In Case You Missed....
A newbie's playlist tour of the work of Ellen McIlwaine
Blind spots happen.
Especially in the digital era, it’s unrealistic to expect anyone – even a 24/7 music nerd – to know about, much less have heard, all the music of consequence. One of my selfish reasons for starting this project was to learn about records I hadn’t encountered – classics and deep-track obscurities and everything in between.
This week’s example: The intense singer, songwriter and guitarist Ellen McIlwaine, who died at age 75 on June 23.
A musical polymath who wrote compelling songs linking elements of blues, Latin boogaloo, Indian raga and psychedelic rock, McIlwaine came up at a time when there were few female guitarists. She developed considerable facility early on – the New York Times obit talks about her playing for a time in New York with a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix – and then went further, refining an expressive, individual approach to bottleneck slide. She conveyed a stirring, devout, seeker’s spirit through the guitar – whether she was soloing or simply sustaining a single note.
McIlwaine made her recording debut in 1969 with a band called Fear Itself, then recorded under her own name beginning in 1972 with Honky Tonk Angel and a stunning followup, We The People, in 1973. These records contrast her exacting instrumental discipline – McIlwaine had a great time concept on rhythm guitar – with a loose, spiraling, highly improvisational singing style. She brought that originality to songs she covered — check her brilliant reworking of “Ode To Billie Joe” into a fitful talking blues.
This playlist chronicles my first encounters with McIlwaine’s work — it’s an attempt to highlight a few stirring moments in a discography of many. McIlwaine revisited favorite songs on multiple records; check the electrifying airborne version of “We The People” from her gorgeous 2007 collaboration with table player Cassius Khan, Mystic Bridge.
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Oh man, I didn't know she had passed. I used to love Ellen and got to see her a couple of times at the Main Point and Bijou Cafe in Philly. She was an extraordinary guitarist and powerhouse singer with a lot of idiosyncrasies that probably kept her out of mass consciousness. I still have the vinyl on those early records but certainly lost track of her.