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| Every month Bad Dog Blues reviews
the best new blues releases. We'll also take a look at noteworthy reissues and
blues related books. In addition you'll find a real audio clip from each record
we review located on the bottom left. Now on to this months reviews: |
 Mad
Dog Lester Davenport: I Smell A Rat (Delmark) 
Lester
Davenport hasn't exactly been prolific appearing on a handful
of classic Bo Diddley sessions and finally a belated full
length debut in 1991. "I Smell A Rat" is a long
overdue return as Davenport and his Windy City cohorts deliver
a wonderful old school Chicago blues record.
Davenport
blew into the Windy city from Mississippi in the mid-40's.
The town was top heavy with blues talent and Davenport began
sitting in on jams with people like Arthur "Big Boy"
Spires, Snooky Pryor and Homesick James. He eventually hooked
up with Bo Diddley appearing on a 1955 Chess session where
he played harp on "Pretty Thing" and "Bring
It to Jerome." He led his own band for a spell but
held on to a day job. His profile was raised considerably
in the 80's when he was holding down the harmonica slot
with the the Kinsey Report. "I
Smell A Rat" is a welcome return to the limelight
as Davenport plays classic Chicago blues like they should
be played.
Surrounding
Davenport is a phenomenal supporting cast including Jimmy
Dawkins (who produced the record) and Billy Flynn on guitars,
veteran Chicago pianist Detroit Junior, ace session pianist
Alan Batts (featured on the second half) and Bob Stroger
on bass. The ensemble playing harks back to the great interplay
of the Muddy Waters' bands and Davenport makes a fine leader
with his gritty, soulful vocals and a big, warm amplified
harp tone. The mood here is vintage 50's Chicago blues as
the band locks into an unrelenting groove. Things kick off
with the rocking "Bad Treatment" with everybody
getting a chance to stretch out continuing through the chugging
instrumental "West Side Harp", the funky "I
smell A Rat" and "So Worrid" where Davenport
really cuts loose laying down some torrid harp. The band
also excels on more lowdown material like the loping "Knocked
On Every Door" and particularly the seven minute "So
Long" featuring an soulful extended solo by Davenport.
It
may have been over ten year's since Davenport's debut but
he hasn't lost a step as this marvelously in the pocket
Chicago blues record so amply proves. Highly reccomended.
(Jeff Harris)
|
Sam Cooke With The Soul Stirrers: The Complete Specialty
Recordings (Specialty)
Years before he became
a pop superstar Sam Cooke had another kind of success as
front man for the gospel group the Soul Stirrers. The 3-CD
set "Sam Cooke With The Soul Stirrers" marks the
first time that all these recordings have been brought together
in one package and is a must have for fans of gospel music
and Sam Cooke in particular.
The set begins in 1951
when a 19 year old Sam replaced the legendary R.H. Harris
in the Soul Stirrers and continues through 1957 just before
he crossed over to the pop world. The collection boasts
84 songs with numerous alternate takes including seven 1956
solo cuts that representing Cooke's first pop ventures and
three incredible performances taped live at Los Angeles'
Shrine Auditorium in 1955. Rounding out this fine package
is a 36 page booklet featuring vintage photos with text
by Daniel Wolff, author of "You Send Me: The Life and
Times of Sam Cooke."
If your looking for a
primer on how gospel gave rise to soul music than look no
further than this set as Cooke's phrasing clearly foreshadows
his later recordings and went on to influence a generation
of future soul stars. Even on the earliest recordings it's
obvious Cooke had a rare talent and one of the joys of this
set is tracing his arc from his tentative first session
to the assured singer he was as this collection wraps up.
Cooke doesn't sing lead on all of the tracks sharing lead
duties with Paul Foster, but by the end he was taking most
of the solo leads. There's also one cut, the rousing "All
Right Now," on which Cooke shares lead with Rev. Julius
Cheeks (Cheeks temporarily left the renowned Sensational
Nightingales). All the classics are included here, including
"He's My Friend Until the End," "Be with
Me Jesus," "Touch the Hem of His Garment"
and "That's Heaven to Me." Towards the end of
this set we get to hear, for the first time, Sam Cooke in
a pop vein (4 masters and 3 demos) including "I'll
Come Running Back To You", which later on with overdubs,
became a huge hit although at the time these records didn't
sell well. Also worth noting in this vein is "Mean
Old World" from 1957, a variation on
T-Bone Walker's classic but with a definite gospel feel.
Sam Cooke has frequently
been called the man who invented soul and this box set gives
plenty of weight to that claim. This is a beautiful package
in every respect and a must have for serious soul and gospel
fans.
(Jeff Harris)
|
Little Milton: Anthology
1953-1961 (Varèse Sarabande)
Rosco Gordon: I'm Gonna Shake It! (Varèse Sarabande)
Sun Records: 25 More Blues Classics (Varèse Sarabande)
As owner/producer
of Sun Records Sam Phillips role in documenting blues
and later rockabilly and the birth of rock & roll
cannot be overestimated. In a relatively short period
Phillips was instrumental in launching the careers of
Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis,
B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Rufus Thomas and numerous others.
The Sun catalog has been documented in a bewildering number
of books, documentaries, CD's and lavish box sets but
the story is such a compelling one that it never seems
to get old. The Varèse
Sarabande label is the latest to pay tribute to the Sun
legacy with three fabulous collections spotlighting the
label's blues activities before rockabilly and rock &
roll dominated the label.
The Little
Milton anthology neatly documents Milton's early years
split almost evenly between his first recordings for Sun
(1953-1954) and Bobbin Records (1958-1961). Boasting 27
tracks this is the best compilation yet of Milton's early
years before joining Chess comprising almost everything
he cut for those labels. The dozen Sun sides include six
songs previously unreleased at the time. Milton hadn't
quite found his voice at this point but these sides are
unbelievably raw and energetic and never again would he
sound so uninhabited. The influences of B.B. King, Fats
Domino, Guitar Slim are evident but what sets these apart
is Milton's vicious guitar work. Highlights include the
storming "I Love My Baby" featuring Ike Turner
on the 88's, the ominous slow burners "Running Wild
Blues" and "If Crying Would Help Me", the
blistering Elmore James guitar that opens the blasting
"If You Love Me" and the ferocious "Lookin'
For My baby" which explodes after a brief spoken
word intro. By the mid-50's Milton was in East St. Louis
where he signed on with the brand new Bobbin label in
1958. You can hear Milton coming into his own on these
sides gaining more confidence vocally and developing the
soulful, horn driven sound the would propel him into blues
stardom in just a few years. Stoked by Oliver Sain's fine
horn section Milton had his first minor hit with the surging
"I'm A Lonely Man" (purportedly moving 70,000
copies) with first rate follow ups including the mid-tempo
"I Found Me A New Love", the jumping "I'm
Tryin'", the tough "Same Old Blues" and
the stellar "My Mind Is Troubled" which for
some reason remained in the can.
Rosco Gordon
was yet another artist who owes a debt to Sam Phillips
as he freely acknowledges: "I appreciate Sam, because
he took me out of the cotton field." Gordon had actually
cut sides for Phillips when he was leasing records to
other labels under the aegis of the Phillips Recording
Service in 1951, a year before Sun was officially founded.
He also cut a single for Modern Records as a member of
the Beale Streeters' in 1951 and sides for RPM. The 22
tracks on "I'm Gonna
Shake It!" span from 1951-1957 and form the
bedrock of Gordon's reputation. This is an unwaveringly
strong collection filled with Gordon's energetic vocals
backed by plenty of honking sax and tough guitars on a
romping set of vintage blues and proto-rock & roll.
Gordon had his unique rhythm in place from the beginning-
a sort of loping off kilter shuffle that would become
his signature style. Highlights include the rousing "Rocket
88" inspired "T-Model Boogie", the swinging
"Just Love Me Baby", the dance number "The
Chicken" (Gordon employed a drunken chicken complete
with suit and bow tie in his stage act!), the soulful
"I Found A New Love", "Let's Get High"
and the crazed "Cheese And Crackers" are just
a few of many gems on this sizzling set.
Before
rockabilly and rock & roll dominated the label, Phillips'
recorded some unbelievably tough, raw down-home blues.
"Sun Records 25 More
Blues Classics" (the companion volume to "Sun
Records 25 Blues Classics") does a fine job
documenting some of the bluesy sounds Phillips committed
to wax between 1952-1962. Among the well known names include
tough sides by Walter Horton laying down raw and dirty
amplified harp on the instrumental "(Talkin') Off
The Wall", a pair of fine sides by Junior Parker
with outstanding guitar from Floyd Murphy, a pair by teenaged
harp blower James Cotton including "Hold Me In Your
Arms" featuring blistering feedback soaked guitar
by Pat Hare and the juke joint feel of Frank Frost's "Everything's
Alright" cut in 1962 but sounding like it could have
been cut a decade earlier. There's plenty of great lesser
or somewhat knowns including gems by one man bands Joe
Hill Louis and Doctor Ross, Willie Nix on the wonderfully
lowdown "Seems Like A Million Years", Charlie
Booker's pounding fuzz drenched "Walked All Night",
Boyd Gilmore's ominous Elmore James sounding "Believe
I'll Settle Down", the bouncy boogie piano of Mose
Vinson on "My Love has Gone" and many others.
If
you have yet to investigate the amazing wealth of blues
Sam Phillips documented for his Sun label all three of
these collections make excellent entry points and are
highly recommended. Varèse
Sarabande has done a first class job with these
sets featuring top notch sound quality and informative,
well researched liner notes by Bill Dahl.
(Jeff Harris)
|
 Joe
Louis Walker: Pasa Tiempo (Evidence)
Since his classic
Hightone dates from the late 80's/early 90's Joe Louis
Walker has been one of the most gifted and unpredictable
blues artists on the scene. This year he's outdone himself
releasing three very different and excellent records
for three different labels. His latest, "Pasa Tiempo",
blends his trademark gritty blues-soul with a strong
dose of jazz creating a fresh new sound making Walker
sound totally invigorated.
Walker has always
had the requisite chops to make it big has never managed
to cross over in the same way that former labelmate
Robert Cray has. It may be that Walker is too innovative
to be pigeonholed into one sound and if anything defines
his career it's a creative restlessness. Walker is talented
enough to pull it off whether dabbling in gritty blues,
soul, gospel or funk. "Pasa Tiempo" finds
Walker stretching out a bit further as he creates a
an infectious fusion of jazz, blues and soul on yet
another satisfying outing.
Walker has assembled
an all-star crew of jazz and R&B players to create
the proper mood including the fine Miles Davis inspired
trumpeter Wallace Roney, noted sax man Ernie Watts,
versatile session guitarist Phil Upchurch, B-3 player
Barry Goldberg (Michael Bloomfield, Charlie Musselwhite
and others), Ndugu Chancler on drums and percussionist
Henry Gibson. Walker remains one of the blues finest
vocalists investing his tales of love with a soulful
passion that bears the strong stamp of his gospel days
(from 1975-1985 he sang with the gospel group the Spiritual
Corinthians). His guitar playing is equally soulful
laying down sweet sounding slide on a stripped down
version of "It Hurts Me Too" backed just with
Goldberg's B-3 but he can also turn up the heat as evidenced
on the rocking instrumental "You Can't Sit Down."
Walker's soulful vocals are spotlighted on some unlikely
covers including a great reading of Van Morrision's
"Sweet Thing", John Hiatt's "Love Like
Blood", Boz Skagg's "I've Got Love" and
"Direct Me" an obscure Otis Redding gem that
fits Walker like a glove as he uses his slide to do
some of the singing. "Barcelona" and "Pasa
Tiempo", both Walker originals, fall into jazz
territory featuring an airy, Latin tinged feel with
some evocative trumpet from Wallace Roney and featuring
Dave Array's fine piano playing.
While in some ways
"Pasa Tiempo" is unlike anything else Walker
has attempted it also has all the same ingredients that
make his records so satisfying: unwavering innovation,
inspired playing and an always soulful feel. If you
haven't yet discovered Joe Louis Walker there's no more
excuses!
-Check
out these related reviews:
In
The Morning & Guitar Brothers
Silvertone
Blues
(Jeff Harris)
|
 Nick
Moss & The Flip Tops: Got A New Plan
(Blue Bella)
It's October, 1959,
the White Sox have just won the pennant, you're feelin'
good 'cause you're out of the cage on a Friday night.
You open the steel door of Loretta's Southside Cocktail
Lounge and are greeted by that musky tavern smell of stale
beer. The smoke is so thick you can't see the cigarette
burning in your own hand. But cutting through the dense
tobacco fog is some of the most stinging guitar you've
heard, nailing a tasty blues lick on a song you can't
quite identify, but sounds mighty familiar.
That's the first impression
I got from "Got a New Plan," the sophomore offering
of Nick Moss & the Flip Tops on Blue Bella Records.
This effort offers 14 solid tracks that make you want
to start drinkin' early and poundin' a few pool balls
into some holes. 10 of the 14 songs we're written by Nick
Moss with complimentary tracks by such greats as Muddy
Waters and Freddy King. Track number 4 sums up the flavor
of the entire offering in an instrumental called Arrowmaker
Pass brings an almost comical a feel with a emphasis on
back-beat, some strong distorted guitar and a honky tonk
piano in the background.
Leading on vocals and
fat tubular lead guitar is Nick Moss. The album showcases
great supporting talent from the Flip Tops by Brother
John Kattke on B3, Greg (Smokey) Campbell on drum, Andy
Lester and James DiGerolomo on bass, Hal Tsushida on piano
- great addition, Gareth Best on guitar, Dez Desormoeaux
Orchestra on horns, Bill Lupkin on harp and Lynwood Slim
provides some eery harp on "Katie Ann".
As "First Offense,"
the first release from the band knocks you off your chair,
"Got a New Plan", shows more maturity, more
respect to the Blues and further refines and defines Nick's
sound. "Got a New Plan" provides more visuals
with tracks like "Ain't Got That Time", a Howlin'
Wolf tribute (sounds like Nick's singin' through the harp
mike), you can imagine a board stripper tossin' her pasties
to the crowd. "Playing By the Rules", a 1950's
doo-wop song, evokes a vision of the band in sequin jackets
and synchronized dance moves. "Let's Try This Plan
Again" and "Katie Ann" are both slow blues
but instinctly different with the former evoking crying
and the latter emphasizing loneliness. "Work You
Hips" depicts the quintessential fat mama on the
dance floor, and "For You" (Joe, Nick's Brother
helps out on this one) has a Sam Cook feel with the sound
of the Memphis Horns from Dez's orchestra, this one definitely
is "radio-worthy" with it's catchiness. It also
is reminiscent of the Vaughan Bros.' "Tick Tock."
"Two Fools with a Misunderstanding", another
slow blues showcases Nick's clean ES335 guitar sound that
you hear through most of the album. A great instrumental
"(Kind of) Ghetto" rounds out the album, a tune
borrowed from Hathaway & Hudson.
The only criticism this work
bears is the lack of Nick's vocals up front. His singing
style is already understated, so it wouldn't hurt to put
them upfront more. Keep in mind that Clapton never considered
himself much of a vocalist, but his vocals are right there
and sound downright great on some tunes. Also due to the
vocals down in the mix it's hard to hear his lyrics, which
is a shame for this gifted Blues songwriter. This album
does an excellent job of showcasing a great band and some
top-notch arrangements.
Overall, you get the
experience of a gifted guitar player, wonderful arranger,
terrific band and solid songwriting. Nick's dues with
Jimmy Rogers, the Legendary Blues Band and others have
paid off with this CD. Say, I've got a new plan: Take
this with you, crank it up, crack a Budweiser, light a
cigarette and grab the pool cue, then you'll be ready
for Nick Moss and the Flip Tops!
-Check out
the Nick Moss website:
http://www.nickmoss.com
[This review is copyright ©
2002 by Dave Glynn,
and Blues On Stage at: http://
www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication
or download prohibited without written permission]
|
 Luther
Allison: Pay It Forward (Ruf)
Luther
Allison's death in 1997, at the peak of his powers,
left a vacuum in the blues world that will never be
filled. "Pay It Forward" pulls together mostly
previously unreleased tracks that amply demonstrate
Allison's gripping intensity and makes a fine addition
to his legacy.
Allison
had been living in France since 1980 touring all over
Europe to wide acclaim but only played sporadically
in the U.S. It wasn't until he signed with Alligator
Records in 1994 that he became well known within his
own country. Allison's popularity exploded, burning
up every stage he set foot on and releasing a pair of
hard hitting follow-ups for Alligator. In 1999 Alligator
issued the posthumous "Live in Chicago" a
searing, sweaty 2-CD set of live recordings capturing
Allison at his finest. "Pay It Forward" isn't
quite up to those lofty standards but it does collect
some first rate material recorded between 1980-96 in
a variety of different settings.
"Pay
It Forward" is an appropriate title accurately
describing Allison's philosophy of helping those young
blues players just coming up and repaying favors from
those who helped him along the way. One of these folks
is James Solberg who had a long, friendly working relationship
with Allison going back to the early 1970s. Solberg
and his band backed Allison on his domestic dates and
he also had a hand arranging and writing on Allison's
Alligator records. Solberg can be found on a number
of tracks on this collection but none better than the
lowdown and impassioned "Still Called The Blues"
with the two friends trading off guitar and vocals (originally
issued on Solberg's "The Hand You're Dealt"
on Ruf Records in 2000). Other friends Allison shares
his generosity with include vocalist Marla Glen on the
soulful duet "Just As I Am" which appeared
on the European edition of "Reckless" (1997),
Patrick Verbeke, who Allison mentored and played acoustic
gigs around France with, on the stellar acoustic number
"Nobody But You", Otis Grand, who he played
with on Grand's "Perfume & Grime" album,
the instrumental title track is sheer blues power as
Allison takes over with some searing guitar work and
"Slipping Away" a soulful duet with Joanna
Connor from her out of print album "Rock 'n' Roll
Gypsy." Other highlights include the throbbing
R&B meets reggae of "I Wanna Be With You"
recorded during the "Blue Streak" sessions
(1995) but never released and a stunning, personal rendition
of "Dock Of The Bay" recorded live at the
1985 Montreux Jazz Festival seeing the light of day
for the first time.
"Pay
It Forward" is a powerful collection reminding
us of all we lost when Allison succumbed to cancer in
1997. For all those fans who can't get enough Luther
Allison this fine set comes highly recommended.
-Check
out these related reviews:
Luther's
Blues
Live
In Chicago
(Jeff Harris)
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