Bad Dog Blues Radio

Hosting a weekly radio show and putting out this monthly website gives us at Bad Dog Blues a pretty good idea what's going on in in the blues world. We started the Bad Dog Blues website at the beginning of 1999 and have been doing these yearly wrap ups each year since. From a new recording standpoint 2006 was a very good year with numerous quality releases which made picking our year end top records difficult. While there were numerous fine releases there was no clear standout for top record unlike previous years. As for the blues industry and artists in general things are still pretty tough. Three years after the so called Year of the Blues it's obvious that despite the hype there was no lasting boost to the blues. As in past years many larger labels cut back on their release schedule and many more CD's were issued on small or independent labels, many from long time blues veterans who were forced to self produce. By and large the best blues records came out on small labels, usually one man operations by dedicated enthusiasts.

As for Bad Dog Blues Radio we continue to plug along with our five-hour weekly show and are now heading into our 18th year on the air, our 8th on the web. Our local show continues to draw a large audience here in Rochester, NY in addition to garnering a huge web audience who listen to us live and check out our archive of over 50 hours of shows available in RealAudio. It's now been a year since we made the show available as a podcast which has turned out to be very popular. The five hour format gives us more blues programming than most shows and allows us to do in depth artist features on the well known and obscure artists, interview notable blues artists and play a wide ranging mix of vintage and new blues. This year we got a chance to interview great some blues folks including Dick Waterman, John Tefteller, Dion, James Hunter, Sue Foley, Barrelhouse Chuck, Cleveland Fats and Piney Brown among others. We also featured live in studio performances by the Coupe de Villes, Fred Vine and the John Cole Blues Band.

Our focus below will be on the year's most notable recordings. The records mentioned are only based on promos we've received for airplay in the past year and it should be noted that there are some labels that don't service us, particularly many of the import labels. While we don't get service from those great European blues reissues labels like JSP, Proper, Ace, Classics, Blue Moon, etc. we do buy these records and they are featured regularly on our program.

It seems that most of the year's best releases came out on small labels. Many artists formerly on bigger labels issued records on smaller labels or independently. Let's take a look at some of the year's top releases on small/independent labels: One of the year's best records was issued by powerhouse guitarist Lee Gates whose "Black Lucy's Deuce" (Music Maker) is a terrific follow-up to his 2003 debut featuring impassioned singing and stinging guitar much in the vein of his cousin Albert Collins. Syracuse veteran Roosevelt Dean continues to issue hard hitting, passionate records. This year he issued two fine ones in "Touch Somebody's Hand", perhaps his most ambitious to date, and the excellent "Don't Leave Me." Another artist who issued two records this year was Billy Flynn who released "Billy's Blues" and "Chicago Blues Mandolin" on his own Big Easy imprint. Flynn is a tireless blues performer who's played with just about everyone, earning a stellar reputation along the way. Flynn honed his chops playing with luminaries like Jimmy Dawkins, Mighty Joe Young, Luther Alllison, Snooky Pryor and many others as well as being a member of well regarded bands like Mississippi Heat and the Legendary Blues Band. Barrelhouse Chuck issued yet another stellar piano blues record in "Got My Eyes On You" (The Sirens). Chuck is a true piano master with a deep sense of tradition and one of the finest younger generation blues piano players you'll find anywhere. Speaking of tradition Cleveland Fats issued the terrific "The Ways Things Go" backed backed by a superb band. Fats mentored under Robert Lockwood Jr., spending nearly twenty years backing Lockwood and it's fitting that Lockwood appears on two tracks here which remain his very last recordings. Veteran singer Barbara Morrison released "Live At The Dakota" a masterful performance as Morrison delivers a dazzling blend of blues and jazz classics all with her own unique stamp.

A number of blues veterans are still releasing good music including Willie "Big Eyes" Smith who issued the tough "Way Back" (Hightone), the legendary Ike Turner who returned after a five year absence with the hard hitting "Risin' With The Blues" (Zoho), Charlie Musselwhite issued "Delta Hardware" a lean, gritty dose of undiluted electric delta blues which was his hardest hitting record in many years.

This was an exceptional year for blues debuts with a number of debuts making our year end list. Among the most impressive were singer/guitarist Joe Doucet's "Houston’s Third Ward Blues" (Dialtone) a primer on Gulf Coast music, melding blues, soul, zydeco and swamp pop into one amazing gumbo. In addition to playing some terrific electric guitar he’s also a soulful singer who sings in both English and Creole backed by a terrific band. The Broke & Hungry label released two superb down home, country blues debuts this year with the releases of Jimmy "Duck" Holmes' "Back To Bentonia" and Odell Harris' "Searching For Odell Harris." Speaking of country blues another knockout debut was John Long's "Lost & Found" (Delta Groove). Long began performing in the early 60's and his years of wood shedding have paid off as he emerges fully formed, a master country blues player who's music sounds natural and effortless. Veteran singer Willie Pooch scored big with his debut "Funk-N-Blues" (Summit) backed by the incredible B-3 organ of Tony Monaco. Pooch is a classic old school blues singer who's worked with Hound Dog Taylor, Elmore James, Luther Allison, Magic Sam and Muddy Waters.

We always play good soul records if we can get them and this year we received a number of good ones: Willie Walker & The Butanes" Memphisapolis" (Haute) is a great follow-up to last year's "Where I Belong", a vintage sounding soul record from a soul survivor who cut sides for the legendary Goldwax label in the 60's, Marvin Sease is at his best on "Live With The Candy Licker" (Malaco), great unsung soul singer Jackie Payne and his guitar playing partner Steve Edmonson issued the superb "Master of the Game" (Delta Groove), Artie "Blues Boy" White sounds as good as ever on "Package Deal" (A Chilltown), blue eyed soul singer James Hunter made a huge splash with the decidedly old school "People Gonna Talk" (Rounder) and Frankie Lee is an old school singer and a master of phrasing and putting a song across as he effortlessly demonstrates on the classy "…Standing At The Crossroads" (Blues Express).

As far as Rochester blues artists there were two very notable releases: Master acoustic bluesman Fred Vine issued "Crystal City Blues" (Blue Fish) and performs regularly on Bad Dog Blues. The White Hots, a jazzy blues quartet consisting of veteran blues and jazz players, issued "Caught In The Act" (Rollo). We were happy to see our friends the Coupe de Villes issue "Burnin' Live At WITR" recorded on the Bad Dog Blues show earlier this year. The Coupe de Villes are one of Rochester's finest blues and R&B outfits and have been tearing up the clubs for the past twenty years. In addition to the Coupes we've also had local bands perform live in the studio including great performances by Dan Schmitt & The Shadows and the fabulous John Cole Blues Band. 2007 should see several more live in-studio performances so stay tuned.

Reissue/Historical Recordings

2006 was a slow year for quality reissues/historical recordings. Due to copyright laws there is a flood of European reissues that hit the market yearly although few get sent to us for airplay. Here's some notable ones we received:

One of the year's most anticipated releases was Yazoo's "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" which certainly lives up to the cover blurb - "Super Rarities & Unissued Gems of the 1920's & 30's." Indeed this collection is chock full of incredibly rare (1 or 2 known 78 copies) blues, country and gospel numbers that will make collectors week in the knees. Most importantly it included the long lost Son House 78 "Mississippi County Farm Blues/Clarksdale Moan", the holy grail of blues finds stemming from that mythical 1930 Paramount session that produced masterpieces not only by Son but also by Charlie Patton, Willie Brown and Louise Johnson.

Last year Delmark issued the terrific live Otis Rush recording "All Your Love I Miss Loving - Live at The Wise Fools Pub, Chicago" a previously unreleased 196 recording. On the heels of that great recording they issued Jr. Wells' "Live At Theresa’s 1975" a sweaty, rough and tumble performance capturing him at his peak. "Live At Theresa’s 1975" is a reminder of just how good Wells could be and is a most welcome addition to his slim batch of live recordings.

William Clarke's wife, Jeannette, has been busy keeping her husband's legacy alive by making available some great unreleased recordings. On her own Watch Dog label she's issued "The Early Years Vol. 1 & 2" spanning the years 1978 through 1991. Also released was "Now That You're Gone" which consists of songs Clarke had in the can before he passed.

We were lucky enough to receive a copy of the the import Big Bill Broonzy release, the 2-CD "Amsterdam Live Concerts 1953." The concerts were recorded across two nights and includes nearly two hours of recordings that have never been released before. Sonically the recordings are stunning, capturing every nuance and subtlety of Broonzy's singing and playing. Packaging is superb, with the CD's housed in a tall hardcover box that includes a forty-eight-page book featuring stories about Broonzy’s experiences in Europe and dozens of unpublished pictures.

Other reissues/historical releases that topped our year end lists include: A pair by Document: "Picking The Blues: Boogie Woogie Pioneers" a terrific twenty-two song collection compiled by John Mayall spanning from 1928 to 1960 and Lil' Son Jackson's "Rockin' And Rollin' Vol. 1" collects twenty-three fine down-home tracks by the Texas bluesman cut for Gold Star and Imperial between 1948 and 1950. A pair from pianist Bob Reidy's Chicago Sound Recordings label: "Chicago Blues Shows of the 70's" (John Littlejohn, Johnny Young, Jimmy Rogers, Carey Bell, Magic Slim and Eddy Clearwater among others) and "Late Freight" featuring Carey Bell. Both records spotlight the vibrant, but often overlooked, 1970's Chicago blues scene. Live Otis Rush records appear frequently and are almost always worthwhile as is the case with Blues Express' "Live …And In Concert From San Francisco" released on CD and DVD, capturing Rush at the peak of his powers.

Blues Labels

As mentioned above most of the year's best releases came out on small/independent labels. Here's a few of those labels that deserve special mention:

The Austin based Dialtone label run by Eddie Stout formed a few years back and consistently issue terrific blues records by mostly lesser known but deserving Texas artists. The label had a banner year releasing the fabulous debut by Joe Doucet, "Houston Third Ward Blues", plus great compilations including "Texas Southside Kings" and "Texas Harmonica Rumble."

Broke & Hungry is a brand new label that issued two terrific down home blues records: Jimmy "Duck" Holmes' "Back To Bentonia" and Odell Harris' "Searching For Odell" both of which made our year end list.

Unfortunately the 95 North Label seems to have gone under but they manage to issue two records that made our year end list: Chicago Bob Nelson "Flyin' Too High" and Robin Rogers' "Crazy Cryin' Blues."

The San Francisco based Blues Express label issued one of the year's best in Frankie Lee's "...Standing At The Crossroads" plus a great live Otis Rush recording in "Live And In Concert From San Francisco."

Delta Groove emerged a few years ago as one of the best labels for contemporary blues and continued it's fine track record with a great acoustic blues debut in John Long's "Lost & Found", the 2-CD "Road To Rio" by the Hollywood Blue Flames (a modern day version of the Hollywood Fats band) featuring new and vintage material, a fine sophomore release with Mitch Kashmar's "Wake Up & Worry" and the above mentioned Jackie Payne record.

The Black & Tan label is a small blues label based out of the Netherlands, of all places, who have issued some terrific blues records over the past seven years. While most of Black & Tan's releases fall into a traditional blues vein, new records by Harrison Kennedy and Billy Jones find them pushing the boundaries in new and interesting ways. Kennedy's mesmerizing "Voice + Story" is a soulful stew that blends blues, R&B and roots music into a potent mix while Billy Jones' "tha' Bluez" blends funk, R&B and soul into a decidedly contemporary style. They also issued the strong "Drew, Mississippi" by drummer/vocalist Boo Boo Davis.

A long time favorite label of ours is Music Maker. The Music Maker Relief Foundation has been issuing eclectic, fascinating down-home blues and gospel recordings for years by musicians totally ignored by the mainstream. This year was another good year with fine records including the CD/DVD compilation "Drink House To Church House Vol. 1", Lee Gates' "Black Lucy's Deuce", Sweet Betty's "Live And Let Live" and Adolphous Bell's "One Man Band."

Blues Literature

In the last few years we've see some very well researched blues books, particularly biographies, being issued. This year we didn't receive much in the way of books. Only two books were reviewed this year: the hefty, comprehensive "The Penguin Guide To The Blues" and Dave Whiteis' "Chicago Blues: Portraits And Stories."

Blues DVD's

We didn't see that many blues DVD's pass our way in 2006. The following notable ones were reviewed on our website: "Antone's Home Of The Blues", "William Clarke: My Last Goodbye" and "Big George Brock: Hard Times."

Blues Obituaries

2006 has been one of the saddest in recent memory with the following passing away: Jerry Williams, Wilson Pickett, Wiillie Kent, Clifford Antone, Little Buster, Joe Weaver, Johnny Jenkins, Jesse Mae Hemphill, Floyd Dixon, Henry Townsend, Etta Baker, H-BomB Ferguson, Robert Lockwood, Snooky Pryor, Ruth Brown, Joe Lutcher, Stanley Mitchell, James Brown, Homesick James.

2006 was a very good year for new blues recordings but blues labels, touring blues acts and blues magazines continued to struggle. Again the best records were to be found on the small labels and Bad Dog Blues will continue to support these small outfits and try to bring them to the attention of a wider audience. The blues needs your support more than ever so keep buying the music, going to the shows and of course checking out Bad Dog Blues!

(Most of the recordings mentioned in this article have been reviewed on the Bad Dog Blues website during the past year. Check the archive section for full length reviews.