Artist: The Mike Duke Project
Album: …took a while
Label: Little Village Foundation
Release Date: 10.11.2019
In a business that can often be cruel and uncaring, it’s reassuring to find an album like Mike Duke’s. The title is certainly no overstatement. It took forty years to get this done, and credit the Little Village Foundation for compiling vintage material, four newly recorded tracks and a recent live solo piano piece from Mike Duke, who built most of his career as the primary songwriter for Huey Lewis & the News. Credit also Bob Brown, manager for Huey Lewis & the News, for recognizing Duke’s talents as a singer and songwriter in the early ‘80s and bringing this project to life.
Duke is a keyboardist and gifted soul singer who, at age 71, has his first album. While “Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do” and “Doin’ It All for My Baby” for Lewis & the News might be his most well-known songs, Duke’s pedigree stretches to Delbert McClinton, Gregg Allman, and Dr. John too, as well as a key member of Southern bands Wet Willie as well as the Outlaws. So, back to Bob Brown and the story of how the project came to light. Twenty years ago, Brown bought the old roadhouse, West Marin’s Rancho Nicasio. He hired Duke to run its general store and lead its house band, the Rancho All-Stars, featuring Brown’s wife, Texas blues singer Angela Strehli. Duke has been part of Rancho Nicasio since, and four new songs were recorded there to round out this record, which has 15 tracks. The Zydeco Flames back up Duke on the NOLA-imbued “Let Me Be Your Fool Tonight.” Elvin Bishop delivers piercing slide on “I Can’t Let You Go.” Members of the Rancho All-Stars, including Strehli, contribute to the ballad “I’m Not Sad Tonight.” Duke’s at the piano with Kid Andersen on bass for stirring take on his gospel “Torn & Scarred” and alone at the piano for the live closer, “Nicasio.”
While Brown is the Executive Producer, it’s not surprising to see the ubiquitous Kid Andersen handling the mixing and postproduction, or founder of the Little Village Foundation, keyboardist Jim Pugh, aboard on several tracks. Brown presents a full array of Duke’s styles—blues, pop, R&B, rock and gospel—culled from 50-60 songs, but the prevailing sound is a Southern soul album. Duke plays piano and sings on all tracks including the three Huey Lewis & the News covers. Most of them are presented in their original demo form. On the original version of “Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do,” Duke is joined by his fellow members of the group, Wet Willie as it was in 1980: Jimmy Hall (sax, backing vocals), Larry Berwald (guitar), and Jack Hall (bass). The drummer on this track, who also appears throughout many of the other songs on the album, was Bill Stewart, who was the original drummer in Wet Willie before becoming a Capricorn Records mainstay in groups such as Cowboy and the Gregg Allman band. “That’s What So Good About the South” was originally pitched by Duke to the great Dr. John; and one listen to the tune confirms it would have been a perfect song for him. That track was co-produced by former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Jack Pearson, who also plays guitar on it. The vintage tracks fit it comfortably with the newer ones, with the middle part of the ablum, those with background vocalists being especially strong : “Let Me Be Your Fool Tonight” (new), “I’m Not Sad Tonight”(new), and “Ain’t No Easy Way” (older).
Yes, there is plenty of history here as Duke explains that, “Coming Round Again,” Duke’s paean to the end of a relationship, was originally pitched to Gregg Allman after his break-up with Cher. The earliest recorded track on this project, it was produced in 1977 by noted Southern rock producer Paul Hornsby (The Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels Band) in Macon, Georgia. Duke’s steeped in Southern soul, so much so than when you listen to these tracks, you’ll be stunned that these recordings are only being heard now for the first time.
Once again, give credit to Jim Pugh’s Little Village Foundation, a non-profit cultural producer and record label that searches out, discovers, records and produces music that otherwise would not be heard beyond the artist’s family and community. Little Village supports the dreams of artists from non-traditional backgrounds. Many of these artists gave up performing careers long ago or make music just as a part of telling their community stories. Through some detective work and the help of an extensive network from his long performing career, Pugh learns of great music happening in communities throughout the country, music that has deep roots in American popular and roots traditions. He then offers to record their music at no expense to the artist at all. Usually this is the very first time the artist has been recorded. Not only is there no expense to the artist, Little Village Foundation gives ALL proceeds from sales back to the artist. So, there are some Good Samaritans in this music business, after all.
—Jim Hynes
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