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NEWSLETTER #126
Blues & Gospel
Marie Knight - > Jimmy
Witherspoon
| MARIE KNIGHT |
Gospel Friend 1500 |
Hallelujah What A Song! |
● CD $14.98 |
22 tracks recorded between 1946 and 51 by this fine and
important gospel vocalist. Includes collaborations with the Sam Price Trio/
Quartet, The Nightingales, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Susnet Four and
others.
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| LEAD BELLY |
BGO BGOCD 403 |
Huddie Ledbetter's Best |
● CD $14.98 |
12 tracks, essential. CD issue of Capitol T-1821 (now deleted
in the USA) originally issued in 1963. Recorded in October, 1944 these were
the last studio recordings of the great singer and 12 string guitarist and
features fine renditions of some of his most popular songs including a
particularly rousing version of his most famous song Goodnight Irene
plus Rock Island Line/ Ella Speed/ Western Plain/ Sweet Mary Blues,
etc. There are also two wonderful tracks featuring Leadbelly playing some
lovely ragtime flavored blues piano. Many of the tracks feature Paul Howard
on zither - an instrument not normally associated with the blues but which
is remrakably effective here (FS)
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| LIL' ED & THE
BLUES IMPERIALS |
Alligator 4886 |
Heads Up |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 52 minutes, recommended
With the lack of
respectful blues guitarists who can tear it up with a slide, Lil' Ed
Williams seems poised to move beyond his journeyman status and take over the
driver's seat. While his playing is always on edge, sounding ready to careen
off track any second, he manages to finish phrases perfectly each time,
defying logic. With plenty of slow burners, including The Creeper, a
Muddy-styled effort, to the brooding Four Leaf Clover and Black
Night, Williams sounds harrowing, but raises the roof on crashing takes
like Ed Heads' Boogie and the infectious Empty House Tour.
He's forceful on Lil' Ed's Home Cookin' and stylish for Natural
Man, and sounds remarkably like his uncle, J.B. Hutto, on My Mind Is
Gone. Plain and simple, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials know how to have
fun, and they throw another party on Heads Up. (CR)
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| ROBERT JR. LOCKWOOD |
P-Vine PCD 4927 |
Swingin' In Tokyo - Live At the Park Tower
Blues Festiv |
● CD $22.98 |
Available again. Legendary blues singer and guitarist
recorded live in Tokyo, Japan in 1995 accompanied by his long time sax man
Maurice Reedus, harp player Wallace Coleman and a solid rhythm section. The
selection is pretty familiar including originals (Hangin On/ Annie's
Boogie, etc), blues standards (Every Day I Have The Blues/ See See
Rider, etc) and, of course, a couple of Robert Johnson songs (Steady
Rollin' Man/ Kind Hearted Woman). Robert's singing his fine but his
guitar work a little restrained.
ROBERT JR. LOCKWOOD: After Hours/ Annie's Boogie/ Every Day I Have The
Blues/ Going Home/ Hangin' On/ I'M Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town/ Kind
Hearted Woman/ See See Rider/ Something To Do/ Steady Rollin' Man/ Take A
Little Walk With Me
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| MAGIC SLIM |
Blind Pig 5076 |
Blue Magic |
● CD $16.98 |
10 tracks, 45 minutes, very good. Although Slim's latest has
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)
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| MEMPHIS SLIM |
Delmark 762 |
The Come Back |
● CD $14.98 |
Delmark's second compilation of Slim's recordings for the
United label in 1952 and '53 features the first two sessions for that label
in their entirety plus two auditions. It includes 11 previously unissued
tracks including the first recorded vocal by Matt Murphy and an early
version of on of Slim's most famous songs The Come Back.
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| MISSISSIPPI HEAT |
Crosscut 11071 |
Footprints On The Ceiling |
● CD $16.98 |
58 minutes, 14 tracks, good. Mississippi Heat's frontline
consists of Pierre Lacouque's harp, tandem guitars of Chris Winters and
Michael Thomas, plus Inetta Visor's vocals, but while marked as a
traditional crew, a modern feel shows more often in their catalog. Lacoque's
harp dominates while a number of guests raise the stakes as Billy Boy
Arnold, Carl Weathersby and Peter 'Madcat' Ruth sit in and offer up solid
efforts. Caribbean Sunshine has Weathersby trying to get corny lyrics
across with soul and Hobo Blues has syrupy harp but Arnold struts his
stuff on Gonna Leave Her Be and What Kind Of Man Is That, both
excellent. Visor becomes the unheralded star of the core outfit, singing
with feverish passion. The overdone liner notes are way too much. The Heat
isn't spectacular here, but they could smolder if prodded. (CR)
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| HOT LIPS PAGE |
Blue Boar 1010 |
Shoutin' The Blues |
● CD $10.98 |
24 tracks, recommended Fine set featuring blues and jazz
singer and trumpeter. There are four sides from 1947 under his own name
while the remainder from the same year features Page in bands accompanying
such fine vocalists as Mabel "Big Maybelle" Smith, Wynonie Harris and Marion
Abernathy. Good sound and informative notes from Joop Visser. (FS)
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| SONNY PARKER |
Blues Collection 160 282 |
1949-1951 |
● CD $13.98 |
22 tracks, 63 min, highly recommended. Sonny was a great
blues shouter who is little known today, mainly because most of his career
was spent as vocalist for Lionel Hampton, who didn't record a lot of blues
vocals. Sonny's career lasted only from '48 (with King Kolax), joined Hamp
at the age of 23, until '55, when he had a cerebral hemorrhage - he
eventually died in '57 at the age of '31! This set has all his Hamp-associated
sides. Starting with a couple sides with the small-group Hampton Sextet,
with Sammy Price on piano & Wes Montgomery on guitar, including a jumpin'
version of Drinkin' Wine Spo-De-o-dee, then 10 with the full Hamp
Orch 12/49-10/51 including Montgomery, Al Grey & the great Bobby Plater. The
remaining sides are with members of Hamp's Orch in small group settings -
Sonny Parker & his All-Stars w/ Montgomery, Grey & Floyd Dixon, Gene Morris
& His Hamptones, also w/ Montgomery, & Gladys Hampton's Blues Boys with
Plater & Milt Buckner. Much of the material is covers of R&B hits, including
Boogie Woogie Santa Claus, Worried Life Blues/ I want A Little
Girl, etc. Extensive duplication with Blue Moon 6003 issued some years
ago but I think sound here is better. (GM)
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| ASIE PAYTON |
Fat Possum 80353 |
Just Do Me Right |
● CD $16.98 |
14 tracks, 46 minutes, good
This is Fat Possum's second
posthumous release of Asie Payton material and was recorded between 1980 and
1994. Payton delivered the goods with a soulful voice and careening guitar
in Do Me Right, a slice of pure delta while I Got A Friend
offers dirge-like guitar and Need My Help delivers looped drums with
other gadgets. Livin' In So Much Pain is stripped clean while You
Got Me Doin' Things relies on rattling gizmos to keep with the present.
Why'd You Do It returns to simplicity and Lose My Happy Home
will thrill purists and adventure seekers with its cry-and-moan that isn't
far from Wolf's territory. You Don't Want Me gets minimal assistance
and Payton tackles Watch Yourself with solid success thanks to Kenny
Brown's slide and Sam Carr's backbeats. Standard Fat Possum fare from the
absolutely wicked to what-in-the-world-for. (CR)
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| KID RAMOS |
Evidence 26117 |
Greasy Kid Stuff |
● CD $15.98 |
17 tracks, 59 minutes, highly recommended
The Kid Ramos
list of accomplishments has grown healthier and longer each year. From his
beginnings with James Harman, standing next to Hollywood Fats, to his tenure
with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, he's studied his craft and devoted himself
to being one of the finest guitar players in blues. This star-studded affair
pairs him with harp slingers Paul deLay, Johnny Dyer, Rick Estrin, James
Harman, Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza, and Lynwood Slim. From the crushing
original instrumental title track, to the disruptive Chicken Hearted
Woman, or Harman's blow-by-blow descriptions in Low Down Woman,
Ramos tackles guitar chores with respect, never overshadowing the
proceedings. The chromatic closer, Harmonica Hangover, finds Estrin
and Musselwhite aiming jabs at a crumpled and passed-out James Harman. (CR)
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| DUKE ROBILLARD |
Stony Plain 1277 |
Living With The Blues |
● CD $16.98 |
12 tracks, 55 minutes, highly recommended
Much like
Duke's Blues from 1994, Robillard pays homage to heroes while managing
to toss in a few originals. If Walls Could Talk smolders and Use
What You Got is a six-minute slow blues with dynamic guitar and
passionate vocals. Stratisfied is a rocking original feature for
Duke's double stops, simultaneous rhythm and lead, and numbing bends, then
he goes it alone for Tampa Red's Hard Road sporting fine acoustic slide,
although vocally he seems to force an old-style phrasing. Buy Me A Dog
is potent with distorted guitar and thick harp, plus impeccable backing from
the rhythm section, and Good Time Charlie is also strong. Muddy's
I Live The Life I Love buzzes with horns and Painful Memory is a
workout with Guitar Slim's ghost present. Another Robillard-penned offering,
Sleepin' On It, is muscular and the disc closes with B.B. King's
Long Gone Baby, laced with drilling guitar over a stumbling groove. (CR)
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| THE SENSATIONAL
NIGHTINGALES |
MCA Special Products MCAD 22044 |
The Best Of The Sensational Nightingales |
● CD $8.98 |
Available again. The best Nightingales material features the
hard gospel lead of the amazing Julius Cheeks, a man who beat Wilson Pickett
to his sound by 10 years. This reissue of Peacock LP #137 contains some
earth-shattering vocal shouting from Cheeks, but not all of it - Cheeks left
in 1960. Listen to Burying Ground/ Standing In The Judgement and just
try not to be impressed. Other wonderful songs include the hit To The End,
a startling version of A Closer Walk With Thee/ Never Said A Word/ I Want
To Go. The lack of any notes or photos is regrettable, but this is
essential gospel music and not to be missed. (JC)
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| THE STAPLE SINGERS |
Recall 431 |
Glory It's The .. |
● CD $16.98 |
Two CDs, 32 tracks, 91 mins, essential
Well it may not be
perfect but it's certainly the best and most complete collection of the
Staple Singers great recordings made for Vee-Jay between 1955 and 1961. This
family group recorded some incredibly moving and powerful gospel music in
this period. Lead vocals are taken by dad Roebuck Staples or daughter Mavis
with her magnificent spine chilling emotion charged contralto with glorious
harmonies from Cleotha and Pervis. Instrumental accompaniment is mostly just
Roebuck playing spine-chilling Delta blues riffs on vibrato laden electric
guitar and occasional discreet drums. Performances include the hymn
Uncloudy Day, the Alex Bradford classic Too Close, the incredible
I Had A Dream with both Roebuck and Mavis doing lead, the
spellbinding two part I'm Coming Home, This May Be The Last Time
which was reworked as a rock song by The Rolling Stones, Help Me Jesus/
God's Wonderful Love/ Ain't That Good News and others. Every track is a
gem and belongs in evry gospel lover's collection. The Staples recorded 37
sides for Vee-Jay plus a few unissued so it's a shame that Recall couldn't
have include them all. Sound is generally very good if not quite state of
the art. Set comes with booklet with brief notes. In spite of my minor
reservations this is an absolute must! (FS)
THE STAPLE SINGERS: Born In Bethlehem/ Calling Me/ Come On Up In Glory/
Don't Drive Me Away/ Don't Knock/ Downward Road/ Each Day/ God's Wonderful
Love/ Going Away/ Good News/ Help Me Jesus/ I Had A Dream/ I Know I've Got
Religion/ I'm Coming Home (part 1)/ I'm Coming Home (part 2)/ I'm Leaning/
I'm So Glad/ If I Could Hear My Mother Pray/ Let's Go Home/ Low Is The Way/
Old Landmark/ On My Way To Heaven/ Pray On/ So Soon/ Somebody Saved Me/
Stand By Me/ Swing Down Chariot (let Me Ride)/ This May Be The Last Time/
Too Close/ Two Wings/ Uncloudy Day/ Will The Circle Be Unbroken
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|
MELVIN
TAYLOR & THE SLACK BAND |
Evidence 26123 |
Rendezvous With The Blues |
● CD $15.98 |
55 minutes, 10 tracks, recommended While restraint isn't
quite Melvin Taylor's style, his selection of cover material is well-suited
to his careening lead guitar and he's grown into a seasoned vocalist.
Steering clear of patented shuffles during the cover-laden "Rendezvous With
The Blues" doesn't lessen his impact as a fine blues interpreter; his
blending of thick chords, searing fills, and tenacious leads show an artist
continuing to stretch the boundaries. Lucky Peterson helps out and Mato
Nanji from Indigenous falls in on Comin' Home Baby and a John Lee
Hooker tribute consisting of Chill Out and The Healer.
Prince's Five Women will have purists shuddering in horror, but it's
a high point as Melvin takes a pop-flavored flounder and transposes it into
a delicious cut. Blue Jean Blues delivers shattering guitar and
explosive dynamics. (CR)
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| JOE LOUIS WALKER |
Telarc 83541 |
In The Morning |
● CD $16.98 |
10 tracks, 53 minutes, good. Walker's long-term deal is over
with Verve and his latest is an up-and-down affair. Just About To Lose
Your Clown has modern funk underneath distorted guitar and while the
title track begins strong, it's dragged into a bog with repetitive
background vocals. Joe's Jump offers bristling guitar in short bursts
and jazz flavors spice Leave That Girl Alone which steers aside for
Where Jesus Leads, but Strange Loving shows Walker's grating
falsetto vocals for a third time in six tracks. Do You Wanna Be With Me?
gets soul treatment but lyrics lack an imaginative edge, something the
guitar sports in spades and the irritating vocals spoil the Jimmy Reed-like
If This Is Love. 2120 South Michigan Avenue is a loaded
shuffle with churning licks and Strangers In Our Home is an acoustic
offering, again with JLW's vocal histrionics, this time proving it wasn't
needed anywhere else. (CR)
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| T-BONE WALKER |
Proper BOX 38 |
The Original Source |
● CD $25.98 |
Four CDs, 90 tracks, 258 minutes, essential!
Superb package
beginning with Walker's 1929 Columbia session as 'Oak Cliff T-Bone' and
ending with Imperial recordings from 1951. This is where it all began for
modern electric blues. Credited with developing the fleet, single note style
of guitar playing that still rules the music today, T-Bone's impressive cast
of sidemen includes Lloyd Glenn, Bumps Myers, Big Jim Wynn, and many others.
Culled from Capitol, Rhumboogie, Black & White, Comet, and more labels, "The
Original Source" showcases Walker's dazzling blues guitar dictionary with
crisp leads to the off-kilter, yet propulsive and rippling rhythms that defy
time. With both EMI and Mosaic's sets out-of-print, this generous
compilation is a showstopper. Informative liner notes and complete session
details fill out the 44-page booklet of this set devoted to a man who has
perhaps influenced more guitarists than anyone else in music. Absolutely
critical! (CR)
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| MUDDY WATERS &
MEMPHIS SLIM |
Capitol (UK) 29375 |
Chicago Blues Masters, Vol 1 |
● CD $13.98 |
17 tracks, 55 mins, recommended
Deleted in the USA but now
available as an English import. Entertaining selection of sides drawn from
two obscure United Artists album. Five of the tracks are from a 1959, two
feature Muddy with regular bandmates James Cotton and Otis Spann plus bass &
drums on a couple of favorites - Hoochie Coochie Man and Walking
Through The Park. Muddy also accompanies Slim on three tracks. The rest
of the album was probably recorded in 1959 with a similar line up - Muddy
does only two songs and Slim the remaining ten. Performances are
consistently good though perhaps not either artist at his best. Still it is
nice to hear Muddy in an accompanying role. Notes by Mark Humphrey and
series producer Pete Welding. (FS)
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| JOSH WHITE |
Collectables 7463 |
Josh At Midnight/ Ballads & Blues |
● CD $13.98 |
Two of Josh's mid 50s Elektra albums combined on one CD.
Josh is at his most polished and folkiest on these sides. The first album
features him with jazz bassist Al Hall and a horrible second vocalist and
the latter album has Hall and jazz drummer Sonny Greer. The material is a
mix of blues, spirituals, jazz songs and the occasional protest song -
St. james Infirmary/ Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed/ One Meat Ball/ Number
Twelve Train/ Midnight Special/ Woman Sure Is A Curious Critter/ Ball &
Chain Blues/ Told My Captain, etc.
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| JOSH WHITE |
Jasmine 3004/5 |
From New York To London, The Classic
Recordings |
● CD $17.98 |
Two CD set featuring 42 tracks - the first disc features 19
tracks by Josh recorded in New York between 1944 and 1947 along with two
tracks from 1942 featuring him accompanying Libby Holman. Most tracks
feature bass and drum accompaniments and one side features backup from Sonny
& Brownie. The second disc featuring recordings made in London, England in
1950 and 1951 with varying accompaniments. 12 page booklet has notes by
White biographer Elijah Wald.
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