Don't Let the Devil In
Artist: Les Copeland 
URL: www.youtube.com/lescopeland
Label: Earwig Music 
Time: 15 tracks/55 min. 

Les Copeland is an excellent guitarist who plays in a variety of styles - blues, jazz, and folk, with blues being the most dominant. He is adept at finger-picking and slide, and is a capable songwriter. His debut, Don't Let the Devil in, is an ambitious grab-bag of fourteen originals, and one cover, recorded mostly solo on acoustic or electric guitar. Occasionally, Les duets with himself, and, on two tracks, he is joined by fellow guitarist David "Honeyboy" Edwards. In addition, harmonica player Michael Frank adds spice to three tunes, but mostly this is Copeland's show. 

The project has a live-in-the-studio feel. The recording is generally clean, but you can hear amps buzz and a few odd distortions throughout. There are a small number of overdubs, and the mix seems to be an afterthought. 

"That Needing Time," which captures the same sentiment as Bill Withers soulful "Lean on Me" did back in the 70s, kicks things off. Copeland's six-string struts and sways, as his finger-picking, strumming, and slide styles mesh. This is a fitting intro. 

A couple of melodic, tightly constructed instrumentals appear shortly after, and they are diamonds: "Ry Cooder," captures the slide playing wizardry of its namesake, which is to say it is concise and slinky; "Riding the Sky Train" has a ragtime feel and reminds me of the intricate and carefree playing of Rev. Gary Davis. 

"Long Lost Love," which appears midway through the CD, is another highlight. In the liner notes, William Lee Ellis describes the style on this song as "the fancy finger-picking of Merle Travis had he grown up in the Mississippi Delta." I concur. 

Toward the end of the album, three sturdy tracks are strung back-to-back. "Everyday People" slyly observes "...a hundred dollar hat sittin' on a nickel head" and is sung to a folky blues-rock accompaniment; "Wet Paper Bag" is funny, clever and jazzy; and "Don't Let the Devil in" offers genuine advice, given added weight by the robust harmonica blowing of Michael Frank, but avoids sounding preachy. 

Other tunes don't work as well. The jazz-informed instrumental "Ginseng Girl," lacks structure, "I'm the Little One" is a well-written children's song about the hope and joy a child brings to life, but seems out of place here, and other songs are too loose, or run on too long. The record is at its brightest and best when the playing is tightly constructed, and compliments the tunes, rather than running away with them. 

Still, there are many moments to be savored here, if you have the patience to shift through the odds and ends. Les Copeland has the makings of a distinctive guitarist in the blues tradition, and this is a welcome and entertaining debut. 

Gary D. Kersey 
June, 2010