Shine On: Richard Trice And The Bull City Blues A Film By Kenny Dalsheimer and Jamie Hysjulien
(Groove Productions)

 At the time of his death on April 6, 2000 Richard Trice was the last remaining link to the heyday of the blues in Durham, North Carolina in the 1930's. "Shine On: Richard Trice And The Bull City Blues" captures Trice shortly before he passed looking back on his life and offers him the chance to put his life in perspective as he traces the journey from blues player to a more spiritual path.

 In the 1930's Durham was a prosperous town fueled by the tobacco boom with farmers from all over the southeast coming to sell their crops in Durham. There was no shortage of gifted bluesman to entertain the crowds and Durham's blues scene boasted such legends as Blind Boy Fuller, Rev. Gary Davis, Bull City Red and Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry. The warehouse workers were "loose with their money", as Trice says, and a bluesman could make a decent living.

 Trice was from a musical family, mostly blues, and he fondly recalls listening to 78's by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Barbecue Bob, Lonnie Johnson and Blind Blake. Rev. Gary Davis used to stop by the house an was also an influence on Trice. The biggest influence was undoubtedly Blind Boy Fuller who he met at fifteen and who took him under his wing. It was Fuller who first got Trice and his brother Willie on record for Decca in 1937. Trice movingly recalls visiting Fuller on his deathbed as he told him: "I've heard all kinds, but I never heard nobody as good as you."

 Trice continued to play blues through the 40's and 50's making a handful of recordings for Savoy and by his own account was "pretty wild." He began having some nagging doubts about the life he was leading and felt "something wrong." While many bluesman have been torn between the blues and the church this feeling seems to have come upon Trice suddenly and mysteriously. By the 60's he had given up the blues life for good.

 The documentary eloquently traces Trice's life and spiritual journey by contrasting new and older footage of Durham as he revisits important places from his past such as his family home, juke joints where he used to play and the old tobacco warehouses were all the great bluesman used to perform. Trice is a warm and humorous guide as he recalls his life and is genuinely thrilled that people still remember him and are interested in his story. Prior to this documentary many had thought Trice had died. In actuality he was living in a nursing home, in sad shape, having lost both legs to diabetes and suffering from neglect. It's obvious this project restored Trice's dignity and we're lucky his fascinating story was captured for posterity. Trice's story is poignantly and artfully told and anyone with an interest in early blues would do well to pick up this heartfelt documentary.

-Visit the Groove Productions website:
Groove Productions

Larry Johnson: Two Gun Green (Armadillo)

 Larry Johnson is one of the few remaining elder statesman playing in the authentic, old time blues tradition. After years of self-imposed exile Johnson's reemergence in the 90's is cause for celebration. "Two Gun Green" is Johnson's follow-up to his brilliant 1999 release "Blues For Harlem" and captures him once again at the peak of his powers.

 Johnson was born in Riceville, Georgia and moved to new York City in 1959. He soon fell in with transplanted Southerners like Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry and most importantly Rev. Gary Davis. It was Davis who became his mentor and perhaps more than any of Davis' disciples, Johnson best evokes his mentors' complex fingerpicking style. He began appearing on records in the 60's for Prestige and Blue Horizon and continuing in the 70's with fine records for Blue Goose and Biograph. Johnson issued a pair of records in the 80's, again on tiny labels, but overall his discography remains a meager one. This makes each new Johnson record a real event and the wonderful "Two Gun Green" is no exception.

 Johnson's strengths are well in evidence here as he displays his superb, confident fingerpicking and rich vocals on a mix of originals and traditional tunes. Johnson is backed by Brian Kramer and his band the Lounge Lizards who lay down a rock solid groove as they chug along on a mostly up-tempo set. Johnson's excellent fingerpicking, deep sense of melody and way with a lyric give this album a timeless feel. Among the highlights of this strong set include the lonesome sounding "Can't Last Very Long", "Late Last Night" and "Evening Sun" both featuring Johnson's lazy vocals at their best as he scats and hums along, the rootsy "Midnight Train" and the low-down "I Used To Be Down" featuring exceptional slide from Brian Kramer. Johnson's fine storytelling is displayed on "Two Gun Green" about a legendary fight at a New Orleans joint called the Bucket of Blood and the loose old timey feel of the story song "Charlie Stone."

 Now in his 60's Larry Johnson is an elder statesman of the blues much like those who he so admired when he was a brash young upstart in the 1960's. Johnson remains at the top of his game and despite a relatively low profile Johnson is one of the few blues masters we have left.

-Check out these related links:
Larry Johnson Discography
Larry Johnson Blues Pages
Armadillo Music

(Jeff Harris)

Earnest Davis: Real Soul (Sims)

 Every once in a while I get a record in by a total unknown that really floors me and such is the case with soul singer Earnest Davis. "Real Soul" just may be the finest soul record I've heard all year.

 Davis hails from the Florence, Alabama, not far from Muscle Shoals, and like many great soul singers started singing in the church. Muscle Shoals is home to the FAME Recording Studios which are renowned for creating the "Muscle Shoals Sound" and Davis debt to that classic soul sound is obvious. I believe this is Davis' debut recording and shows him to be not only a marvelous soul singer abut also a first rate songwriter.

 Davis is a classic sounding singer mining a variant often called "country soul" a fusion of country and soul resulting in soulful, gospelly interpretations of country songs. Ray Charles was one of the pioneers of this fusion which also boasted such artists as Arthur Alexander, Solomon Burke and the Staples Singers. A big part of the success of this project goes to the folks at Sims Records which surrounded Davis with a great band featuring a tight, funky horn sections and some tasty guitar work. The ten songs are uniformly excellent as Davis struts his stuff on upbeat numbers like the funky "Nobody Told Me", the chugging blues of "Big Belly Blues" ("I got the big belly blues, it's been ten long years since I've seen my shoes") and the catchy horn driven "Little Skinny Woman." Davis really shines on on the slower material including beautiful ballads like the aching "Two Wrongs", the bluesy "I'm Alive" and the plaintive, soaring "I Wish Yesterday Had Never Come" one of Davis' best numbers.

 It's a real treat to hear a record of this caliber when many so called soul companies simply back their singers with artificial instruments and tired songs. "Real Soul" is a finely crafted soul record and Davis is a remarkable talent.

Lightnin' Hopkins: In The Key Of Lightnin' (Tomato)

 Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the blues greatest storytellers with a seemingly endless supply of tales to tell many of which he improvised right on the spot. Luckily Hopkins was well documented on record with literally hundreds of recordings available which begs the question do we really need any more? In the case of "In The Key Of Lightnin'" the answer is certainly yes as this previously unreleased 1969 session is a real gem.

 Hopkins recorded output is amazingly consistent whether playing acoustic or electric guitar, with a band or without, his engaging storytelling and unpredictable guitar playing mark him as one of the blues true originals. "In The Key Of Lightnin'" is one of Hopkins better later recordings and he sounds particularly inspired on this session. These recordings stem from a May 1969 session with 16 songs from this session appearing on the LP "Lightnin'" on the Poppy label the same year and subsequently issued on CD by Arhoolie in 1993. The remaining 13 tracks were set aside for another release although it took a bit longer then expected- over 30 years! It was worth the wait.

 Hopkins plays electric guitar on this session backed by veteran drummer Francis Clay on most tracks plus appearances by pianist Johnny Big Moose Walker, harmonica blower Jeff Carp (ex-Muddy Waters) and bassist Geno Scaggs and guitarist Paul Asbell both of whom played with Earl Hooker. It's a credit to these musicians that they do an fine job backing Hopkins whose timing and changes are are erratic to say the least. At one point someone asked what key they were in with lightnin' responding "we're in the key of Lightnin'!" Hopkins is in rare form on this relaxed, laid back date and sounds like he could keep playing forever as he makes clear from the studio chatter: "Just gonna keep on to daylight. How many more you want? Forty more?" Indeed he effortlessly reels off strong song after strong song including boogies like "Cryin Shame (Shake That Thing)", "Black Cadillac" plus slow burners like "Last Night I Lost The Best Friend I Ever Had", "Katie Mae" (a reworking of his first hit from 1946), "I Once Was A Gambler" and a lovely version of the traditional "Careless Love." Another highlight is Hopkins' version of "What'd I Say" which gets a fine boogie treatment building to a rousing finish.

 All in all an excellent date that shows why Hopkins remains one of the blues most beloved figures. A big thanks to Tomato for finally issuing these sides even if we did have to wait 30 years!

-Check out these related reviews:
The Best Of
Lightnin' & The Blues- The Herald Sessions

Various Artists: Honkers & Bar Walkers Vol. 3
(Delmark)

 Volume 3 of Delmark's "Honkers & Bar Walkers" series is another fine slab of mostly instrumental honking sax driven R&B circa late 40's early 50's. This is music from a lost era when jazz, blues and R&B coalesced into a good time brand of music fueled by a honking lead tenor (and occasional alto). This was an era when sax was king and the blowers on this set run the gamut from hard charging party blues to low down after hours music.

 The star of this set is the unheralded Chicago tenor man Eddie Chamblee featured on ten cuts, six of which were previously unreleased. Chamblee's sides are all strong including the romping "Spider Web", the low-down funky "It Ain't Necessarily Blues" and the swinging "Rhapsody In Purple." He also proves himself a fine blues singer on the blues shuffles "Come On In" complete with handclaps and "La! La! La! Lady." "St. James Infirmary" is given a hip atmospheric reading with an unknown vocalist doing a fine Cab Calloway impersonation.

 The rest of the CD is equally strong including pianist T.J. Fowler's band featuring trumpet, alto and tenor storming through "Take Off" and the infectious groove of "The Queen". Other highlights include Sax Mallard's wailing alto on "Fine And Brown" a mid-tempo blues featuring Roosevelt Sykes, J.T. Brown's rocking "Walkin' Home", Wild Bill Moore shines on the after feel of "Blues At Dawn", pianist Floyd Taylor's band cooks on the exciting up-tempo numbers "Bar B Q" featuring tenor Fred Jackson and "Baritone Boogie" spotlighting baritone Paul Williams (Williams hit big in 1949 with his smash "The Hucklebuck").

 Like the previous volumes the latest installment of "Honkers & Bar Walkers" is a thoroughly entertaining collection spotlighting a forgotten era of big toned sax, smoky bars and crowded dance floors swinging on a Saturday night.

(Jeff Harris)