| Fanning the Flames | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Maria Muldaur |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | 1996 |
| Studio: | Dockside |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Label: | Telarc Blues[1] |
| Producer: | John Snyder, Maria Muldaur, Elane Martone |
| Prev Title: | Jazzabelle |
| Prev Year: | 1995 |
| Next Title: | Southland of the Heart |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
Fanning the Flames is an album by the American musician Maria Muldaur, released in 1996.[2] [3] Muldaur labeled the album's music "bluesiana", a combination of blues and Louisiana good-time music.[4] Muldaur included songs with political or topical themes, a choice she had rarely made in the past.[5]
The album peaked at No. 14 on Billboards Blues Albums chart.[6] It was Muldaur's first album for Telarc.
Produced by John Snyder, Muldaur, and Elane Martone, the album was recorded at Dockside Studio Recordings, in Maurice, Louisiana.[7] Bonnie Raitt duetted with Muldaur on "Somebody Was Watching Over Me".[8] Mavis Staples, Johnny Adams, Ann Peebles, Tracy Nelson, and Huey Lewis also sang on, or contributed instrumentation to, the album.[9] "Well, Well, Well" is a cover of the Bob Dylan song; Muldaur was inspired to record it after talking with Dylan about Jerry Garcia's death.[10] [11]
The Washington Post thought that when Muldaur "sings blues, R&B or hillbilly music today, she no longer skips lightly over the rhythm; she now reinforces the beat with her vocal oomph, and her throaty growls give her vocals a sassy edge they never had before."[12] Newsday wrote that "it's the ease with which Muldaur can shift from a raw Texas honky-tonk vibe to sly Chi-town sophistication that makes this collection of tunes so interesting."[13]
The Patriot-News stated that "longtime New Orleans keyboard stalwart David Torkanowski, while accorded minimal solo space, provides a vital melodic and harmonic foundation to the session."[14] The Buffalo News concluded that Muldaur's "slightly surreal, baby-doll voice ... has deepened and roughened over the years, but her taste in what to sing remains gutsy and close to impeccable."[15]
AllMusic wrote that "Muldaur belts out gritty blues and gospel and soulful R&B as very few can."