Grady Champion: Tough Times Don’t Last Review

The only way to describe Tough Times Don’t Last seems paradoxical: a hard-hitting, soulful and uplifting blues album, yet this is exactly what vocalist/harpist Grady Champion has added to his already impressive career with his seventh release.

Champion does a superb job of juxtaposing tales of hard times so often told in classic blues tunes with the more hopeful tales of gospel and R&B.  Perhaps the epitome of this juxtaposition lies in “Glory Train,” a 12 bar classic blues shuffle with soulful piano and harp, yet with lyrics that tell the listener that the conductor will always “welcome him onboard,” regardless of his past sin.  Champion pays homage to his Mississippi Roots with “Mississippi Pride,” a soulful pop ballad about cornbread, catfish and magnolia blossoms dripping with all the nostalgia of a true southerner outside of his natural habitat.  Champion includes a little funk on the album with “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be,” but this is an original tune, not a rendition of the Duke Ellington standard by the same name, which was slightly disappointing for this jazzhead.  “Tough Times Don’t Last” is a really nice gospel-inspired tune with a very enjoyable clarinet solo by Amy Lott.  “Cookie Jar” and “My Time Baby” are the best examples of pure blues on the album and are played quite well.  The album closes out with “What Would Christmas Be Without You,” another nice pop tune.

Champion has a nice voice; it is very clean, soulful and jam-packed with emotion, reminiscent of Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye.  His harp playing is good, but not great.  The other highlight of the album is the keyboards, played by Larry Addison, Kevin Culver and Steve Wilkerson.  Champion’s songwriting is hit or miss.  Some tunes like “Mississippi Pride” have very clever lyrics, but others, such as “On the Road,” leave something to be desired.

Tough Times Don’t Last is a nice album, dripping with soul, gospel, R&B and emotion.  That being said, this is not really a blues album.  It’s a pop album with heavy gospel and R&B influence, meaning lots of passing diminished chords, plagal cadences and some 12 bar tunes.  Nevertheless, it’s an enjoyable album and is a good addition to any collection of Memphis Soul, Gospel and R&B.

The Review: 7/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– My Time Baby
– Mississippi Pride
– Tough Times Don’t Last
– What Would Christmas Be Without You

The Big Hit

– Mississippi Pride

Review by Nik Rodewald