: The Chattanoogan

    One of the best picking blues guitarist I’ve heard in a long time... no matter how fast the tempo gets, Ellis makes every lick cleaner than a whistle and pulls off the most soulful lyrics with complete sincerity.

  • author: All Music Guide

    Three years after William Lee Ellis gained the attention of the world's blues community with his stellar third album and Yellow Dog Records debut, The Full Catastrophe, he arrived on a horse of a different color. Conqueroo is a record steeped deeply in all of the traditions that have informed Ellis' musical, spiritual, and emotional lives: folk, bluegrass, prewar blues, ragtime, country gospel, and classical, and yet what comes from his guitar and voice is entirely his own. Sure, one can hear Gary Davis and Lonnie Johnson in his playing, but one can also hear Clarence White, Merle Travis, and most of all, Ellis himself in his playing. Unlike the revivalists out there, Ellis is a stylist, an original guitarist and songwriter who understands that tradition is the source of the flame but is never the fire itself -- that comes from the heart of the artist. Ellis' songs are deeply spiritual and full of street and amorous grit. Using his acoustic guitar and soulful baritone voice, he talks about virtues and vice as blessings that are forever linked inside the human heart and in the soul of the Divine. On an a cappella gospel tune such as "It's My Religion Too" with the soul/gospel quartet the Masqueraders, the mood is sacred; on the gutbucket slide blues of "Never Be the Child," it's profane; on the gorgeous folksy country of "Where Would I Go?" with father Tony's violin (the elder Ellis was a member of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys and named William after his old boss), it's one of forlorn love; and on the spooky "Northern Lights," with the bowed bass of Larry Nager, the feel is an old Scottish love ballad of the moors, but it's far more lonesome -- and menacing. There's solid bluegrass in the mix too on "King of the Mountain," but it's graced and greased with Delta blues in its turnarounds, and then, on an amazing read of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene," Ellis re-reads the original through the blues via the rag styles of Rev. Davis and Tampa Red. The tune is a duet with Reba Russell, and Nager keeps it rooted into its changes while Ellis runs all over its body with his guitar. The other duet is with Susan Marshall on "Honey Take Your Time," a bawdy little love song that makes the feet shuffle and the backbone slip involuntarily. The last three tracks -- "Rider on Your Soul," "Black Sea Blues," and "Rose Hill" -- are Ellis ripping it up on lap and steel guitars, playing the living hell out of it, singing about damnation and deliverance as if the Devil arrived on the doorstep at the same time Jesus did and you have to choose between them though they look the same. While The Full Catastrophe was a brilliant blues record and deserved its accolades, Conqueroo is in an entirely different league. This is a fully realized project that distills American music to its essence and creates something from them that bears Ellis' distinct image. Not since the late John Campbell has there been a blues talent so original, though his vision is not as haunted or hunted. Ellis proves that not only are the blues not dead or a relic, but a morally instructive, sensually delightful art form whose possibilities have only begun to be mined for what they might contain for the future. This disc deserves the W.C. Handy Award for Album of the Year in 2003.

  • author: Fred Kraus

    With one foot in the 21st century, the other in the timeless magic haze of the Mississippi Delta, William Lee Ellis leads us into a world steeped in life’s mysteries and double-crosses. A haunting quality permeates this 13 track collection -- more than a bit of the hoodoo voodoo. Ellis plays a mean guitar, and he wastes no time in letting it loose in the opening title track, later snaking sweetly through "How the Mighty Have Fallen" as well. Ellis’ selection of the gospel-based "My Religion Too", with its acapella chorus, turns out to be a great and unexpected change of pace; featuring the Masqueraders, Ellis takes a telling look at religion. His one misstep may be the feverish "Rider on Your Soul", which, though it fits thematically, seems too harsh musically for this set. Ellis gets soft and dreamy with "Northern Lights" and decidedy uptempo with "Never Be the Child". His voice and guitar combine for a stellar performance on "Everything Changes But You"; it’s a simple, but quietly powerful number which really shows off his deft compositional skills. It’s a treat when a song sounds like its lyrics -- and "Honey Take Your Time" just eases along like a morning stroll, a wonderful soothing balm. While it may seem unfair to bring out Ellis’ only non-self-penned track for special attention, it simply must be noted that he really fashioned Chuck Berry’s classic "Maybellene" into his own work. This slowed-down, fun and funky bluesy version will have you hitting the repeat button more than a few times. "Conqueroo" weighs in as a fine collection from a veteran singer/songwriter.

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