Joel Mabus's newest album, his twenty-sixth, is a collection of ten songs revolving around a theme: the blues. Just what kind of blues it is varies, as he explains in his discussion with Cara Lieurance for WMUK's Let's Hear It. An album release concert for A Bird In This World is set for 8:30 pm at Bell's Eccentric Cafe on Friday, April 10.
Together, Joel and Cara sample six of the new tracks, all original songs from Mabus. He tells the story behind "Brown County Bounce," an instrumental that brings back a recollection of being kicked out of the Bean Blossom Festival in Brown County by fiddler Kenny Baker, for not paying admission.
Cara admires Joel's "acerbic but fond" look at human foibles, as they discuss the song "Simply Lost in the Blues." Mabus extends the blues to a slow ragtime piece for guitar, "Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet."
