Todd Sharpville - Porchlight
Who is this guy? He sounds like someone who hails from the Mississippi Delta, not the UK. He plays and sings like a disciple of the three Kings (Freddie, Albert, and B.B.), not an aristocratic blue-blood from Great Britain. His lyrics remind this reviewer of a cross between Bob Dylan and Buddy Guy. So, can a Brit born of privileged lineage really play the blues?
Both CD’s in Todd Sharpville’s latest release, Porchlight had finished (twice) before I looked him up and discovered his genealogy. No, it’s not the “Duke of Earl”, but the Viscountcy of St Davids. He is also the sole heir to four other titles, one of which is the Baronetcy of Picton Castle. Who would have thought that a castle would have a porch! I had formed an impression of Todd Sharpville and decided that the answer to my question above is a resounding “Yes!”
Regardless of his family’s status, he can play, sing, and write the blues.
Speaking of writing, he deals with typical subjects of love, family, finances, and weather like many blues artists. For this reviewer, he gets out on a limb when he dabbles in politics. On track five of the first CD, “Can’t Stand the Crook” he rants about war and politics. Doesn’t he know that the first casualty of any war is the truth? He gets on thin ice with me (a Louisiana native and Katrina survivor) when he looks for someone other than the former mayor and governor to blame.
With the exception of his cover of Shel Silverstein’s “If That Ain’t Love, What Is?”, all the selections were written by Sharpville and for this project, he is joined by Stony Plain artists Duke Robillard and Joe Louis Walker. Kim Wilson sits in on harmonica for several tracks.
So, can a Brit blue-blood be convincing as a blues artist? Sure, about as good as a white man can write about black history.
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