Fanning the Flames (album)

Fanning the Flames is an album by the American musician Maria Muldaur, released in 1996.[2][3] Muldaur labeled the album's music "bluesiana," a combination of blues and Louisiana good-time music.[4] Muldaur included songs with political or topical themes, a choice she had rarely made in the past.[5]

Fanning the Flames
Studio album by
Maria Muldaur
Released1996
GenreBlues
LabelTelarc Blues[1]
ProducerJohn Snyder, Maria Muldaur, Elane Martone
Maria Muldaur chronology
Jazzabelle
(1995)		 Fanning the Flames
(1996)		 Southland of the Heart
(1998)

The album peaked at No. 14 on Billboard's Blues Albums chart.[6] It was Muldaur's first album for Telarc.[7]

Production

Produced by John Snyder, Muldaur, and Elane Martone, the album was recorded at Dockside Studio Recordings, in Maurice, Louisiana.[8][9] Bonnie Raitt duetted with Muldaur on "Somebody Was Watching Over Me".[10] Mavis Staples, Johnny Adams, Ann Peebles, Tracy Nelson, and Huey Lewis also sang on, or contributed instrumentation to, the album.[11][12] "Well, Well, Well" is a cover of the Bob Dylan song; Muldaur was inspired to record it after talking with Dylan about Jerry Garcia's death.[13][14]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
The Commercial Appeal[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[16]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide[8]

The Washington Post thought that when Muldaur "sings blues, R&B or hillbilly music today, she no longer skips lightly over the rhythm; she now reinforces the beat with her vocal oomph, and her throaty growls give her vocals a sassy edge they never had before."[11] Newsday wrote that "it's the ease with which Muldaur can shift from a raw Texas honky-tonk vibe to sly Chi-town sophistication that makes this collection of tunes so interesting."[17]

The Patriot-News stated that "longtime New Orleans keyboard stalwart David Torkanowski, while accorded minimal solo space, provides a vital melodic and harmonic foundation to the session."[18] The Buffalo News concluded that Muldaur's "slightly surreal, baby-doll voice ... has deepened and roughened over the years, but her taste in what to sing remains gutsy and close to impeccable."[19]

AllMusic wrote that "Muldaur belts out gritty blues and gospel and soulful R&B as very few can."[15]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Home of the Blues" 
2."Fanning the Flames" 
3."Trust in My Love" 
4."Somebody Was Watching Over Me" 
5."Heaven on Earth" 
6."Stand By Me" 
7."Talk Real Slow" 
8."Stop Runnin' from Your Own Shadow" 
9."Can't Pin Yo' Spin on Me" 
10."Brotherly Love" 
11."Well, Well, Well" 
12."Strange and Foreign Land" 

References
  1. Macnie, Jim (Sep 14, 1996). "Jazz blue notes". Billboard. 108 (37): 46.
  2. "Maria Muldaur Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. Bream, Jon (16 Oct 1996). "Maria Muldaur takes soulful blues from sultry to funky at Dakota". Star Tribune. p. 4B.
  4. Morse, Steve (8 Nov 1996). "Maria Muldaur at House of Blues". The Boston Globe. p. C12.
  5. Spera, Keith (November 1, 1996). "N.O. MUSICIANS HELP MULDAUR FAN 'FLAMES'". The Times-Picayune. p. L9.
  6. "Maria Muldaur". Billboard.
  7. Ellis, Bill (September 7, 1996). "RECORDINGS". The Commercial Appeal. p. C3.
  8. MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 572.
  9. Jones, David. "Maria Muldaur". OffBeat Magazine.
  10. Bego, Mark (2003). Bonnie Raitt: Still in the Nick of Time. Cooper Square Press. p. 212.
  11. "MUSIC BOXES". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  12. "The flames are fanned at the Yale". Vancouver Sun. 12 Dec 1996. p. C3.
  13. Albertson, Chris (Jan 1997). "Fanning the Flames". Stereo Review. 62 (1): 103.
  14. "MULDAUR BLUES-BOUND DESPITE THAT HIT SONG ABOUT AN OASIS". The Palm Beach Post. TGIF. 21 Nov 1997. p. 22.
  15. "Fanning the Flames - Maria Muldaur | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  16. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 62.
  17. Cooper, Carol (3 Nov 1996). "A Multifaceted Muldaur". Newsday. p. C25.
  18. Neff, Russ (September 19, 1996). "'Fanning The Flames', Maria Muldaur". The Patriot-News. p. C3.
  19. Simon, Jeff (October 18, 1996). "MULDAUR'S HOUR". The Buffalo News. p. G8.
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