A great admirer of the American songwriter who died in 2011, with whom he played several times, the French bluesman answered our questions.
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Reading time: 4 min
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It’s already been 13 years since Calvin Russell left us. The Texan artist who died in 2011 left his unique mark on the country, rock and blues scene for around twenty years. In 2009 he recorded his last album Dawg Eat Dawg with Manu Lanvin. A meeting that forever marked the French bluesman, to the point that the latter wanted to pay tribute to him withTribute to Calvin Russell, a record where he invited numerous guests including his father Gérard Lanvin, Neal Black, Axel Bauer, Charlélie Couture and Popa Chubby.
“Calvin, it was a magnificent voice”, explains Manu. “That of the people, of the oppressed, of the condemned, of those forgotten by society and sometimes even that of the rebels, so much so that he also felt on the margins of society and resolutely against authority and abusive power.” And when asked what the Texan transmitted to him, the Frenchman’s voice rings with great sincerity: “To sometimes escape from the ego, from “me I” so recurring in the bluesman’s texts and laments. Being interested in people other than yourself, in the anomalies of the world and firmly denouncing them, is also one of the possibilities offered by words put to music.”
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So obviously, Manu Lanvin never stops wanting to perpetuate the music of his deceased friend. “There isn’t a day that goes by after a concert when someone doesn’t tell me about our collaboration which brought me luck and undoubtedly launched my career with the group Devil Blues.” He adds : “So, producing this tribute album was my way today of thanking him and for showing me the way.”
It was an event in 2022 that really launched the idea for this tribute album project. The Norman venue La Traverse de Cléon asks the singer-guitarist to organize a tribute concert to Calvin Russell with guests. All tickets sell out in less than two days. “The evening was very emotional” says Manu Lanvin. “I realized that more than 10 years after his death, Calvin’s music was still anchored in the hearts of the public.”
To pay tribute to Calvin Russell, Manu Lanvin decides to surround himself with guests. He explains : “When I went into the studio with my musicians to record all the rhythmic bases of the titles I wanted for this tribute album, the voices and the artists that I idealized imposed themselves on me in an obvious way. All I had left was ‘to convince them one by one.’ This is how we find a five-star cast on the disc: Hugh Coltman, David Minster, Beverly Jo Scott, Johnny Gallagher, Théo Charaf, Neal Black, Charlélie Couture, Craig Walker, Popa Chubby, Haylen, Fred Chapellier, Gérard Lanvin, and Axel Bauer.
The covers exude the spirit of the songwriter. For example, if Charlélie Couture takes up the philosophy of the Texan “Too old to grow up now” on Too Old To Grow Up Now, it is to follow on from the previous piece where the theme of time passing is expressed,Time Flies superbly performed by Neal Black.
Time flies, but the music remains, as do the words of Calvin Russell. Because in the middle of the guitars which alternate between fat and acoustic purity, we hear the American speaking, something unusual in a tribute album. “Yes, I needed to feel my friend with us on this album and keep his voice so soothing as a reference and as a link between the songs” confirms Manu Lanvin.
He specifies : “I was able to recover the last words he said during a documentary that was filmed in my studio during the recordings of his latest album “Dawg eat dawg”. This documentary never saw the light of day because Calvin fell ill before this project could come to fruition. He spoke about the genesis of certain songs but also about certain life anecdotes that are so cute as they are told, that I couldn’t help but select some of them for the tribute.”
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A very faithful tribute to the work and visions of Calvin Russell. Beverly Jo Scott resumes Crossroads that the Texan played while necessarily thinking of Robert Johnson, the young Théo Charaf sings the despair of the American in Nothing can save me, and Gérard Lanvin dialogues with his son about the gloom felt in a prison cell. 5M2, but keeping a note of hope through music which allows you to mentally escape. A text adapted into French, just like that of Axel Bauer with Soldier which closes the album.
And even if Johnny Gallagher expresses the sadness of the one who considered “Trouble” (“issue”) like her middle name, Popa Chubby reminds us that music is there to save us in All we got is rock’n’roll. Escaping from his cell, from his demons, thanks to blues and rock, all the art and guts of Calvin Russell are shared in this very sincere tribute album.
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Tribute To Calvin Russell was released on June 7 (GEL PROD / PIAS)
Manu Lanvin will be in concert:
- June 30 in Bron (69)
- July 3 at Jazz à Vienne (38)
- July 5 in Cognac Blues Passion (16)
- July 19 in Le Havre (76)
Find all the dates on the official website