Luther has spent decades writing about relationships, heartache and the things people do to one another. On “Bluesman,” those observations acquire a face: a wandering songwriter carrying his troubles from town to town. The single introduces the central character of his album, Blues Man, and brings Luther back to the blues he learned before his music took a funkier turn.
A black cat crosses the narrator’s path. He takes it personally. Luther has chosen a useful character for a songwriter whose subject has always been human behavior.
There is something appealingly cheeky about turning that tendency into an album persona. Luther describes the Blues Man as partly fictional and partly autobiographical, citing Bowie as a reference for the approach.
The instrumental lineup brings that idea into a band format: drums, bass and keys, with an Epiphone Casino handling rhythm guitar and a Fender Stratocaster on lead.
“Black Cat just crossed my path. I never get the breaks and that’s why I’m blue, man.”
Blues provides the foundation, alongside the rock, soul, R&B and pop influences Luther has accumulated through his career. His reference points include Stevie Wonder, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix and Bowie, a broad set of interests that helps explain why he approaches the blues as a songwriter with several musical appetites.
