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Janiva Magness: Bury
Him At The Crossroads (NorthernBlues)
EG Kight: Takin' It Easy
(Blues South)
Back
in the early days of blues recording it was woman singers
like Bessie Smith, Ida Cox and Victoria Spivey who were
the early stars, singing tough minded songs about sex,
no good men and booze. When the guitar playing men came
on the scene a few years later they seemed to steal
the thunder from the woman. Today it's still mainly
a man's world in the blues scene and the cult of the
guitar still rules. Fortunately there seems to be a
resurgence of really good woman blues singers and two
of the better ones are Georgia singer EG Kight and West
Coast singer Janiva Magness. Both are distinctive singers,
excellent songwriters and both have chosen to take a
quiter, more introspective approach on their new albums.
Janiva
Magness is a blues woman on the rise with a number of
critically praised records and a 2004 W.C. Handy Award
as Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist. After a trio
of fine records for the Blues Leaf label, Magness changes
up pace for a mostly acoustic effort on "Bury Him
At The Crossroads", her debut for the Canadian
NorthenBlues outfit. Magness has a husky, supple voice
with an equal measure of sass and vulnerability. That
voice get plenty of room to shine on this stripped down
recording expertly produced by Colin Linden who also
shines on guitar throughout. This is a wonderfully diverse
outing as Magness tackles eclectic covers like J.B.
Lenoir's little known "The Whale Swallowed Me"
with just guitar backing, a soaring, pleading version
of "The Soul Of A Man" and a transcendent
take on Robert Wilkins' classic "That's No Way
To Get Along" that's the album's finest moment.
On the latter song Magness' phrasing, pacing and passion
capture the song's longing on a beautiful update of
this timeless tale helped along by sensitive slide for
Linden. Other highlights include the retro flavored
numbers like "A Woman Knows" and the humorous
Delbert McClinton tale "Less And Less Of You"
and the evocative, rootsy ballad "Bury Him At The
Crossroads."
Like
Magness, EG Kight has come to prominence in the late
90's cutting a trio of fine records to date including
2003's well received "Southern Comfort" which
was nominated for three W C Handy Awards. Kight has
also chosen a mellower approach on a wonderful album
of acoustic numbers and few jazz flavored songs. Kight
has one of those great voices that can sing just about
anything and compares favorably with Bonnie Raitt and
the country tinged blues of Delbert McClinton. On this
album Kight reaches back to the small combo 40's blues
tradition of singers like Lil Green and Georgia White
on numbers like the lightly swinging, retro flavored
"I Don't Want To Start Over" featuring wonderful
piano from Saffire pianist Ann Rabson, a breathy and
knowing take on Ellington's "Ain't Got Nothing
But The Blues" and the low-down country blues of
"Peach Pickin' Woman." Other highlights include
the mid-tempo groove of the witty "Ain't Got No
Business Today" featuring some nice slide from
Lee Anderson and the tough, slinky "Nothin' Ever
Hurt Me."
With
each successive release both Janiva Magness and EG kight
sound better and better and do justice to the long and
vital tradition of great woman blues singers. Both records
come highly recommended.
-Check
out these related links:
Janiva
Magness Website
EG
Kight Website
(Jeff Harris)
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Wilie "Big
Eyes" Smith & The Juke Joint Rockers:
Bluesin' It (Electro-Fi)
Willie
"Big Eyes" Smith is another talented
alumni of the Muddy Waters band, a band that
was a fertile breeding ground for so many
great bluesmen like James Cotton, Little Walter,
Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins and so many
others. Smith has released a solid batch of
straight ahead blues records the past few
years and "Bluesin' It" is another
good one helped along by a first rate band.
Smith
got a relatively late start as a headliner,
cutting his first album as leader in 1995
for Blind Pig followed by a pair for the Juke
Joint label. Best known as a drummer (7 W.C.
Handy Awards as Best Instrumentalist - Drums),
Smith has proved himself a fine singer and
surprisingly strong harp blower. Smith's reputation
is built on the nearly two decades he spent
in the Muddy Waters band remaining with the
blues giant until 1980, when he co-founded
the Legendary Blues Band. Like his prior records,
there's nothing fancy on on "Bluesin'
It" just a good solid dose of straight
ahead blues played with plenty of grit and
feeling.
Smith
is surrounded by a fine cast who call themselves
The Juke Joint Rockers which include former
Muddy bandmate Bob Stroger on bass, pianist
Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, guitarist
Jack de Keyzer, vocalist John Mays,
Al Lerman on harp/saxophone and Michael Fonfara
on piano/organ. Despite calling themselves
the Juke Joint Rockers, the overall sound
is more polished then that name would suggest.
Smith's recent project with the Jelly Roll
All-Stars (Sam Carr, Arthur Williams, Calvin
Jones) definitely has that raw and ragged
juke joint sound. This one is a uniformly
strong ensemble set as Smith tackles the vocals
on four cuts including a slinky cover of Percy
Mayfield's majestic and haunting "River's
Invitation", the romping "Nobody
Knows" spotlighting some nice amplified
harp from Lerman who shines throughout, and
the fine delta styled "Going Away Baby."
I'm not familiar with singer John
Mays but he's a fine West Coast styled singer
in the vein of James Harmon who turns in excellent
performances on the chugging opener "You're
Too Bad", the passionate and low-down
"Hard Times"and the rocking "No.
9 Train." The steamy instrumental "Liquified
Boogie" wraps things up on a high note
and gives everyone plenty of room to cut loose.
"Bluesin'
It" is another strong recording in Smith's
slim discography and while he's yet to cut
anything really earthshaking he's a
fine purveyor of the real deal blues and after
so many years in the business still sounds
inspired.
-Check
out these related links:
Electro-Fi
Website
(Jeff
Harris)
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Big Joe Duskin:
Big Joe Jumps Again! (Yellow Dog)
A
stalwart of the overlooked Cincinnati blues scene,
boogie pianist Big Joe Duskin is one of the last
of the old time piano men who unfortunately has
recorded only sporadically. "Big Joe Jumps
Again!" is a most welcome release capturing
the 80 year old Duskin in vigorous form on well
crafted set of timeless blues.
Although
he honored a promise to his preacher father that
he would not play the "Devil's Music"
until the old man died he probably didn't expect
him to live to 105. It wasn’t until the early
1970s, when Steve Tracy, a young Cincinnati blues
enthusiast (author of the excellent "Going
to Cincinnati: A History of the Blues in the Queen
City") showed up at his front door, that
Duskin started playing again. With Tracy’s encouragement
Duskin re-learned his old repertoire and became
a popular draw at blues festivals and clubs. Duskin
cut the stellar "Cincinnati Stomp" for
Arhoolie in 1977 following that up with "Don't
Mess With the Boogie Man" in 1988 and the
live "Down the Road a Piece" in 1998.
While Duskin may not rock the boogie quite like
he used to, "Big Joe Jumps Again!" finds
the blues elder statesmen in relaxed and commanding
form as he reinterprets a number of blues classics.
"Big
Joe Jumps Again!" is a thoughtful and well
produced outing featuring a dream rhythm section.
Drummer Phillip Paul was the the main session
drummer at the Cincinnati based King label and
whose discography includes Wynonie Harris’ "Good
Rocking Tonight," Little Willie John’s "Fever,"
Hank Ballard’s "The Twist," Bill Doggett’s
"Honky Tonk," Freddie King’s "Hide
Away" and many others. Bassist Ed Conley
was on many of the same King sessions. Also on
board are guest guitarist Peter Frampton on two
numbers plus guitarist and co-producer William
Lee Ellis, who plays National steel guitar and
issued a strong album himself on Yellow Dog last
year. Still this is Duskin's record all the way
and his rich, expressive vocals are filled with
shade and color while his sparse and his gently
swinging piano playing conjures up the ghosts
of Jimmy Yancey and Albert Ammons. The forceful
opener "You're Gonna Miss Me" sounds
like it starts in mid-song, rocking along propulsively
before ending too abruptly although we do get
a longer part 2. After that teaser Duskin digs
into a vintage set list including a pair of Roosevelt
Sykes tunes, the no-nonsense "Get Out Of
My Way" ("When I catch up with you this
time darling/They gonna throw grave dirt in your
face") and "Miss Ida B", the poignant
but tough original "Mean & Strange"
and breathes fresh life into chestnuts like "Everyday
I Have The Blues" and "Key To The Highway."
Duskin provides fine accompaniment to big voiced
singer Shawna Snyder who lays down a fine version
of Bessie Smith's exceedingly tough "Black
Mountain Blues."
Duskin
says in the liner notes that back in the early
days "they had a piano in every house, every
beer garden here. You could hear music all over
Cincinnati back then." On "Big Joe Jumps
Again!" Duskin gloriously evokes those early
days of barrelhouse piano when men like Roosevelt
Sykes, Peetie Wheatstraw and countless others
kept the juke joints and taverns rocking.
-Check
out these related links:
Yellow
Dog Website
(Jeff
Harris)
|
Pinetop Perkins:
Ladies Man (M.C. Records)
Now
90 years old, there's only a handful of contemporaries
like Homesick James, Honeyboy Edwards, Robert Lockwood
and Henry Townsend who have seen as much blues history
as the venerable Pinetop Perkins. "Ladies Man"
is an enjoyable outing although Perkins himself basically
takes a backseat, ceding the spotlight to a host of
leading blues ladies.
Perkins
came to prominence as a piano player in the 40's when
he hooked up with Robert Nighthawk in 1943, playing
with the slide master on Nighthawk's KFFA radio program
and recording behind him for Chess in 1950. Perkins
soon jumped over to rival Sonny Boy Williamson's King
Biscuit Time radio show in Helena, where he remained
for an extended period. During the 50's he joined Nighthawk
disciple Earl Hooker for a spell. After putting music
on the back burner for awhile he joined the Muddy Waters
band in 1969 replacing Otis Spann and sticking with
Muddy for a decade. It wasn't until 1988 that Perkins
cut his domestic debut for Blind Pig after which he
was steadily recorded by labels like Telarc, Shanachie,
HMG and others. "Ladies Man" finds Perkins
in lively and vigorous form on his M.C. Records debut
although he never gets quite enough time to stretch
out but to be fair this is partly due to a fractured
hand that was on the mend during this recording.
"Ladies
Man" finds Perkins in the company of a host of
talented blues ladies including Deborah Coleman, Susan
Tedeschi, Odetta, Madeleine Peryoux, Angelia Strehli,
Ruth Brown and a trio of fine pianists in Lisa Otey,
Ann Rabson and Marcia Ball. In addition he gets help
from Jimmy Vivino, Elvin Bishop plus former Muddy cohorts
Bob Stroger and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. While
Perkins plays piano on only a few tracks his vocals
are strong and vigorous particularly on the live recordings
cut in 2004 which all feature Lisa Otey rocking the
ivories on standout tracks like "Big Fat Mama",
"Kansas City", "Chicken Shack" and
a lovely version of the classic "How Long"
featuring some sensitive slide form Elvin Bishop. The
rest of the album was cut at various sessions in 2003
and is equally good. Although I've never been overly
impressed with either Deborah Coleman or Susan Tedeschi
they turn in fine versions of the Muddy number "Meanset
Woman" a variant of the even older "Maggie
Campbell" with Perkins getting a rare chance to
stretch out a bit on piano and a heartfelt reading of
the Ivory Joe classic "Since I Lost My Baby."
Other highlights include "Chains Of Love"
given a knockout treatment from veteran Ruth Brown,
a moving "Trouble In Mind" sung by Odetta
and the rousing tribute "Hey Mr. Pinetop Perkins"
sung wonderfully by Angelia Strehli that must have pleased
Mr. Pperkins to no end.
"Ladies
Man" is a thoroughly enjoyable record and it's
clear that these ladies drew plenty of inspiration from
the ageless Mr. Perkins and clearly have plenty of affection
for the old man. While some of Perkins' more recent
efforts have been a bit uninspired this one crackles
with plenty of energy and it's clear all in involved
had a blast.
-Check
out these related links:
M.C.
Records Website
(Jeff Harris)
|
Sue Foley: Change (Ruf)
The
guitar toting Sue Foley has blazed quite a trail since
the early 90's and seems to get stronger and stronger
on each release. On "Changes" Foley is live
and unplugged on a stellar mix of tough and tender tunes
that spotlight her at her very best.
"Changes"
is a departure from 2002's relentless "Where The
Action Is", a tough, rootsy and rocking record
that was easily one of her finest. Foley continues a
long winning streak going back to her impressive 1992
debut "Young Girl Blues" on Antone's and continued
through fine records for Discovery, Shanachie and now
Ruf. "Changes" is an intimate, deeply affecting
record with Foley running through a mix of originals,
classics and blues obscurities.
"Changes"
was cut live, with no overdubs and recorded in one take
with a band that hadn't rehearsed, resulting in her
most intimate record to date. Foley's vocals have never
sounded better, singing with a breathy, almost child-like
vulnerability but also tough, sexy and seductive at
the same time. Playing unplugged this time hasn't dampened
the bite of her guitar but she also shows a mellower
side on some fine Piedmont styled numbers. Foley is
clearly in the long tradition of tough blues women,
a path that flows from Bessie Smith, through Memphis
Minnie to contemporaries like Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda
Williams. Foley has a keen sense of this blues heritage
evidenced on a beautiful low-down cover of "Hardworking
Woman" originally cut by the obscure Mississippi
Matilda back in 1936, she clearly identifies with Memphis
Minnie (the quintessential guitar toting woman) cutting
the tough, driving "Bad Luck Woman" and the
propulsive "Me And My Chauffeur" a song she
also cut on her very first album. She reaches back even
further on the tender and seductive Bessie Smith classic
"Sugar In My Bowl." Her originals are just
as good including the aching, solo blues of "Goin'
Down The Road Again" and the plaintive "Mournin'
In The Morning", closing out with the rocking "Shake
That Thing."
The
stripped down and personal "Changes" really
gets down the essence of what makes Sue Foley's music
so special. It's an utterly compelling record and like
all her others is highly recommended.
-Check
out these related links:
Sue
Foley Website
Where
The Action Is Review
(Jeff Harris)
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