Tinsley Ellis
According
to Atlanta-based blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Tinsley Ellis, his new,
first-ever solo acoustic album, Naked Truth, is both "a departure
and an arrival." Ellis has been recording and travelling the world for over
four decades, delivering his feral, guitar-fueled, original electric blues-rock
to ever-growing audiences at concert halls, festivals, and clubs. Naked
Truth is steeped in the folk blues traditions of Muddy Waters, Skip
James, Son House, Robert Johnson and even Leo Kottke. To the casual fan, this
might seem to be a new direction, but for Ellis, it's an extension of his
music, as he taps into the raw essence of the blues. "This is a record I've
always wanted to make, and one that my longtime fans have been asking for," he
says, noting he's included an acoustic mini-set in his concert performances for
years. In the last 12 months, Ellis has already performed over 100 solo shows,
many as co-bills with his Alligator label-mate Marcia Ball. "I'm having so much
fun playing these shows," he says.
On Naked Truth (his 21st
album), Ellis swaps his blistering, guitar-fueled full band workouts for
equally passionate, soul-searching acoustic folk blues. His famed guitar chops
and musical creativity are on full display throughout the album's 12 songs,
including nine newly written originals. Naked Truth was produced by Ellis,
with the foot-stomping cover of Son House's Death
Letter Blues produced by Atlanta roots musician Eddie 9V. The album was
recorded live in the studio using Ellis' beloved 1969 Martin D-35 (a gift from
his father) and his 1937 National Steel O Series guitars. Whether intricately
fingerpicking the Martin or playing hair-raising slide on the National Steel,
Ellis delivers each song with unvarnished intimacy.
The opener, Ellis' original Devil In The
Room, comes from an expression Ellis' close friend, the late Col. Bruce
Hampton, would tell his musicians just before a show was about to begin ("We're
here to put the devil in the room," he'd say). From the original, Skip
James-inspired Windowpane to the
Delta-styled Tallahassee Blues, to
the humorous Grown Ass Man, Ellis
goes deep, singing and playing the blues' honest truths. The inclusion of four
introspective instrumentals (including a transcendent cover of Leo Kottke's A Soldier's Grave On The Prairie, a song
he's been playing live for almost 50 years) adds even more depth and substance
to an album overflowing with riches. Each song carries the weight, experience
and hard-earned wisdom Ellis learned over four decades on the road, infusing Naked
Truth with an emotional authenticity that is palpable from start to
finish.
Tinsley Ellis has been immersed in music his
whole life. Born in Atlanta 1957 and raised in southern Florida, he acquired
his first guitar at age seven, inspired by seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. He took to guitar
instantly, developing and sharpening his skills as he grew up. Like many kids
his age, Ellis discovered the blues through the back door of British Invasion
bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream and The Rolling Stones as well as
Southern rockers like The Allman Brothers. One afternoon after high school in
1972, he and a friend were listening to Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfield's Super Session record when his friend's
older brother told them that, if they liked Super
Session, they should go see B.B. King, who was in town that week. Tinsley
saw that show from the very front row. As fate would have it, King broke a
guitar string while playing, and after changing it without missing a beat, he
handed the broken string to young Tinsley. And yes, Tinsley still has that
string.
Less than three years later, Ellis, already an
accomplished teenaged musician, left Florida and moved to Atlanta. He soon
joined a hard-driving local blues band, the Alley Cats. In 1981, along with
veteran blues singer and harpist Chicago Bob Nelson, Tinsley formed The
Heartfixers, a group that would become Atlanta's top-drawing blues band. After
cutting four Heartfixers albums (three for the Landslide label), Ellis was
ready to step out on his own.
Georgia Blue, Tinsley's first Alligator release, hit the
unprepared public by surprise in 1988, as press and radio brought his music to
more people than ever before. His next four releases-1989's Fanning
The Flames, 1992's Trouble Time, 1994's Storm
Warning, and 1997's Fire It Up-further grew his
reputation as well as his audience. (His song A Quitter Never Wins, a highlight of Storm Warning, was
recorded by Jonny Lang, selling almost two million copies.) Features and
reviews ran in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and in many other
national and regional publications. And he backed it all up performing hundreds
of nights per year. Rolling Stone
declared, "Feral blues guitar...non-stop gigging has sharpened his six-string to
a razor's edge...his eloquence dazzles...he achieves pyrotechnics that rival Jeff
Beck and Eric Clapton."
In the early 2000s, Ellis released albums on
Capricorn Records and on Telarc, returning to Alligator in 2005 with Live-Highwayman,
which captured the fifth-gear energy of his roof-raising live show. He followed
it with two more incendiary studio albums, 2007's Moment Of Truth and
2009's Speak No Evil. He self-released four successful albums on his
own Heartfixer label before coming back home to Alligator in 2018. That year,
he released the fan favorite Winning Hand, followed by 2020's Ice
Cream In Hell just before the pandemic sidelined all touring. With
2022's Devil May Care, Ellis embarked on another relentless,
coast-to-coast tour, further cementing his reputation as one of the most
prolific and exciting blues rockers on the scene.
Tinsley Ellis has brought his music to fans live
in person to all 50 United States, as well as in Canada, across Europe,
Australia and South America. He's earned the love and respect of many of his
fellow musicians, having shared stages with Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, The
Allman Brothers, Warren Haynes, Oliver Wood, Buddy Guy, the Tedeschi Trucks
Band, Gov't Mule, Widespread Panic, and more. Over the years, legends including
Otis Rush, James Cotton, Gregg Allman, Jimmy Buffett, Son Seals, Koko Taylor
and Albert Collins invited Ellis to join them on stage. Mega-star guitarist Joe
Bonamassa calls Ellis "a national treasure."
Now, with Naked Truth, Ellis will bring his
music directly to his fans. "Two guitars and a car," he says of the simplicity
of his North American touring situation. "When folks come to see me, I'll have
the guitars I used on the record with me, so what fans hear on the album is
what they'll get live. It's not easy. Now I'm the whole band and there's
nowhere to hide. It's scary every single time I go up on stage alone. But
nothing could be more honest."
Naked Truth is a revelation. Stripped of the electric
fervor that defined his previous works, Ellis' acoustic music carries a rawness
that speaks directly from his soul. The songs unveil another side of Tinsley
Ellis, but one that is totally recognizable to his fans. His gruff,
full-throated vocals intertwine seamlessly with the bare, acoustic
arrangements, creating an album that is both timeless and immediate. No Depression says, "Ellis shines. When
the tempo slows, the intensity doesn't waver." Blues Music Magazine states, "Tinsley Ellis is a powerful and
commanding presence. His music is impossible not to enjoy."