Mississippi native Charlie Musselwhite travels an often-hard road in Mississippi Son, the latest of his nearly 40 albums. 

A singer, guitarist and ace harmonica player raised in Memphis, Musselwhite moved to Chicago in 1962. He knew many of the city’s blues greats and found a mentor in his fellow Mississippi transplant, Muddy Waters. 

After living in northern California since 1967, Musselwhite recently moved back to Mississippi. He recorded Mississippi Son in Clarksdale, a Delta city that bills itself as the home of the blues. The album’s songs include Musselwhite’s introspective originals and interpretations of classics by Charley Patton, John Lee Hooker, Big Joe Williams, the Stanley Brothers and Guy Clark. 

“Blues Up the River,” a Musselwhite composition, depicts a voyage from Memphis, Tennessee, to Greenville and Natchez, Mississippi, down to the Gulf of Mexico. As he does throughout the album, Musselwhite sounds as if he’s singing, or even speaking, in one-on-one conversation with a longtime and dear confidant. 

Darkness looms throughout the album, appearing in multiple songs, including “In Your Darkest Hour,” a song heavy with longing, loneliness and an especially poignant harmonica solo. There’s also “The Dark,” the Guy Clark composition in which Musselwhite asks: “How dark is it? So dark you can see Clarksdale, Mississippi, from here.” 

“My Road Lies in Darkness,” another original song, merges the album’s principal themes, travel and darkness. In that vein, too, there’s Musselwhite’s remake of Hooker’s “Hobo Blues” and his original song, “Drifting from Town to Town.” “Don’t the highway look lonesome when the sun is sinking low,” Musselwhite reveals in sandpapery tones.

Tempo and the mood lighten with “Blues Gave Me a Ride.” It’s easy to jump aboard the laid-back and grooving track, one of the seven Mississippi Son selections featuring drummer Ricky “Quicksand” Martin and acoustic bassist Barry Bays. 

“I was raised up in Memphis, down on 61,” the autobiographical lyrics explain. “But you’ll find me in Clarksdale, where I have my fun.”

—John Wirt