As Pedar Foss, professor of Classical Studies at DePauw University, stated in his introduction, Joe Goodkin is a “modern bard and true troubadour.” Goodkin took the stage in the Green Center for Performing Arts’ Thompson Hall on the night of Wednesday, Sept. 24, with just his guitar and a PowerPoint slide of song lyrics — and stunned the audience with a full top-to-bottom performance of his album, “The Blues of Achilles.” This collection of 17 original songs retells the story of Homer’s “Iliad.”
The songs focused on specific stories found in the “Iliad,” featuring speakers such as Achilles, Hector, Helen, Agamemnon and others. Between every other song, he explained who the speaker was for each song and where in the poem he drew inspiration from. For Chryseis, Agamemnon’s war prize in the story, he explained that Homer did not give her a single line of dialogue within the 15,000 lines of the poem. “Bad job, Homer,” he laughed, then explained that this was a good opportunity for modern writers to step in and fill in the blanks of the narrative.
Many lines and musical motifs recurred throughout the setlist, creating a cyclical effect in which the album ends the same way it starts: an admittance that all characters, no matter how war-torn their societies are, are people whom “somebody loved.” When asked about his intention behind these recurrent lines, Goodkin explained that he wanted the songs to feel familiar and connected to folktales and tradition. For this reason, he didn’t shy away from simple blues patterns and thoughtfully placed lyrical parallels. However, he admitted during the Q&A that he was “terrified” of writing the album. He felt a deep responsibility to accurately portray not only the stories of the characters but also the reality of war. To ground his storytelling, Goodkin spent time interviewing veterans and their families.
“The Blues of Achilles” can be found on all major streaming platforms. To learn more about Joe Goodkin, visit his website.
