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Frank Hovington--Gone With The Wind |
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Written by John Miller
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 I recently picked up this CD of Delaware Country Bluesman Frank
Hovington. It is a Flyright release, FLY CD 66, (manufactured in the
Czech Republic!), and was recorded by Blues researcher Bruce Bastin and
Dick Spottswood on two days at Frank's home in 1975. I have an earlier
relase of most of the material on a Rounder album which I believe never
survived into the CD era.
Frank presents an odd case of a Country
Bluesman who people knew about, but who none the less almost went
without being recorded at all. He was discovered by John Fahey, who
saw him playing on his porch when driving by, and drove back to hear
what he sounded like. This was several years prior to Frank being
recorded. In fairness to the people who knew about him but did not
record him, Frank seems to have been a kind of diffident guy who didn't
seek out the limelight.
The program is very generous here, with 19 tunes, in a nice combination
of East Coast standards and complete surprises. Standards include
"Digging My Potatoes" "Trouble In Mind", "Railroad Bill", "John Henry",
"Old Blue", and "Blood Red River". Frank has a nice quality of always
bringing something new to the evergreens he performs. His version of
"John Henry", in open D with a slide, has an epic quality and many
verses I have never heard elsewhere. Similarly, he plays a bridge on
"Railroad Bill" that was new to me. He does a great version of
"Lonesome Road Blues" that I used for the C and E lesson that was
recently posted. Like many Blues singers, he particularly shines
vocally on non-Blues material, and he does great versions of the old
country tune "Nobody's Darling But Mine" and the hymn "Where Could I go
But To The Lord". He shows a lot of key variety, with tunes in A, C,
G, and E standard, dropped D (an instrumental, "90 going North") and
open D. Moreover, he does two tunes on 5-string banjo, showing a
predilection for that instrument shared by John Jackson, Elizabeth
Cotten and Etta Baker.
Frank's musical individuality shines
throughout the program, particularly with regard to his phrasing, which
while not necessarily conforming to the common Blues forms, manages to
keep a strong rhythmic flow going at all times. The music sounds
home-made in the best possible way. I'm enjoying the CD a lot, and I
like the idea of a musician like Frank Hovington coming from so near
where I grew up. I wish I had gotten a chance to see him sing and play. {mos_smf_discuss:Reviews}
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