Roundup
Of Notable New Reissues/Historical Releases
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Big Bill Broonzy is
one of the truly pivotal figures in blues history, recording
a remarkable body of work during a 30 year career marked
by superb musicianship and an adaptability that assured
his popularity until his passing in 1958. Broonzy's commercial
heyday spanned 20 years, all chronicled on 12 volumes on
Document (1927-1947), and his guitar work can be heard backing
dozens of musicians such as Memphis Slim, Jazz Gillum, Washboard
Sam, Lil Green, Sonny Boy Williamson I and many others.
Broonzy weathered shifting musical tastes; beginning in
the late 40's he became a solo acoustic performer playing
in clubs and colleges and did several tours of Europe in
this manner starting in the fall of 1951. Broonzy had led
the way to Europe for a generation bluesmen, and his performances
resulted in widespread acclaim and mutual respect and openness
not possible in the still segregated United States. While
there's no shortage of live and studio recordings from Broonzy's
European appearances during the '50s, the 2-CD Amsterdam
Live Concerts 1953, is truly something special.
The concerts were recorded across two nights and includes
nearly two hours of recordings that have never been released
before despite failed attempts at releasing them between
the '50's and '80's. The tapes were made by Louis Van Gasteren,
getting permission from Broonzy with the only fee being
two bottles of Dutch gin. Sonically the recordings are stunning,
capturing every nuance and subtlety of Broonzy's singing
and playing. Broonzy is magnificent, warmly relating stories
to the receptive audience, effortlessly tackling a wide
and varied range of material. Broonzy sings movingly on
traditional songs like "Going Down The Road Feeling
Bad", "John Henry", "Kansas City Blues"
and "Trouble In Mind." Broonzy dips into his own
catalog reviving the guitar workout "House Rent Stomp"
(first cut for Paramount in 1927), "Just A Dream"
(1939), "Mindin' My Own Business" (1949) and "Louise,
Louise Blues" (1937). Another highlight is Bessie Smith's
"Back-Water Blues" as Broonzy talks movingly about
the great 1927 flood made even more topical due to recent
flooding in Holland in which 1836 people had lost their
lives, and which also resonates some 50 years later to the
tragic events in New Orleans. Broonzy also delivers his
most potent political song, "Black, Brown and White",
a song he wasn't able to record until he went overseas:
"This little song that I'm singing about/ people you
know it’s true/If you’re black and got to look for a living/Now
this is what they will say to you /If you’s white, it’s
alright/If you’s brown, stick around /But if you’re black,
oh brother, get back, get back, get back." 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.
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The Sunnyside
label has reissued several 1970's recordings that first
appeared on the French Barclay label. Eddie Barclay was
a French piano player turned record mogul who founded Blue
Star Records, the first of several small labels that he
would oversee in the '50's. In 1960 he consolidated his
labels under the Barclay name. The label cut some notable
blues recording during the 1970's and it's nice to have
these back in print, all spruced up with bonus tracks, great
period photos and thoughtful notes from those who took part
in the original recordings. Memphis Slim was a natural for
the label, having made Paris his home in 1962. Slim had
a five year association with Barclay with Sunnyside reissuing
his label debut, The Blue Memphis Suite released
in 1970 and Memphis Heat released in 1974.
"Memphis Heat" is the better of the two finding
Slim joined by Canned Heat (two weeks after the death of
Al Wilson) and the Memphis Horns. This was of course the
era of the blues/rock collaboration: Sonny Boy & the
Yardbirds and the Animals, Otis Spann & Fleetwood Mac,
the Muddy Waters "Fathers and Sons" recording
and the successful John Lee Hooker & Canned Heat pairing
on "Hooker N' Heat." The fact is that while these
pairings were good marketing, often sold well, they weren't
always the most successful in musical terms. The prolific
Memphis Slim had a career stretching back to 1939 and by
this time had cut all his classic sides in the company of
brilliant accompanists like Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Lockwood
Jr., his mighty House Rockers (its members usually included
saxists Alex Atkins and Ernest Cotton) and later the unparalleled
Matt Murphy. Taken in that context, "Memphis Heat"
is still an eminently solid outing finding Slim in peak
form, pounding the piano with two fisted gusto and singing
in that rich, commanding voice that could still rattle the
walls. The rhythm section holds their own as Slim romps
through a thumping versions of "When I Were Young",
"Black Cat Cross My Trail", a strong update of
his classic "Mother Earth" featuring some tough
fret work from Henry Vestine and the moody "Trouble
Everywhere I Go", the latter two featuring fine riffing
from the Memphis Horns (added during the mixing phase at
Ardent Studio in Memphis). Other highlights include the
blazing instrumentals of "Boogie Duo" backed by
just drums and the aptly titled "Mr. Longfingers"
featuring the whole band, horns and all.
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"The
Blue Memphis Suite" is somewhat of an odd recording
and less successful. According to the notes: "Memphis
Slim had the idea of putting some of his life stories and
experiences into music, within a blues form context of course,
but with a more sophisticated orchestrated approach. Just
like a classical composition, he was thinking of a suite..."
Slim is in fine form but the overall concept comes out a
bit disjointed. Less is more when it comes to blues and
using such a heavily arranged large band with instruments
like Clavichord, Celeste, and Chimes doesn't always work.
On these 15 tracks, Slim is backed by several British musicians,
including Chris Spedding, John Paul Jones, Duster Bennett,
and Peter Green, who had just split from Fleetwood Mac and
would shortly disappear from the music business. What's
surprising is actually how much of this works - usually
on the more stripped down tracks - like low-down numbers
such as "Feel Like Screaming And Crying" and "Wind
Gonna Rise", also the rocking "Boogin' And Bluesin'"
and a moody, unorthodox version of "Mother Earth"
that's oddly compelling. Other interesting cuts include
"Otis Spann And Earl Hooker" a tribute to the
two recently departed bluesmen with Peter Green laying down
some very credible Hooker inspired guitar work and the topical
"Chicago Seven."
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Listening
to the joyous and amazing music on Rock 'N' Roll
Gumbo it's hard to believe that Professor Longhair
had not recorded in over ten years by the time he waxed
this session in 1974. Longhair had already cut a batch of
classics starting in 1949 and through the 50's like his
signature "Mardi Gras in New Orleans", the hilarious
"Bald Head" and the timeless "Tipitina."
Longhair's fortunes took an upswing in the 70's, first with
a booking at the 1971 Jazz & Heritage Festival and then
cutting a slew of albums before passing in 1980. Producer
Phillip Rault was heading to New Orleans to record the Wild
Magnolias and convinced his boss Eddie Barclay to record
Fess as well. The results were pure genius - nobody but
nobody sounded like Fess who had a one-of-a-kind latin-tinged
percussive style wedded to a second line beat that simply
rocked. Add his distinctive croaking, yodeling vocals and
the sound was that of a true original. Mix in great percussionist
Alfred "Uganda" Roberts and guitarist Gatemouth
Brown and you have the ingredients for a classic session.
Fess distills the essence of New Orleans on tracks like
"Mardi Gras In New Orleans", "Tipitina"
and "Junco Partner." Gatemouth shines on the thundering
"Hey Now Baby" and "How Long Has That Train
Been Gone", while Fess adds his distinctive stamp to
"Mess Around" and takes it solo on "(They
Call Me) Dr. Professor Long Hair."
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Had Furry Lewis never
recorded after the 1920's his reputation would still be
assured. Lewis cut some two dozen sides between 1927 and
1929 featuring his superb guitar playing and expressive
singing on timeless numbers like "John Henry",
"Rock Island Blues" and "Kassie Jones --
Parts 1 and 2," one of the greatest double sided blues
of all time. Lewis gave up music as a profession during
the mid-'30s, finding work as a municipal laborer in Memphis
during the 1920s, and continued in this capacity right into
the 1960s. At the end of the 1950s blues scholar Sam Charters
discovered Lewis and persuaded him to resume his music career,
resulting in two excellent Prestige/Bluesville albums in
1961. With the 1960's blues boom Lewis emerged as one of
the favorite rediscovered early blues stars and became a
full fledged celebrity during the 1970s following a profile
in Playboy magazine and appearances on The Tonight Show,
plus a few film and television appearances. Fourth
And Beale finds Lewis in fine and charming form
on this laid back session recorded in Memphis on March 5,
1969. As producer/engineer Terry Manning relates: "he
was there in bed, a large old creaking bed which dominated
the room. ...His leg was removed, and he was propped up
on a couple of old pillows. ...Furry took up one of his
guitars and began playing and singing while sitting up in
his bed." This is a casual and charming set, and the
fact that much of the banter and tuning was left in only
adds to the atmosphere. Lewis runs through an eclectic mix
of songs, sounding particularly inspired on the lovely "Going
To Brownsville", terrific slide soaked versions of
"John Henry" and "Judge Boushe Blues"
and a moving rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching
Home." Six very good bonus cut are included with a
particularly spirited version of "Lay My Burden Down"
as Lewis make his guitar literally sing the lyrics at one
point. Considering the impromptu nature of the recording,
sound is surprisingly good.
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Guitarist
Mickey Baker was a pivotal figure in the emergence of rock
& roll from rhythm & blues. As a session guitarist
in the early and mid-'50s he did countless sessions for
Atlantic, King, RCA, Decca, and OKeh, playing on such classics
as the Drifters' "Money Honey" and "Such
a Night," Joe Turner's "Shake Rattle & Roll,"
Ruth Brown's "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean,"
and Big Maybelle's "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On."
He also released a few singles under his own name, and was
recorded as half of the duo Mickey & Sylvia. He also
cut solo records during this period including "Guitar
Mambo" and the excellent "The Wildest Guitar."
In 1962 he moved to France, recording only sporadically.
Mississippi Delta Blues is a collection
of acoustic tracks recorded under the his birth name of
McHouston "Mickey" Baker in London in 1973. While
there are covers here of Robert Johnson, Charley Patton
and Son House this is anything but a straight delta blues
record. As Baker relates in the notes: "As we were
trying to create a different kind of blues record, I decided
to write arrangements for a full string section, to be layered
on top of the foundation of guitars and percussion."
The tunes feature Baker on vocals and acoustic guitars,
Stefan Grossman on 6 and 12 string guitars and percussionist
Ray Cooper. Frankly the mix of strings and country blues
on cuts like J.B. Lenoir's "Good Advice" and Son
House's "My Black Woman" is a bit distracting.
Better are more straight ahead versions like his idiosyncratic
takes on Charlie Patton's "High Sheriff Blues",
Robert Johnson's "Terraplane Blues" and Leroy
Carr's "Can't Find My Woman." There's some notable
originals including "Trouble Is A Woman" and "Drucilla"
written by Baker and his friend Memphis Slim.
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Magic
Slim & The Teardrops/Joe Carter: That Ain't Right is
the seventh installment in Delmark's Ralph Bass Series.
In 1977 veteran producer Ralph Bass struck a deal
with another longtime music veteran, Henry Stone of Miami
to release a series of ten blues LP's for Stone's T.K. Productions/Records.
The plan fell through and Bass ended up marketing various
masters to the British Red Lightnin label and to a short
lived Chicago label called Second City (these recordings
were issued on the Japanese P-Vine label as part of the
"I Don't Give A Damn If Whites Bought It" series).
The masters eventually found their way to Delmark who has
been issuing these on CD for the past few years. The recordings
have been uniformly strong with Delmark issuing recordings
so far by Lonnie Brooks, Eddy Clearwater, Carey Bell, Sunnyland
Slim, Jimmy Johnson and Lacy Gibson. These recordings would
have been Magic Slim's American debut. At this point Slim
was largely unknown outside of Chicago and primarily working
on Chicago's south side hosting the Sunday jam session at
Florence's, or at other clubs like Theresa's, The Checkerboard
or The 1125 Club. His group The Teardrops consisted of brothers
Nick Holt, bass, Doug Holt, drums and Coleman Pettis, 2nd
guitar. Those familiar with the raw and ragged power of
Magic Slim & The Teardrops may be surprised at the rather
subdued nature of these recordings. Partly this was due
to Bass who instructed the engineer not to record the guitar
sounds from the amplifiers, but to send the signal through
a cable directly to the recording board, resulting in a
far less gritty sound than was typical. Supposedly Delmark
has brought back Slim's amp sound although the sound is
still much smoother than a typical Magic Slim recording.
The result is a very solid but subdued performance with
highlights going to tough covers of "Strange Things
Happen" and "In The Dark." Better are the
recordings of the unheralded, and little recorded Joe Carter.
Carter was a slide-playing disciple of Elmore James and
Muddy Waters. He was a club favorite in Chicago who unfortunately
recorded very little, making these recordings all the more
valuable. His lone record was the terrific "Mean &
Evil Blues" cut for the tiny Barrelhouse label in 1976
(reissued on CD on the Japanese P-Vine label in 1997). Carter
is magnificent as he delivers stinging Elmore styled slide
work and sings in an hoarse, emotionally wracked voice.
The music harks back to the 50's with it's no frills, moody
ambience as Carter delivers potent numbers like "Anna
Lee", "Stormy Monday" and Elmore's "Bobby's
Rock" backed by the rock solid 88's of Sunnyland Slim.
An added bonus is a relaxed, charming version of "Route
66" by drummer Fred Below who played on several of
the Bass sessions. Included are the original notes Jim O'Neal
wrote back in 1977 with a new introduction.
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