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BLUES & GOSPEL

Willie Mabon -> Tony Matthews

 
WILLIE MABON Classics 5154 The Chronological Willie Mabon, 1949-1954 ● CD $14.98
20 tracks, 59 mins, highly recommended
Fine collection of sides recorded by this talented performer. It opens with his two earliest sides from 1949 issued under the name of Big Willie where he sings and plays piano and harmonica. The rest of the tracks are from between 1952 and 1954 where his playful wit comes to the fore on songs like his big hits I Don't Know (a reworking of a 1939 Cripple Clarence Lofton song), the semi-spoken I'm Mad and the much covered Posion Ivy. Lots of other fine songs featuring Willies smooth sly vocals and fine piano with solid accompaniments by small bands. (FS)

 
WILLIE MABON Evidence 26063 Chicago Blues Session ● CD $11.98
9 tracks, 44 min., recommended
Recorded in 1979 and released at that time by the German label L&R, this is the first time this CD has been available in the States. The music is, as the title says, Chicago Blues. Mabon handles duties on the piano as well as the harp while he gets a double-helping of guitar support from Hubert Sumlin and Eddie Taylor. The band is filled out with Aron Burton on bass and Casey Jones on drums. A reprise of some of Mabon's hits from the 50's (I'm Mad and Seventh Son), tributes to both Jimmy Reed and Howlin' Wolf and Mabon's version of Little Red Rooster highlight this release. (RS)

 
WILLIE MABON Wolf WBJ 020 I Don't Know - The Best Of Willie Mabon ● CD $11.98
15 track collection of sides including recordings made for Formal and USA in the 60s along with five sides recorded live in Germany in 1974.
WILLIE MABON: Dorsey's Boogie Woogie/ Fannie Mae/ Harmonica Special/ I Don't Know/ I Got To Have Some/ I'm Hungry/ Just Got Some/ Little Red Rooster/ Mean Mistreater/ Rockin' Willie/ Shake That Thing/ Somebody's Gotta Pay/ Sometime I Wonder/ Too Hot To Handle/ Why Did It Happen To Me

 
EDDIE MACK Blue Moon BMCD 6026 The Complete Recordings, 1947-1952 ● CD $14.98
Fine reissue featuring all the recordings by this obscure but very fine blues shouter. Mack (Mack Edmondson) was part of the Brooklyn blues scene in the late 40s and early 50s but his subsequent career is a mystery. He is featured here with various groups including Cootie Williams & His Orch. (he replaced Eddie Vinson), Lucky Millinder & His Orch and others. Sidemen include Willis Jackson, Bill Jennings, Bobby Smith, Haywood Henry, Rene Hall, Mickey Baker and others. Includes his intriguing and fine covers of Tennessee Ernie Ford's Shotgun Boogie and Merle Travis's Divorce Me C.O.D..
EDDIE MACK: Beauty Parlor Gossip/ Behind Closed Doors/ Cool Mama/ Divorce Me C.o.d./ Everybody Loves A Fat Man/ Good Time Wooman/ Heart Throbbing Blues/ Hoot And Holler Saturday Night/ Hoot And Holler Saturday Night (alternate Take)/ How About That/ If You Want Me To Come Home Baby/ Keyhole Blues/ Kind Loving Daddy/ Last Hour Blues/ Lemonade/ Longtime/ Loud Mouth Lucy/ Mercenary Papa/ Mercenary Papa (alternate Take)/ Please Be Careful/ Seven Days Blues/ Shotgun Boogie/ Steam Roller Blues/ Things Ain't What They Used To Be/ You Gotta Pay Those Dues

 
DAVE MACKENZIE Black & Tan 004 Old, New, Borrowed & Blues ● CD $15.98
Blues vocalist accompanying himself on acoustic guitar with bass and drums.
 
DOUG MACLEOD Black & Tan 026 Where I Been ● CD $16.98
12 tracks, 52 mins, recommended
Renowned modern bluesman Doug Macleod hips us to a new batch of tunes in a world of magic, Hell and turkey-legged women. I'll have to admit that Doug Macleod is an artist that has only been on my radar through scattered appearances on compilations, but I did come out impressed by the depth of his songwriting and the charm of his exceptional guitar work. (JM)

 
DOUG MACLEOD Hightone HCD 8002 No Road Back Home ● CD $17.98
9 tracks, 41 mins, highly recommended
Reissue of the impressive debut album by blues singer/ guitarist from Southern California. MacLeod is a rich voiced singer and a striking guitar player with a relaxed Louisiana quality to his playing and lots of imaginative ideas. On most cuts he is accompanied by a top notch rhythm section (keyboards, bass and drums). A couple of songs have very tasty horn parts and one cut It's The Life about the life of a traveling blues musician features some pleasing harp by George Smith. All songs are written by MacLeod and show him to be an excellent writer - his lyrics often have a witty sardonic edge. (FS)

 
THE DOUG MACLEOD BAND Volt 3409 Ain't The Blues Evil ● CD $15.98
13 tracks, 58 mins, recommended
I've enjoyed the recordings of Southern Californian singer guitarist since his debut for Hightone in 1984 and this is new recordings is one of his best. MacLeod is a powerful and expressive singer and an excellent and imaginative guitarist with a fluid, at times jazzy, but always blues drenched technique. He sings almost exclusively his own compositions which rather than pursue generic blues themes incorporates blues feel into more general universal truths. On the first song, Don't Point Your Finger he tells us "When You Point Your Finger/ Three Fingers Pointing Back At You". Other fine songs include the title tune, Placquemene Blues written in collaboration with David Amy and recently recorded by Chris Thomas, Lone Wolf/ Just Like A Minstrel and others. There is also a beautiful slow instrumental SRV written in memory of Stevie Ray Vaughan. He is accompanied by a solid group of musicians including bassist Eric Ajaye and drummer Lee Spath who have worked with Doug for a long time. With so many similar sounding blues bands out there, Macleod's original take on the blues comes as a breath of fresh air. (FS)

 
MAGIC SAM Delmark 615 West Side Soul ● CD $11.98
CD issue of the first and best Delmark album by this brilliant Chicago singer & guitarist whose death at the early age of 32 robbed the world of a major talent. Sam was a wonderful singer with melismatic gospel flavor and a brilliant guitarist with a crisp attack who could use vibrato to great effect. On these recordings, made in 1967, he is accompanied by a workmanlike band including Mighty Joe Young/ gtr, Stockholm Slim/ pno, Ernest Johnson or Mack Thompson/ bass and Odie Paine or his son Odie Payne, III/ drums. The material includes remakes of some of his classic Cobra recordings, new songs and versions of songs popularised by others including a version of Sweet Home Chicago which breathes new life into this old warhorse. The CD includes an alternate take of I Don't Want No Woman which is interesting though not markedly different to the issued version. Transfer to CD reveals some of the defects in the original recordings, most noticeably, some vocal distortion. The CD issue includes the original notes which were written before Sam's death - a bit of an update might have been appropriate! Nevertheless this is a valuable glimpse of a truly talented performer who would surely have scaled the heights had he lived long enough. (FS)
MAGIC SAM: 21 Days In Jail/ All My Whole Life/ All Night Long/ All Your Love/ Blue Light Boogie/ Call Me If You Need Me/ Easy Baby/ Every Night About This Time/ Everything Gonna Be Alright/ Look Watcha Done/ Love Me This Way/ Love Me With A Feeling/ Magic Rocker/ Out Of Bad Luck/ Roll Your Moneymaker/ She Belongs To Me

 
MAGIC SAM Delmark 620 Black Magic ● CD $11.98
Sam's superb second Delmark album originally issued in 1969 and featuring him with Eddie Shaw, Lafayette Leake, Mighty Joe Young and others.
MAGIC SAM: Easy, Baby/ I Have The Same Old Blues/ I Just Want A Little Bit/ It's All Your Fault/ Keep Loving Me Baby/ San-Ho-Zay/ Stop! You're Hurting Me/ What Have I Done Wrong/ You Belong To Me/ You Don't Love Me Baby

 
MAGIC SAM Delmark 645 Live! ● CD $14.98
This is a CD reissue of the double album originally issued in 1981. Half of the disc features 9 sides recorded at the Alex Club in Chicago in 1963 and '64 with a small band including Eddie Shaw, A.C. Reed, Mac Thompson and others. The rest of the disc features his legendary performance from the 1969 Ann Arbor Festival where with only bass and drums accompaniment where he practically set the stage on fire! Sam's death in 1969 robbed the world of a major blues talent. His recorded output was fairly small so even though the sound quality here is a bit rough it gives us a rare opportunity to hear this magnificent singer & guitarist at his best. Disc comes with 16 page booklet with original notes, some brief updates to the notes and rare photos. (FS)
MAGIC SAM: All Your Love/ Backstroke/ Come On InThis House/ Don't Believe You'd Let Me Down/ Every Night About This Time/ I Feel So Good/ I Just Got To Know/ I Need You So Bad/ Looking Good/ Looking Good (Encore)/ Mole's Blues/ Riding High/ San-Ho-Say/ Strange Things Happening/ Sweet Home Chicago/ Tore Down/ You Were Wrong

 
MAGIC SAM Delmark 651 The Magic Sam Legacy ● CD $11.98
13 tracks, 45 mins, recommended
Had he lived beyond his all too short 32 years there is no doubt in my mind that Magic Sam would have been one of the most successful and popular blues artists to emerge from the fertile Chicago blues scene of the 60s. He was a superb expressive singer with a gospel tinge to his vocals and a powerful and imaginative gitarist with a distinctive percussive attack. This collection features unissued songs and alternate takes from his 1967/68 Delmark sessions plus two songs from a 1966 session that he later redid for Delmark. The unissued songs are mostly Chicago blues standards like Walkin' By Myself and ThatAin't It so most of the material here will be pretty familiar territory but Sam's outstanding performances do a lot to lift them out of the rut. Still, if you've not heard Sam before you'd be better off with Delmark 615 or 620 plus of course the reissues of his classic Cobra recordings from the late 50s. These recordings are, however, certainly worth while having, if not absolutely essential. (FS)
 
MAGIC SAM Delmark 654 Give Me Time ● CD $11.98
12 songs recorded solo in an informal session at Magic Sam's house, and never intended for release. Sound is adequate, and it's interesting to hear Sam singing his heart out, accompanied only by his electric guitar. But the material is pretty much familiar Chicago blues stuff, with many of the songs which Sam did better with a full band on his Delmark studio albums. Take the candid advice in these liner notes - get the other recordings first. (MB)
MAGIC SAM: Baby, You Torture My Soul/ Come Into My Arms/ Give Me Time/ I Can't Quit You Baby/ I'm So Glad/ Shake A Hand/ Sweet Little Angel/ That's All I Need/ That's Why I'm Crying/ What Have I Done Wrong/ You Belong To Me/ You're So Fine

 
MAGIC SAM Delmark 765 Rockin' Wild In Chicago ● CD $14.98
Previously unissued live club recordings made between 1963 and 1968 by this superb Chicago singer and guitarist who died at the tragically early age of 32 in 1969. Recordings come from The Copacabana, The Alex Club and Mother Blues and although the sound on some of these is pretty grim the singing and playing is stunning!
 
MAGIC SAM Evidence 26070 The Late Great Magic Sam ● CD $11.98
This CD reissue of L+R 42.014 features 10 studio recordings made in Chicago in 1963 and '64 and two tracks recorded live in England in 1969 when Sam was part of the touring blues festival. Sam as always was superb, unfortunately the studio sessions are marred by poor sound and some awful irrelevant organ playing by a deservedly unknown musician. The material is a mixture of old favorites by Sam like All Your Love and Feeling Good, some good new songs like Trying To Make It and Torturing My Soul and Chicago blues standards like High Heel Sneakers and Back Door Friend. The live recordings are much better with Sam accompanied by bass and drums on two items from standard repertoire - Looking Good and Easy Baby. I suspect that in the hands of a good engineer the studio recordings could be improved but that may be a bit presumptuous on my part. Still, if you are a Magic Sam fan, as I am you are going to want this, flaws & all! (FS)
MAGIC SAM: All Your Fault/ All Your Love/ Back Door Friend/ Call Me If You Need Me/ Easy Baby/ Feeling Good/ High Heel Sneakers/ Look Out Sam/ Looking Good/ Sometimes/ Torturing My Soul/ Trying To Make It

 
MAGIC SAM Fuel 2000 61104 The Essential Magic Sam ● CD $16.98
25 tracks, highly recommended
This CD features all of Sam's sides for Cobra (1957/58), Chief (1960) and Crash (1966) and five alternates from the Cobra sessions. Little need be said about Sam. He, like Otis Rush, was one of the major contemporary blues talents to emerge in the 50s - a superb singer with a emotive gospel tinge to his vocals and a brilliant and imaginative guitarist who made very effective use of tremolo in his playing. On these recordings he is accompanied by some of Chicago's finest - Little Brother Montgomery, Willie Dixon, Odie Payne, Syl Johnson, Johnny Jones, Louis Myers, etc. The recordings here have been issued several times before but the sound quality here is improved over previous issues making this indispensable. Informative notes by Bill Dahl. (FS)
MAGIC SAM: 21 Days In Jail/ 21 Days In Jail (alternate Take)/ All My Whole Life/ All Night Long/ All Your Love/ All Your Love (alternate Take)/ Blue Light Boogie/ Do The Camel Walk/ Easy Baby/ Easy Baby (alternate Take)/ Every Night About This Time/ Everything Gonna Be All Right (alternate Take)/ Everything Gonna Be Alright/ Look Whatcha Done/ Love Me This Way/ Love Me With A Feeling/ Love Me With A Feeling (alternate Take)/ Magic Rocker/ Mr. Charlie/ My Love Is Your Love/ Out Of Bad Luck/ She Belongs To Me/ Square Dance Rock, Pt. 1/ Square Dance Rock, Pt. 2/ You Don't Have To Work

 
MAGIC SLIM Blind Pig 5076 Blue Magic ● CD $16.98
10 tracks, 45 minutes, very good
Although this 2002 album Popa Chubby producing, there's little in the way of intrusive behavior, unless you count the strewn samples that mar the disc's opening number, I'm A Bluesman. Never adverse to dishing out various styles all rooted in blues, the sampled drum loops in Chickenheads sound natural, making room for traded guitar breaks, and Howlin' Wolf's How Many More Years simmers effortlessly. The multi-tracked train whistle effects on You Got to Pay aren't overly invasive and the Merle Haggard cover, I Started Loving You Again, might seem like a real step outside the boundaries for this master of Chicago blues guitar, but it offers some fine work nonetheless. Chubby splices his own guitar into a number of cuts, including I Want To See You In The Evening, but for the most part, he stays out of the way, doing a credible job at the controls. Geared more toward the mainstream, Blue Magic is a potent slice of Magic Slim all the same. (CR)
 
MAGIC SLIM Blind Pig 6003 Anything Can Happen ● DVD $19.98
DVD, 75 minutes, good
Brief liner notes accompanying this disc state that "although the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's luxuriously appointed Big Room is light-years removed from the kind of clubs in which Magic Slim grew up learning and plying his craft, the music is as real as it gets." True since Slim and his three-piece band are real people playing real instruments to a real audience in Chico, CA, but the antiseptic feel of the surroundings finds Magic Slim rarely rising above the level of mediocrity with the sameness of the grooves getting downright tedious after the first few songs. Miles Jordan's notes close by saying "I never made it to Florence's, or any other of Chicago's clubs where this music lives and breathes, but I can't imagine that what we heard that night in Chico was too much different from what Slim and his band play for his Chicago audiences." A suggestion would be for the writer to make a pilgrimage to the Windy City in order to witness what Slim lays down at B.L.U.E.S. or other home turf clubs to see if that opinion changes. (CR)

 
MAGIC SLIM Evidence 26012 Highway Is My Home ● CD $11.98
10 tracks, 47 min., good
Reissue of Black & Blue CD. Recorded in France in 1978 with Alabama Junior, Nick Holt and Fred Below this is not one of his most inspired releases but anything by Slim is worth a listen. This one includes intense versions of Wolf's Highway Is My Home, Jimmy Reed's I Love You Baby, Junior Parker's Man Or Mouse, Elmore James' The Sky Is Crying and others including a couple of good originals. (FS)
MAGIC SLIM: Country Girl/ Help Me/ Highway Is My Home/ I Love You Baby/ I'm Mad/ Living In My Neighborhood/ Man Or Mouse/ Something More/ Tell Me Baby/ The Sky Is Crying

 
MAGIC SLIM Storyville 8040 Volume 2 - Let Me Love You ● CD $25.98
11 songs recorded live in 1976 for the MCM label with Alabama Jr. Pettis, Nick Holt and Douglas Holt.
 
MAGIC SLIM Wolf 120.856 And Nick Holt & The Teardrops - Chicago Blues Vol. 10 ● CD $16.98
10 tracks, 46 min., recommended
Magic Slim and his band the Teardrops are one of the most exciting and consistent bands on the Chicago blues scene. Although they have little original material the soulful singing and intense guitar of Slim and the rock solid backup of John Primer, Nick Holt and and Michael Scott makes for a unique and instantly identifiable sound. On these 1989 recordings the vocals are shared by Slim and bassist Nick Holt on fine versions of Eddie Taylor's Bad Boy, Bo Diddley's Before You Accuse Me/ Everybody In Town/ That Will Never Do and others. I am a real sucker for minor key blues and the groups' version of That Will Never Do (a variation of Tin Pan Alley) and the Charles Brown classic Driftin' Blues are simply spine chilling with truly marvelous guitar by Slim. To paraphrase Will Rogers - I never heard a Magic Slim record I didn't like - and this is among his better ones. (FS)
 
MAGIC SLIM Wolf 120.882 Alone And Unplugged ● CD $16.98
15 tracks, 53 min., recommended
This shouldn't come as a surprise, as we all know Magic Slim "had it in him and it had to come out". Here we have Morris Holt reaching back a little and performing with just acoustic guitar accompaniment. The packaging leaves much to be desired, including no recording dates, writer credits, and a few mistitled tracks but the recording is quite acceptable. Highlights include Lightning Hopkins' Bring Me Shot Gun, Jerry McCain's Tough Enough, Hound Dog Taylor's Sadie, Betty James' Mixed Up About You, and the humorous Ikey & Mikey. The CD ends with a 5 minute interview, first released in 1984 on Blue Dog Records, which may be hints as to when and where these were recorded (1984/85, Lincoln, Nb). (EL)
 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Alligator 4728 Raw Magic ● CD $16.98
8 superb cuts drawn from his two out of print albums on the French Isabel label.
MAGIC SLIM: Ain't Doing Too Bad/ Gravel Road/ In The Heart Of The Blues/ Mama, Talk to Your Daughter/ Mustang Sally/ Why Does A Woman Treat A Good Man So Bad?/ You Can't Lose What You Never Had

 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Blind Pig 3690 Gravel Road ● CD $16.98
The always excellent Magic Slim doing gritty versions of Albert King's Cold Women With Warm Hearts, Otis Redding's Hard To Handle, Eugene Church's Pretty Girls Everywhere, Percy Mayfield's Prisoner Of Love and others. (FS)
MAGIC SLIM: Bad Luck Is Fallin'/ Before You Accuse Me/ Cold Women With Warm Hearts/ Further On Up The Road/ Gravel Road/ Hard To Handle/ Mustang Sally/ Please Don't Waste My time/ Pretty Girls Everywhere/ Prisoner Of Love/ Slim's Hideaway

 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Blind Pig 5036 Scufflin' ● CD $16.98
12 tracks, 41 mins, highly recommended
Chicago singer/ guitarist Magic Slim can always be relied upon to turn in a solid no nonsense set of West Coast Chicago blues with his powerful voice, gritty intense guitar and solid accompaniment from his band The Teardrops. This new album is no exception containing a mix of originals by Slim and his brother Nick Holt and covers. The originals include the novelty title song, the hard driving I'm Gonna Get You Babe and one of those wonderful minor key ditties that Slim specializes in Lookin' For A Lover. Covers range from Jimmy Reed's Down In Virginia with duet vocal to the Homer Banks soul number I'm Not The Same Person - all of them transmogrified into something uniquely Magic Slim. Slim has quite a few releases out there, all of them worthwhile, but it's nice to see one on a domestic label for a change. (FS)
MAGIC SLIM: Can't Get No Grindin'/ Down In Virginia/ Hole In The Wall/ I Need Lovin'/ I'm Gonna Get You Babe/ I'm Gonna Send You Back To Georgia/ I'm Not The Same Person/ Just Before You Go/ Lookin' For A Lover/ Room 109/ Scufflin'/ Think

 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Blind Pig 5046 Black Tornado ● CD $16.98
12 tracks, 47 mins, highly recommended
If Magic Slim's made a bad record, I've yet to hear it. This is another winner from beginning to end full of Slim powerful no-nonsense vocals and gritty powerhouse guitar - the toughest in the business. Slim is joined by his long time playing partner and brother Nick Holt who also joins in on some of the vocals plus solid guitar from Michael Dotson and drums from Allen Kirk. There's a higher proportion of original songs written by Slim (four) plus one from Nick and one by son Shawn along with Slim's unique versions of Muddy's Still A Fool, Hound Dog Taylor's It's Alright and A.C. Reed's Jealous Man. It's all great but the high point for me on a Magic Slim disc is when he launches into one of those slow, intense minor key blues with searing guitar and in this case it's his own Crazy Woman with the immortal line "I got a crazy woman, she got a mind like a goose". Wonderful! Even if you have all of Slim's previous albums, you need this one too - you won't be sorry. (FS)
 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Blind Pig 5060 Snakebite ● CD $16.98
11 tracks, 45 mins, recommended
There's no shortage of Magic Slim CDs out there but with his powerful and expressive vocals, distinctive gritty guitar, solid band and endless supply of good songs he rarely disappoints and this disc is no exception. This disc is a little different in that most of the songs are originals by Slim and are good solid down home Chicago blues. Among the highlights are the slow burning Please Don't Dog Me featuring some of Slim's most blistering guitar work and the hard driving rocker Shake It. The title song is an instrumental featuring dynamic slide guitar from the bands' other guitarist Michael Dotson egged on by Slim's exclamations. The two covers here are a great version of Muddy's Country Boy and Little Milton's Lump On Your Stomp. If you are not familiar with the music of Magic Slim this is a great place to start and if you are then you are hurrying to get your order in. (FS)

 
MAGIC SLIM & JOE CARTER Delmark 786 That Ain't Right ● CD $14.98
13 tracks, 63 minutes, highly recommended
Recorded and produced by Ralph Bass in 1977, this pairing of Magic Slim's gritty, single-string attack and Joe Carter's rough and ragged slide approach is a wonderful addition to the Delmark catalog. Morris Holt's half-dozen (In The Dark/ She Is Mine/ Strange Things Happen/ Cummins Prison Farm/ Soul Blues/ Just To Be With You) are typical, slashing Magic Slim grinders with Junior Pettis plus Nick and Doug Holt supporting. Joe Carter (1927-2001), with help from Lacy Gibson, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Black, and Fred Below fared much better on this session than he did for the Barrelhouse label in 1976, and the level of assistance makes the marked difference - I'm Worried/ Anna Lee/ Sweet Home Chicago/ Joe's Boogie/ Stormy Monday, and Bobby's Rock. Improved sound and Jim O'Neal's liner notes add to its appeal and you also get Fred Below doing Route 66. (CR)

 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Rooster Blues 2618 Grand Slam ● CD $15.98 $10.98
14 tracks, 56 mins, highly recommended
Now deleted. At last Slim's Handy award winning 1983 Rooster Blues album is issued on CD in the USA augmented by the three tracks from his 1975 "Mean Mistreater" E.P. As always Slim doesn't disappoint with his powerful vocals and gritty funky guitar work accompanied by solid accompaniment from the Teardrops. Few of the songs are original but Slim has little trouble making them uniquely his own including great versions of Muddy's Just To Be With You, Big Mac's Rough Dried Woman and Elmore's Make My Dreams Come True. There are also several driving instrumentals. (FS)

 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Wolf 120.301 The Zoo Bar Collection, Vol 1 ● CD $16.98
First in a series of live recordings made at the Zoo Bar in Lincoln, Nebrska where Slim had a loyal and enthusiastic following. These sides were recorded in 1979.
 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Wolf 120.302 The Zoo Bar Collection, Vol 2 ● CD $16.98
The second volume includes recordings from 1979 and 1982.
 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Wolf 120.305 The Zoo Bar Collection, Vol. 5 ● CD $16.98
The final volume in this series features recordings made in the late 80s.
 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Wolf 120.809 Tin Pan Alley ● CD $16.98
12 tracks, 65 mins, highly recommended
A new Magic Slim album is always cause for celebration and this one is no exception. Solid, down to earth Chicago blues with powerful vocals and gritty electric guitar work (Slim shares guitar leads with Teardrop John Primer) accompanied by spot on bass and drum rhythm. As always there's a fair share of Slim's slow burning intense minor key blues and his great Cold Hearted Woman is alone worth the price of this CD. Half the tracks were recorded in the studio and half recorded live in Austria. The music is a mix of originals and covers of songs from B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Albert King and others and all of it is excellent. Slim hasn't changed much over the past 20 years but it doesn't matter as everything he does is so good and sounds so fresh that listening to him is sheer delight. (FS)

 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Wolf 120.849 Chicago Blues Session Vol. 3 ● CD $16.98
Another collection of excellent no nonsense Chicago blues. The 11 songs are all familiar or based on familiar themes, but Slim gives them his touch with his rich expressive vocals and dynamic vibrato laden guitar. A couple of the songs feature fine vocals by Primer. Nothing fancy here, but nothing else but the blues - you can't go wrong with Slim.
 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Wolf 120.856 Chicago Blues Sessions, Vol 10 ● CD $16.98
Mostly tracks recorded in 1989 plus a couple from 1991.
 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Wolf 120.864 Chicago Blues Session Vol. 18 - Live On The Road ● CD $16.98
10 tracks, 75 mins, recommended
The always fine Magic Slim with his band, The Teardrops recorded live in Austria in 1990. Lots of energetic singing from Slim and band member John Primer and tough stinging guitar from Slim. Most of the songs are based on blues standards though Slim stamps them with his own powerful personality. Songs include Walking Down Broadway/ Don't You Know/ Sweet Home Chicago/ What's On Your Mind/ Long Distance call, etc. Not one of his strongest efforts but still a lot better than many recent blues recordings. (FS)

 
MAGIC SLIM & THE TEARDROPS Wolf 120.870 Magic Blues - Chicago Blues Session Vol. 24 ● CD $16.98
Magic Slim can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. His music is basic but oh so effective and this release is no exception. Slim's gritty vocals and intense tremelo laden electric guitar are up front with guitarist John Primer, bassist Nick Holt (Slim's brother) and drummer Jerry Porter providing rock solid accompaniments. The songs are mostly covers though anything Slim performs instantly gets his own unique stamp. On Wonder What's The Matter, Primer provides some nice slide guitar licks and takes vocal honors on a fine version of Howlin' Wolf's Evil. Another winner from the magic Mr. Holt. (FS)

 
JANIVA MAGNESS Northern Blues 022 Bury Him At The Crossroads ● CD $16.98
13 tracks, 48 minutes, excellent
With five CDs and numerous awards already, Janiva Magness delivers "Bury Him At The Crossroads", her first outing for the Canadian label. Jeff Turmes hands in top-notch songwriting along with various musical talents (bass, guitar, sax, and banjo) while Colin Linden takes the lion's share of guitar work and production. J.B. Lenoir's The Whale Has Swallowed Me, Magic Sam's Everything Gonna Be Alright, Rev. Robert Wilkins' That's No Way To Get Along, and Oliver Sain's The Soul Of A Man headline the covers. Magness has a searing voice that can raise the temperature to white-hot levels or cool things down where necessary, as with Delbert McClinton's Ain't Lost Nothin' or Turmes' comical Eat The Lunch You Brought. Her ability to appeal to a wide-ranging market is evident whether it's straight blues, crushing soul, or hefty R&B. Plain and simple, this is superb stuff. (CR)

 
J.J. MALONE Blues Express 003 And The Band Played On ● CD $14.98
12 tracks, 45 mins, recommended
2001 album from this talented and versatile West Coast bluesman finds him singing, playing keyboards, guitar and, on one track, harmonica, backed by a fine small band of local musicians. J.J. is a very expressive singer with a distinctive, husky style that is most appealing. Most of the songs are originals including the title song plus Morgan County Jail/ Come Boogie With Me/ Love Song For You/ You Call My Number and others. There are three covers including a fine version of the Sam Cooke classic Bring It On Home To Me with J.J. duetting with Bay Area soul man Frankie Lee. Good stuff. (FS)

 
J.J. MALONE Fedora 5003 Highway 99 ● CD $16.98
1997 album from this talented West Coast performer.

 
J.J. MALONE Fedora 5012 See Me Early In The Morning ● CD $16.98
1998 album from this West Coast singer, guitarist and piano player with small group.
 
THE MANNISH BOYS Delta Groove 100 That Represent Man ● CD $15.98
17 tracks, 62 minutes, essential
It's this sort of recording that manages to keep the blues flame burning brightly for those who see our music suffering through a current low period. It's doubtful that a better hand-picked band could be chosen seeing as this one has Finis Tasby's vocals, the twin guitars of Kirk Fletcher and Frank Goldwasser, Leon Blue's piano, and a rhythm section of Ronnie James Weber and June Core. Add to that appearances by Paul Oscher, Roy Gaines, Johnny Dyer, Mickey Champion, and Randy Chortkoff and you've got the makings of an incredible hour-long blues extravaganza. Blues And Trouble/ You're Sweet/ I'm A Lover Not A Fighter/ Come On Rock Little Girl/ Temperature/ Partin' Time/ You Been Goofin'/ I Feel So Bad and nine more make this a late entry for one of 2004's high points. (CR)

 
THE MANNISH BOYS Delta Groove 105 Live & In DEmand ● CD $15.98
12 tracks, 57 min., recommended
With the release of the Mannish Boys' studio album, "That Represent Man" (surely the title comes from a line in the song that is their name sake, yes?), came talk of blues super groups and many superlative-heaped reviews, some of them deserved. This live set (recorded at the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in Winthrop, Washington, in 2005) features an almost entirely new playlist (very little duplication), and a few of the Boys on TRM have been (at least temporarily) replaced. Specifically, Kirk Fletcher has been replaced with Kid Ramos; Roy Gaines is missing, along with Ronnie Weber (bass), June Core (drums), and Paul Oscher (guitar). But the band still knows how to drive a blues song home and park it in the living room. And who can resist the song She Wants To Sell My Monkey? Extra points for Tom Leavey's purple cowboy boots on the cover--must be alligator or snake. Great sound quality. (JC)

 
BOB MARGOLIN Alligator 4816 Down In The Alley ● CD $16.98
1993 album featuring guest appearances by John Brim and Nappy Brown.