Tinsley Ellis - Labor of Love
- 48 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Release date: January 30 , 2026
Alligator Records
By Marty Gunther
Folks who love Tinsley Ellis for his firebrand, electrified blues rock probably were shocked by his 2024 Alligator release, Naked Truth – on which he went solo and acoustic and received a Blues Music Award nomination in the process. But the Atlanta native has always had a burning love for Piedmont-style guitar picking, too – so much so, that he spent the bulk of that year on his “Two Guitars and a Car” tour.
And Ellis had so much fun doing it that he’s following it up with this tasty set --12 all-original tunes that breathe new life into stylings perfected by Robert Johnson, Skip James, Son House, John Lee Hooker and other inspirations who helped turn him into the fingerpicking master that he is today.
Now in his mid-60s, Tinsley remains a student of the instrument despite having spent a lifetime hitting it hard on the road. Midway through the recording of this one, he spent time with the legendary Jimmy “Duck” Holmes in Bentonia, Miss., and performed with him at Duck’s Blue Front Café to get a better grasp of the Bentonia style of picking, the technique that brought Skip James to fame.
Chockful of traditional themes that cover good times and bad, Labor of Love, packs a punch with every note that Ellis plays on three of his favorite axes: a 1969 Martin D-35, a 12-string Martin D-12-20 and a 1937 National Steel O Series guitar. And for the first time in his career, he plays mandolin on three tracks, too. Combined with multiple tunings, it delivers a seemingly endless variety of sounds despite its definite old-old school appeal.
“Hoodoo Woman” opens the action with a sweet, hypnotic pattern on the strings before Ellis describes his heartbreak after the title lady’s cast her spell on him and then tossed him aside. His sorrow is contained in every note, and the spell that HE casts upon the listener sets the tone for what’s to follow.
The action evolves with a driving boogie beat for the cautionary “Long Time,” which uses images of the Garden of Eden and Satan’s apple as it states “we keep on bitin’ at the same ol’ thing.” Tinsley’s use of Biblical images in his lyrics was a common technique in early blues.
The pace slows but the theme mostly remains the same in “To a Hammer,” which finds the singer beaten down repeatedly for both “the pleasures of love and the labors of sin” -- not unlike a hammer to a nail.
“Sad Sad Song” is a sprightly mandolin number that includes a hint of the Piedmont’s Scotch-Irish musical tradition, along with handclapped accompaniment. It describes a woman who’s lost everything and who’s constantly singing the same tune all day and night. The sound slows again and Ellis’ attack becomes deliberate and bittersweet for “The Trouble with Love,” a spurned suitor’s complaint. Ellis turns to the steel guitar for “Sunnyland,” a plea for a loved one living in the chilly North to return to the warmth of her former Gulf Coast home.
You’ll get a strong breath of the Delta in the languorous “Whole Wide World,” a celebration of family, before “Sweet Ice Tea” builds from a slow start to a rapid-fire number that praises soul food of all sorts, all of which will be washed down with the drink of choice. Tinsley will take you to church with “I’d Rather Be Saved,” which repudiates the way he’s living, before the sprightly mandolin number “Too Broke” notes that he doesn’t have money enough to worry about anything.
Three more pleasers -- “Low Land of Sorrow,” “Fountain of Love” and the gospel-tinged “Lay My Burden Down” – bring the action to a close.
Most of today’s blues fans are too young to have seen any of the first-generation stars live and in-person. However, Labor of Love is a masterpiece, from the first downstroke to the final note, that will leave you feeling like you’ve been sitting at the original blues creators’ feet.
###
About the Author: The blues came calling for Marty Gunther in the 1960s, when he witnessed Muddy Waters, Mississippi John Hurt, B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf perform at the Newport festivals in his native Rhode Island. A longtime Chicagoan who's now based out of Ohio, he's a professional journalist and harp player who studied under Sugar Blue before co-founding the Nucklebusters, a band that's filled clubs in south Florida since the '80s.
To stream or purchase the album: https://www.alligator.com/
Artist website: https://tinsleyellis.com/
###