Doug MacLeod. Epitome of the Blues Singer-Songwriter

My next few posts are going to be centered on Doug Macleod. The International Blues Foundation honored him in 2014 as the Acoustic Artist of the Year and also awarded his latest album, “There Comes a Time” as the Acoustic Album of the Year. 

To my knowledge, MacLeod is unique among successful blues performers in that he only performs his own original songs. He is one of the few solo artists that are featured performers at major blues festivals. He has recorded 22 albums of his material plus an instructional DVD.  

I will explore:

How does he do it? Why is he successful as a solo acoustic artist in a field dominated by electric bands? What can I learn from Doug that would help me grow as a blues singer-songwriter?

My focus is on his songwriting, but as I've been listening to the man I have come to think that the songs can’t be separated from the performance. And it makes me wonder to what extent this is true for blues in general. While there are blues songwriters whose songs are mostly recorded by other people (Gary Nicholson for example), MacLeod is more of a singer-songwriter. He has had a dozen-or-so cuts by other artists but the overwhelming majority of his songs have been played by Doug only.

Let me over-generalize to make a point. It seems to me that blues audiences are the most enthralled when an instrumentalist takes a solo. Close second – the band is tight, in the groove, a good beat, playing off one another and it makes you want to dance. Vocal performance runs third in holding their attention, and the words of a song don’t really matter. Sure, if you go out to hear Janiva Magness the vocals are going to be your focus, but for nine out of ten acts at a typical blues festival, the melody and words are not the main source of audience satisfaction. Songwriting is all about melody and words.  

Doug MacLeod’s words matter a lot – and his delivery ensures you know what he is saying. His singing is excellent – he has a good range, multiple vocal “personalities”, always expressive and soulful. He will draw you in with this storytelling between (and within) songs. But how successful would he be if he weren’t an absolute motherfucker on guitar? His playing is always sensitive, expressive and appropriate for the song, though he can whip out licks that make your jaw drop any time he feels like it. Do you think instrumental performance is the most important thing? I’d really like to know!

I thought it would be interesting to look at how his writing has developed over the past twenty years; approximately the period since he became mainly a solo performer. I am listening and making notes about three albums recorded between 1996 and 2000, and three albums from the past five years.

What topics or themes did he sing about in the 90’s versus what concerns him today? Has his language changed?

Listening to Doug MacLeod’s music is time well spent. OK, then, let's go!.