Bringin' It All Back Home (Johnny Copeland album)

Copeland recorded the album in March 1984 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he collaborated with African musicians.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sOKZKESWys0C&pg=PA44|title=Encyclopedia of the Blues-2nd (p)|first=Gérard|last=Herzhaft|date=September 17, 1997|publisher=University of Arkansas Press|isbn=9781610751391}}{{cite news |last1=Snowden |first1=Don |title=Copeland Takes Blues 'Home' to Africa |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2 Feb 1986 |department=Calendar |page=74}} It was produced by his manager, Dan Doyle.{{cite magazine |last1=Snowden |first1=Don |title=From Out of the Blues |magazine=The Reggae & African Beat |date=1986 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=26–29}} Bringin' It All Back Home is considered the first time an American blues musician recorded an album in Africa.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwNuwwSk9R4C&pg=PA226|title=Encyclopedia of the Blues: A-J|first=Edward M.|last=Komara|date=September 17, 2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis US|isbn=9780415927000}} Copeland decided to record there after his 1982 tour of the continent; many of the album's songs were inspired by the trek.{{cite news |last1=Joyce |first1=Mike |title=Texas Blues & the Horns of Africa |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=17 Apr 1987 |page=B7}} Copeland included African percussion and the kora on many of the tracks.{{cite news |last1=Snider |first1=Eric |title=Lean, Lone-Star Blues |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=12 Aug 1988 |department=Weekend |page=22}}

{{music ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bringin-it-all-back-home-mw0000319265|title=Johnny Copeland Bringin' It All Back Home|website=AllMusic}}

|rev2 = Robert Christgau

|rev2score = B+{{Cite web|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Johnny+Copeland|title=Johnny Copeland|website=Robert Christgau}}

|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=2 |page=543}}

|rev4 = MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide

|rev4score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide |date=1998 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=92}}

}}

Robert Christgau wrote that the band "finds a groove somewhere between an airborne Congolese rumba and a Gulf Coast shuffle with some tricky dance figures thrown in." The Chicago Tribune noted that "African rhythms and instruments wind their way in and out of Copeland's more familiar Texas blues, sometimes seeming exotic, other times seeming perfectly normal."{{cite news |last1=Brogan |first1=Daniel |title=Johnny Copeland, Bringin' It All Back Home |work=Chicago Tribune |date=24 Jan 1986 |department=Friday |page=50}} The New York Times stated that Copeland "sings with a strong, persuasive urgency," and concluded that he "comfortably extended his reach by working with an African rhythm section."{{cite news |last1=Holden |first1=Stephen |title=Johnny Copeland |work=The New York Times |date=30 Jan 1987 |page=C21}}

The Globe and Mail 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."{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Mark |title=Bringin' It All Back Home Johnny Copeland |work=The Globe and Mail |date=24 Apr 1986 |page=D5}} The Toronto Star deemed the album "compelling listening, an almost off-handed synthesis of African roots music and raw, elemental blues."{{cite news |last1=Quill |first1=Greg |title=Bringin' It All Back Home, Johnny Copeland |work=Toronto Star |date=25 Apr 1986 |page=D20}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Bringin' It All Back Home track listing

| total_length= 35:17

| all_writing = Johnny Copeland except where noted

| title1 = Kasavubu

| length1 = 5:20

| title2 = The Jungle

| length2 = 3:29

| title3 = Ngote

| writer3 = T.P. Polyrhythmo

| length3 = 8:15

| title4 = Djeli, Djeli Blues

| writer4 = Djeli Mousa

| length4 = 1:09

| title5 = Djeli, Djeli Blues

| note5 = Continued

| writer5 = Mousa

| length5 = 2:12

| title6 = Abidjan

| length6 = 3:37

| title7 = Bozalimalamu

| length7 = 3:14

| title8 = Same Thing

| length8 = 3:53

| title9 = Conakry

| length9 = 4:08

}}

Musicians

• Johnny Copeland – guitar, vocals
• Michael Merritt – bass
• Jimmy Wormworth – drums
• Jimmy Hyacinthe, Joel Perry, and Malina – guitars
• Halial, Jean-Claude Kungnon, and Souliman Moamed – percussion
• Koffi Assalé – alto saxophone
• Bert McGowan – tenor saxophone
• Emmet King – trombone
• Ben Bierman – trumpet
• Ken Vangel – piano
• Djeli Mousa – kora (tracks 4 and 5)

Technical

• Dan Doyle – producer, liner notes
• Émile Valognes and Pamphile de Souza – recording engineers
• Dominique Samarcq – mixing engineer
• George Peckham – mastering engineer
• Ken Vangel – arrangement
• Steve Billington – design
• Albert Loudes – photography
• Souleymane Coulibaly – technical assistance

{{reflist}}

{{Johnny Copeland}}

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Category:Johnny Copeland albums

Category:1985 albums

Category:Rounder Records albums

Category:Texas blues albums

Category:Folk albums by American artists