September 2002
A nice collection of contemporary blues artists can be found on The Blues Foundation presents Blues Greats (BRG Records), a CD issued in conjunction with the 2002 Handy Awards (the blues world's version of the Grammys). 13 cuts by Handy Award nominees, culled from various albums by the artists, are here, with performances from Ike Turner, Rod Piazza, Boozoo Chavis, Paul Reddick & The Sidemen, R.L. Burnside, Maria Muldaur & Alvin Youngblood Hart, Charley Patton (obviously, a vintage recording), Kim Wilson, Henry Gray, Otis Taylor, Irma Thomas, Duke Robillard, and the late Rufus Thomas. The disc kicks off with a hot piano instrumental, "Baby's Got It," by the controversial Ike Turner, who shows that he's still got the chops and is capable of producing a fresh, vibrant sound. Piazza blows his customary tasteful harp with a muffled sound on "Who Knows What's Going On?" I also liked the pleasant duet from Muldaur and Hart, "I'm Goin' Back Home," recalling an older, more informal blues sound. Wilson's contribution, from his album by the same name, "Smokin' Joint," is one of the hottest harmonica instrumentals you'll ever hear. Of equally high quality is the Henry Gray number, "How Could You Do It," with great vocals from the septuagenarian pianist. One of the most underrated blues artists (and perhaps the most creative songwriter) on the current scene is Colorado's Otis Taylor, who is heard here on "My Soul's In Louisiana," complete with driving guitar and rich, full vocals, and ending with authentic train noises. The mood shifts to a more soulful sound with Irma Thomas' "If You Want It Come And Get It," highlighted by her dynamic vocals and a solid horn section. This CD will give you enough of a taste that you'll be searching for the original discs from which some of these songs originated. Cedell Davis is a 75-year-old slide guitarist from Arkansas, who presents a raw Delta blues sound in a non-homogenized fashion on his latest, When Lightnin' Struck The Pine (Fast Horse Recordings). A group of rock star guests appear with Davis on the CD, including R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Brave Combo's Jeffrey Barnes, but they blend into the background instead of taking over the recordings. The disc commences with Davis' highly distorted, yet effective, vocals on "Pay To Play." The CD really takes off on the fifth cut, "Give Me That Look," a hypnotic, rhythmic jam with lots of fuzztone on the guitar. "One Of These Days," a cover of a Muddy Waters song, is given a much rawer and nastier sound, especially on Davis' vocals. The slow, loping "Cold Chills" starts with a tough slide intro, then features nice harmonica work from Barnes and "seemingly out of place (but not really)" organ accompaniment by Alex Veley. When Lightnin' Struck The Pine is probably not for the casual blues fan, as its deep and distorted sound requires a little heavy lifting from the listener. But its recommended for those who dig a deeper blues sound.
Lamont Cranston Blues Band has been a staple of the Minneapolis blues scene for close to 30 years. Lamont Live!! (Cold Wind Records) captures these guys at what they do best ... performing in front of a packed house of their loyal Twin Cities fans. Longtime member and bandleader Pat Hayes is the real star of the show here, with his soaring harmonica solos and strong vocals, but the rest of the band can't be taken for granted, especially talented guitarist Ted Larsen. Sound quality is very good on this double-CD, recorded at two different venues in 2001. Disc one is good, but the collection really takes off on the second CD. Especially hot is the Hayes original upbeat shuffle, "Streets Around Here," with its big horn sound augmented by Hayes' incendiary harp solo and great guitar work. The sax playing of Rick O'Dell and Jim Greenwell are spotlighted on the urgent "Fever" (not the famous song by this title) and on the closing instrumental "E Jam," an extended number that also showcases Hayes' harmonica talent. This one's worth searching out! Coming
out of North Carolina is a surprising album, Stranger In My House (Dog
Talk Music), from guitarist Cyril Lance. His diverse
influences are reflected in an album that bounces around the musical
spectrum a bit, usually to good effect. The disc opens with an original,
"I Want the Real Thing," a funky New Orleans-style beat
highlighted by Lance's swampy slide guitar and an excellent B-3 solo from
Matt Jenson. The fire really heats up midway through the album with Lance
providing a catchy, danceable interpretation of Clifton Chenier's
"Hot Tamale Baby," which includes an extended guitar and organ
wank, and fine vocals by bassist Chris Carroll; there's no accordion present on this Zydeco tune, but it still has
that requisite Louisiana feeling. The best cut is the title song,
"Stranger In My House," which mixes gospel overtones with lovely
soulful vocals from Johnny Neel. Jenson provides tasteful piano accompaniment on
the latter tune. Neel then takes his vocals back into the alley on the
following song, a raw, dirge-like version of Willie Dixon's "Same
Thing." Moving in another direction is the Gary Davis spiritual,
"Light of this World," opened with pleasant acoustic guitar from
Lance, leading into a great New Orleans piano and electric guitar jam.
This one might be harder to find, but worth the extra work required to
locate it. --- Bill Mitchell Looking for an album that’s modern enough to get your feet moving, but still rootsy enough to touch your inner soul? Well look no further than Soul Deep (Pacific Blues Recording Co.), the latest offering from Lee McBee, a marvelous harp player and singer whose name you may recognize from his days with Mike Morgan & The Crawl. Eclectic is the best way to describe this recording, as it touches on many styles, ranging from Texas blues to Mississippi Delta mud to Memphis soul, all appropriated with the ultimate in flair and class that is sure to please everyone. For his second solo effort, Lee recruited the services of some of the Lone Star state’s finest players in the form of Hash Brown and Jon Moeller on guitars, the current rhythm section from Anson Funderburgh’s Rockets, Wes Starr on drums and percussion along with Johnny Bradley (the latter whom McBee worked with in The Crawl), and Fabulous T-Bird Gene Taylor on piano and organ. The resulting album is five superbly crafted originals and seven covers given treatments that make them sound like Lee’s own due to this man’s uncanny vocal talent of selling just about any tune he attempts. McBee assaults your senses from the get go, opening things up with a smoldering version of Long John Hunter’s “Ride With Me,” augmented by a sizzling horn section anchored by everybody’s favorite reedman, Kaz Kazanoff on sax joined by Jimmy Shortell on trumpet. Lee follows with a sensational rendering of Charles Sheffield’s “It’s Your Voodoo Working” and Little Walter’s “Just A Feeling” before launching into his own “Twelve Hours From You,” a rumba-ish harp instrumental. A brief foray into the delta finds a somewhat risqué cover of Muddy Waters' “Country Blues,” executed with a slight tongue in cheek' and the less-is-more original “Gonna Find My Baby,” offering slick country harp and roadhouse piano. The title track is a touching reworking of Clarence Carter’s hit, featuring a gorgeous arrangement and beautiful harmonies by Cynthia Manley and Jessica Williams, while McBee just lets it all hang out on lead vocals. Two other originals that are worth the price of this record alone are “Your Turn To Cry,” a slow blues number that is chockfull of the spirit of the old masters, and the high voltage “I Don’t Understand,” that has the mark of a modern day blues standard tattooed all over it. Wrapping things up is a funky version of “Mohair Sam” and a nuclear version of Jimmy McCracklin’s “Walk,” that features a wicked sax solo from Kazanoff. While the covers that were chosen for this album are top drawer material, it’s the originals that garnered my attention, with McBee’s intelligently written lyrics shining through. If there is a flaw on this album, I surely can’t find it as the performances and production are impeccably smooth. The album transcends from one number to the next with a silky smoothness due to the technical support of executive producer Jerry Hall, who also mixed and remastered the entire project with McBee serving as producer. Soul Deep is destined to become a classic, in my opinion, and is one of those albums that just gets better with every repeated listen. In the event that you can’t easily find it in your local record store, it can be ordered directly from Pacific Blues Recording Co. at www.pacificblues.com. This is, without a doubt, one of 2002’s best releases. The saying goes “What is old shall be new once again.” That saying could not apply more appropriately than to Dr. Blake’s Magic Soul Elixir (Soul Sanctuary), from California performer Al Blake. The first reason being that this is a reunion recording of The Hollywood Fats Band, and is essentially the debut recording of The Blue Flames. The second reason is that like the lone Fats Band recording, this one gets back to the basics of the blues, with heavy Delta overtones, like no other recording I have heard as of late. The players on this enormous album are the same as you will find on The Hollywood Fats Band album: the haunting voice of Al Blake on harp and vocals, in addition to guitar on three tracks, the tantalizing Fred Kaplan on piano, Larry Taylor expertly plucking the bass, and Richard Innes thumping the skins. Handling the guitar lines in place of the deceased Fats are two highly accomplished guitarists, Junior Watson and Kirk Eli Fletcher, each handling four numbers apiece. The pace and feel of this album is much more mellow and relaxed than the last time these cats all got together in the studio, with “Blues For Bobo” starting things off with an easy, shuffling groove highlighted by some twanging guitar riffs from Fletcher. “Let’s Rock Awhile” has a title that is slightly misleading, as it is really a mid tempo bop with very suggestive lyrics clarifying it’s title. The pace gets kicked up a notch or two on “Junior’s Boogie Rocket,” with Watson stepping to the forefront for some serious soloing, set against a boogie woogie beat. Blake’s harmonica prowess is at the front and center on two tunes, “I Am The Hummingbird,” a smoky Chicago/Delta workout, and “Old Time Boogie,” sounding like it was improvised in the studio just for the fun of it. One of the two covers to be found among the 11 numbers is a stunning rendition of Jimmy Lane’s “You’re So Sweet,” which sounds like something you might hear being played on any back porch where the blues is prevalent, due in part to the fiery harp work of Kim Wilson. Fred Kaplan takes center stage for a pair of piano workouts, “Big Foot’s Boogie” and the jazzy closer “Sunday Strut.” The somber “Telephone Blues” (not Robert Johnson’s) once again finds Kirk Fletcher evoking some ultra fine guitar licks, with counterpart Junior Watson doing the same to Willie Dixon’s “Let Me Love You.” Except for the two covers, all numbers were written by members of the band, with the flowing production being done by Blake and Kaplan. The album’s cover art, which is designed to look like the label from a bottle of snake oil that you might buy at an old fashioned medicine show (hence the album’s title), promises “100% Pure Old School, Mojo, Hoodoo-Voodoo and Then Some!” That is exactly what you will find on this cleverly crafted record that relies more on tone and finesse to set the mood rather than flash and production. It’s been 20+ years since this band first recorded together and, even after a very long hiatus, they still sound fresher than most units that have continually worked together year in and year out. If you can’t find this at your favorite local music retailer, it can be had directly from www.soulsanctuary.com. If you need a break from the same ol' thing, this brilliant recording should find its way into your collection ... and soon! --- Steve Hinrichsen
--- Terry Clear
I have followed Trudy Lynn's career through many releases on the Ichiban label, her Ruf Records release reviewed here in the December 1999 issue, and now this fabulous new release, Memories Of You, on Jus Blues Records. Seeing her perform last year at the San Francisco Blues Festival with Little Milton reinforced my opinion of her as one of the great soul/blues divas. Memories of You will likely introduce her to a new and wider audience. It is a CD graced with real musicians, most notably the incredible Lucky Peterson on lead guitar and B-3 organ, and engineered by Bob Greenlee at King Snake Studio. Those of you familiar with Greenlee's work know that the recorded sound will be exemplary. The second thing you realize when listening to this CD is what a fine songwriter Trudy is (the first thing of course is her glorious voice). She penned six of the 12 songs here, with the beautiful "Memories Of You" and the slow burner "No Deposit, No Return" being two of the highlights. The opening track, Albert King's "C.O.D.," opens this CD on an upbeat note, as does K.T. Oslin's "Do Ya?," the latter showing the close similarities between soul and country music and how 'oh so soulful' a country song can be with the right singer. The same formula applies to the Reba McEntire tune "Can't Even Get The Blues." My favorite track is the intense "If My Pillow Could Talk," a song written by Jim Payne and a track that should become an airwaves favorite. One only needs to listen to the last track, Joe Louis Walker's "I Know Why," to see why Trudy Lynn is one of the finest soul/blues divas of this era. This is a release that should be on everyone's want list. If you cannot find this new release at your favorite music emporium, you should be able to obtain a copy from www.jusblues.com. While you are looking for this release let me direct your attention to the fine American Roots-Blues-Trudy Lynn CD out on the resurrected Ichiban label. It's a "best of" compilation and worth the price of admission just to hear "Trudy Sings The Blues."
Stan Mosley is one of the up and coming young artists in the crowded blues/soul derby. He is one of Malaco's finest artists and establishes a larger fan base with each new release. I enjoyed his prior release, reviewed here in the October 2000 issue. As with that release, there are some really fine tracks and some dogs (we'll touch on that in a minute) on his latest, Do Right (Malaco). The CD opens with two fine Larry Addison penned tunes, "No Mistake" and "Kiss and Tell," both worthy inclusions and tracks you will want to hear again. The tempo increases with "Perfect Timing," by the veteran songwriter George Jackson, a nice but unmemorable track. The evergreen "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" is given a classic reading with a fine spoken intro by Stan. "Jealous" disappoints, with its heavy programming. From the first few bars you immediately miss the real musicians. " I Can't Stop Loving You" is a nice slice of contemporary soul (not the old Ray Charles tune), but the programming becomes more overwhelming, and such tracks as "Can I Get Freaky With You" are just plain mediocre. The additional throwaway track, "You Bring Out The Dog In Me," certainly rates the earlier "dog" reference. A few other tracks, such as "Your Wife Is My Woman," with its familiar lyrics, don't offend, but are far from nirvana. I'd like to add to this somewhat lukewarm review that Stan Mosley is a fine singer with an emotional and very soulful voice. His live show must be a killer, and these releases will surely further his career. He only needs one big hit to put him over the top. I don't think it's here, though.
--- Alan Shutro Some people were born into the blues, some fell into the blues cauldron only later in their life. The latter is the case with me. When my blues record collection was just a dozen CDs thick, which I had bought somewhat haphazardly, I happened to read a positive review in the local weekly about an entry-price
two-CD compilation called The Great Tomato Blues Package. I went to the store, bought the record… and just loved the thing, in the process
discovering artists I had never heard of at the time: Louisiana Red, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Roosevelt Sykes, Willie Mabon, Robert Cray, Leadbelly
… in addition to some I already knew, like John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and Fats
Domino. You see, I was just a beginner, and this album was just perfect for me.
It went from acoustic, downhome blues back to early jazz and blues, forward again to blues/R&B of the
'50s, then to early bluesy rock 'n' roll, back to electric Chicago blues, and then it detoured into soulful 60's R&B and came back to the blues of the modern electric variety. In a word, it went everywhere, and it was like a crash course for the novice that I was. All that was needed to do after that was to look for more recordings from the artists I enjoyed on this compilation, and I was off and running. Well, the newly revived Tomato Records
has reissued The Great Tomato Blues Package, with two minor
changes. Tracks by Albert King and Robert Cray have been replaced on this otherwise straight reissue, probably due to licensing difficulties, by classics from Big Boy Crudup ("That's All Right") and Mississippi John Hurt ("Hot Time in Old Town
Tonight"). So, if you are new to the blues, or if you want to make a nice gift to a blues novice of your knowing, or if you simply want a ready-made mix-tape of blues and associated musical styles, you know what to do. --- Benoît Brière Dave Riley has been around music all of his life. Beginning as a youngster in Chicago playing guitar in his family's gospel band, he was later exposed to secular music during a stint in Vietnam. After seeing a show in Washington
state by legendary guitar wizard Jimi Hendrix, a show in which Hendrix leaned heavily toward blues, Riley was hooked. Upon returning to Chicago, he was immersed
in the local soul and blues scene for a while, until he settled in Blue Island, Illinois, playing gospel and working full time at Joliet State Penitentiary. During a visit with his wife's family in Helena, Arkansas, he met Frank Frost and struck up a friendship with Frost and drummer Sam Carr. They began playing an occasional gig, including the 1997 Chicago Blues Festival. More recently, Riley has teamed with Carr and another Helena harp man, John Weston, as the All Star Delta Jukes, and has even branched out as a front man, getting his own set at the past two King Biscuit Festivals. Riley teams again with Weston
and Carr (along with his son, Dave Riley, Jr., on bass) for his debut for Fedora Records,
Whiskey, Money, & Women. Riley is a straight-forward, no nonsense guitarist, and has a deep, gravelly voice. He also wrote seven of the
11 tracks here, including two heartfelt tributes to his wife ("There She
Comes," "I Want To Thank You Baby"), two tunes dealing with temptation (the title cut and "Casino Blues"), the Jimmy Reed-ish "Down South", and a solo track discussing his many idols and mentors ("Tribute"). The covers range from the Wolf's "Smokestack
Lightning," Homer Banks' "Angel of Mercy," and Detroit Junior's "Call My
Job," and all are well done. The cover track that will definitely get your attention is the closer, John Lennon's
"Imagine," though it's as far from it's original incarnation as it can possibly be. Riley manages to actually update the tune by mixing in some scenes of modern urban life. As a backing band, you can't do much better than Riley's. Weston is a fine harmonica player who should be more widely known, the younger Riley is a rock on the bass, and if you're a blues fan, you're already familiar with Sam Carr. This CD has remained on "steady rotation" at my house for a couple of months now, so I am recommending
it highly to fans of the Delta Blues sound. --- Tony Engelhart A blend of beat poetry and gutbucket blues,
John Sinclair's Fattenin' Frogs For Snakes (Okra-Tone
Records) shares some of the best legends in a genre rich in legend. Like to know more about trading your soul to the devil for the ability to play the blues? Losing sleep over exactly what the difference and dividing line might be between Delta and Chicago blues, or where the Delta begins? Answers to these questions and more can be found
here.
The album's title and John Sinclair's primary inspiration come from Rice Miller, a.k.a. Sonny Boy Williamson II, announced on one track to be "the greatest harmonica player of all time." He's a good choice, a constant improviser, a master storyteller, a larger than life character with larger than life vices, and virtues and a logical spark for interest in both listening to and creating blues music.
This record includes eight pieces, not really songs as they consist of spoken word over basic blues musical backgrounds. The story of Sonny Boy II and Robert "Junior" Lockwood being forced to play three weeks of gigs for a corrupt Mississippi sheriff is here, as is a biography of Tommy "Big Road" Johnson. It takes the listener to the famous crossroads then, later, on a train to Chicago, stopping along the way "where the Southern crosses the Dog" to sit beside W. C. Handy at the moment the blues finds him.
Sinclair, a longtime writer, editor and troubleshooter for national blues publications, has found what may be the best stories associated with our nation's music, which is what the blues is, to fill this astounding release. I am proud to say that I told some of these stories myself years ago when I put together a radio series with Willie Dixon, but my challenge was a fraction of Sinclair's. After all, Willie Dixon was working with me, and he could tell the stories with absolute authority, because he was a part of the stories. John Sinclair was not part of the stories. Furthermore, he is what one might describe as "pigmentally challenged" as a narrator of Delta blues legend, yet he puts these stories across, powered largely by a clear and tremendous love for them.
He is also fueled by a superb backing band. Upon reflection, readers will quickly realize that blues is quite often and quite effectively used as background music for films and commercials. On
Fattenin' Frogs For Snakes, it is a bit more obtrusive, which is as it should be, given that it is the narrator's topic, and it is exponentially more effective as a narrative accouterment.
This is more than a CD. It is an educational tool, an audio book and an entertaining friend. It should be played in its entirety on blues radio programs around the world immediately and donated by blues societies to public and school libraries as soon as meeting policies and budgets allow.
The liner notes make a good case that one should admire and support Phillip Walker for staying on the road with a big blues band in these troubled times. Let's do so. Let's all go see him whenever he's within range.
LIVE at Biscuits & Blues (MC Records) is a great demo tape for a solid live act.
It is not, however, a great album for regular, residential consumers of recorded music. Excitement does not leap from its surface at any point. No one's playing any better than anyone on any one of hundreds of live blues albums.
The fact that live albums aren't about sound quality puts it in competition with every onstage recording since the late '70s, and that's too much competition. Any live B.B. King is better. The
Simply the Best album by "Time Is On My Side" author Irma Thomas from about ten years ago is closer in nature and overall feel and still better. Et cetera, et cetera. Replacing the baritone sax in his horn section with trombone and adding another trumpet would give Walker more of the New Orleans flavor he seeks without achieving on this album.
At best, it's made for club owners and festival planners, and they should certainly be influenced by it to book this fine band, but as a record for household listeners, it just never takes off. --- Arthur Shuey Marking its theme as a celebration of the Stax soul sound by the performers that made it legendary, Back to Stax: Memphis Soul (Music Video Distributors), a 154-minute 1990 concert DVD, starts with the core duo of Steve Cropper (guitar) and Booker T. Jones (keyboards) taking the stage. Donald "Duck" Dunn joined the pair in time for the second Booker T. & The MG's album, Soul Dressing (Atlantic, 1965) and is present here. Unfortunately, original drummer Alan Jackson, Jr. is deceased, but this stellar house band has the able drumming of Danny Gottlieb (Elements, Pat Metheny and the later Mahavishnu Orchestra). This group, along with The Memphis Horns, backs a scintillating constellation of soul vocalists. Sam Moore (Sam & Dave) performs the lion's share of the songs, including "Soul Man" and "Hold On I'm Coming." Carla Thomas, Queen of Memphis Soul, is on hand to sing one half-dozen songs including "Tramp," which she famously recorded as a duet with Otis Redding. Eddie Floyd was core to the Stax machine, both as a songwriter and performer. Reunited here with the same Booker T. & The MG's that backed him then, he transports us to 1966 with "Raise your Hand," "Knock on Wood" and four other songs. R&B guitarist Phil Upchurch is on hand to perform "Love and Peace." ---
Tom Schulte |
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