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Vive Le Rock!
The brooding, slow-building ‘Blue Spirit Blues’ is her interpretation of a song by blues legend Bessie Smith and is taken from the album
Countin’ The Blues.
Comprising songs from the repertoires of Smith, Ma Rainey, Memphis Minnie, Elizabeth Cotten and others, the album can be seen as a soundtrack to Elli’s book
Countin’ The Blues – Indomitable Women, a celebration of the blues queens of the 20s, published last year.
Speaking about the song, Elli says, “Sometimes you forget about them. They live hidden in dark places and they move very silently. But you can feel them and you can’t escape… and they get to hurt you so deeply. The BLUE DEVILS. Well, you can recognize them and this is the first step to get free. Bessie Smith knew it and she burnt her demons out. This is her song and I tried to make it mine.”