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Various Artists:
Straight Blues 4U (Black & Tan) 
If
you need proof that blues is loved and appreciated
worldwide look no further than the Netherlands
based Black & Tan label who have been issuing
great blues records for the past five years.
The label has built up an impressive roster
of top drawer American blues talent with the
emphasis on real deal blues, no guitar heroes
here, just good tough blues music from artists
who have something to say. The 17 cuts on "Straight
Blues 4U" represent some of the best and
most consistent blues of recent years and makes
a fine introduction to this young label.
Black
& Tan must have a pipeline into the St.
Louis scene because a couple of their artists
hail from that still thriving blues town. One
is drummer/singer Boo Boo Davis who plays raw
juke joint blues and has just released his third
record for the label. The ominous sounding "Can
Man" has Davis singing uncannily like Howlin'
Wolf while the mid-tempo "We're In Hell"
is a tough blues shuffle with Davis' gravelly
vocals at their soulful best. Sax man Erskine
Oglesby was born in St. Louis in 1937 and played
with nearly everyone who was anybody in that
town. Oglesby has issued two fine records for
the label and the bouncy "Good To See You"
is a vintage blues romper harking back to the
glory days when the honking sounds of the tenor
took center stage.
Big
George Jackson's no nonsense brand of blues
is firmly rooted in the 50's and 60's sound
of Chicago. Jackson has cut three records for
the label and his huge vocals and impressive
harp blowing are heard to good effect on the
stomping John Lee Hooker boogie of "Tell
Me" and the shuffling "Rubbish Truck."
Better known and equally tough is guitarist
Byther Smith who just cut his second record
for the label and has issued fine records for
JSP, Bullseye and Delmark. Smith simply smokes
on impassioned covers of the Otis Rush classic
"So Many Roads, So Many Trains" and
Eddie Boyd's immortal "Five Long Years"
laying down some blistering fret work.
There's
plenty of stylistic diversity including the
swamp blues of Roscoe Chenier who hails from
Opelousas, Louisiana as he cuts loose on the
stomping Lonesome Sundown cover "Stick
To You Baby" and Earl King's heartfelt
ballad "A Mother's Love." There's
marvelous acoustic blues from Doug MacLeod including
the percussive solo "East Texas Sugar",
the soul drenched style of vocalist Percy Strother
on a pair of tunes including the infectious
"Take My Love", hot shot guitarist
Mike anderson who uncorks some remarkable B.B.
King styled licks on the sure fire blues anthem
"My Love For The Blues" from the 2002
album of the same name and some excellent American
roots music from the Sunset Travelers including
a knockout cover of Hank Snow's "I Washed
My Hands In Muddy Waters" covered by Charlie
Rich and Elvis among others.
If your looking for some hard nosed, no
nonsense contemporary blues than check out Black
& Tan's "Straight
Blues 4U" which distills some of
the label's best blues into one excellent package.
-Check
out these related links:
Black
& Tan Website
Byther
Smith Review
Big
George Jackson Review
(Jeff
Harris)
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Reverend Gary Davis:
If I Had My Way
(Smithsonian Folkways)
There's
no shortage of Rev. Gary Davis material on the market
and in recent years there's been a steady stream
of rare and previously unreleased material by this
remarkable musician. "If I Had My Way: Early
Home Recordings Of Reverend Gary Davis", however,
is something special offering us an intimate look
at Davis at the peak of his abilities right at the
dawn of his rediscovery.
These
recordings were made by John Cohen, a young fan,
at the home of Rev. Gary Davis in 1953 and have
remained unreleased until last year. 50 years later
these low-fi recordings retain their power and importance
giving us a window into the type of music Davis
played before becoming a celebrity among the blues
revival crowd. Davis was extensively recorded during
the blues revival beginning his rediscovery period
a bit earlier than most, making his first album
for the Stinson label with Sonny Terry in 1954 followed
by one for Riverside in 1956. The 18 songs here
predate those albums making it important from a
historical standpoint. This isn't a mere historical
curiosity, however, as Davis is in tremendous form
with his nimble, complex guitar style perfectly
displayed as is his soulful, declamatory vocals
which must have served him well playing on the streets
of Harlem.
These
recordings are a revelation showing that Davis'
amazing ragtime flavored brand of gospel and blues
remained perfectly intact since making his legendary
pre-war recordings (three sessions for ARC in 1935).
This is an intimate, personal set and if you close
your eyes you almost feel that Davis is right there
in your living room. Davis is joined at times by
his wife on vocals and a fine musician named Kinny
Peoples. Peoples
(aka Sweet Papa Stovepipe) had played with Davis
for about five years and these recordings may be
the only ones he ever recorded. Davis sticks to
a strictly gospel program here but the music is
strongly blues based (accounts of Davis usually
report that he would only play blues when his wife
was out of earshot!). Blues or gospel, regardless,
the music is stunning as Davis runs through signature
pieces like the powerful "If I Had My Way"
which gains intensity throughout this lengthy version
(royalties from Peter, Paul & Mary's cover allowed
Davis to buy a house), the stunning "You Got
To Move" where Davis makes his guitar mimic
his vocals, "Get Right Church" with plenty
of hot and furious guitar licks, "I Belong
To The Band" a stellar remake of his 1935 recording
and a moving version of "Shine On." Kinny
Peoples is heard to good effect on his solo
"Give Me A Heart To Love" and playing
with Davis on fast paced numbers like "He Stole
Away" as Davis unleashes a torrent of incredible
licks and "Got On My Traveling Shoes."
Not
long after these recordings Davis would became one
of the most popular players on the folk/blues revival
scene, playing before large and enthusiastic audiences
and teaching students like David Bromberg, Jorma
Kaukonen, Roy Bookbinder and Stefan Grossman. By
the time he passed in 1972 Davis left behind a large
and impressive body of work and this remarkable
recording is a worthy addition to that legacy. As
usual with Smithsonian Folkways the packaging is
first class with a 24 page booklet written by the
man who made these recordings plus some fine period
photos.
(Jeff
Harris)
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The Billy
Price Band: Funky...Funky Soul!!!
(Billy Price) 
Blue-eyed
soul singer Billy Price is an institution
in his Pittsburgh hometown and has been been
performing his authentic brand of R&B
and deep soul for three decades. Price's soulful
music can now been see as well as heard on
the aptly titled "Funky ... Funky Soul!!!"
capturing a sweaty, energetic show recorded
live at the Belgium Rhythm & Blues Festival
in July of 2003.
The
hard working Price has a career that goes
back to the mid-70's when he sang on a pair
of Roy Buchanan's LPs, "That's What I'm
Here For" (74') and "Livestock"
(75'). He formed the Billy Price and the Keystone
Rhythm Band in the late 70's cutting four
records before breaking up in 1990 (the band's
first two LP's "Is It Over/They Found
Me Guilty" have been issued on one CD).
Price formed The Billy Price Band in 1990
and has cut four records including 1997's
well received "The Soul Collection"
produced by Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams
and featuring a cameo by Otis Clay. "Funky
... Funky Soul!!! shows you why Price is so
well regarded as he runs through a strong
set of original and classic numbers to an
enthusiastic crowd.
From
all accounts Price and his tight seven piece
band were a big hit at the festival and it's
not hard to see why. Price is a fine vocalist
with a real flair for R&B, blues and especially
deep soul, showing a real affinity for the
classic sounds of such soul factories as Muscle
Shoals, Hi Records and Stax. Price's band
has an equally good feel for the music and
include a strong three piece horn section,
excellent keyboards from John Burgh and hot
guitar from Lenny Smith. The deep soul of
the peerless O.V. Wright is an obvious inspiration
as Price tackles four of his numbers including
strong renditions of "Nickel And A Nail"
and "Ace Of Spades." Price is equally
sure footed on bluesier numbers like a tough
version of "Further On Up The Road",
Z.Z. Hill's "Bump And Grind" and
the stomping closer "Mother In law Blues."
A real highlight is the original "Eldorado
Cafe" a throbbing, catchy R&B number
that is one of Price's signature numbers and
harks back to his early days.
Billy
Price has a
superb feel and for vintage soul and R&B
well documented on the entertaining and dynamic
"Funky
... Funky Soul!!!."
-Check
out these related links:
Billy
Price Website
(Jeff
Harris)
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Jesse
Mae Hemphill: Get Right Blues (Inside Sounds)
In 1993
Jesse Mae Hemphill's thriving music career was sidelined when
she suffered a stroke and was left unable to play guitar.
During the 80's she recorded some stomping, rough hewn Mississippi
blues that marked her as a true original. "Get Right
Blues" is a welcome addition to her slim legacy collecting
15 previously unreleased sides cut between 1979-1985.
Jessie
Mae Hemphill was born into a musical family. The Hemphill’s
played fiddle, fife and stringed instruments (Alan Lomax had
recorded several of the Hemphill family members in the 40's
and 50's). As a young girl she began playing guitar and later
played bass drum and snare in her grandfather’s fife and drum
band. She played in various bands during the '50s, '60s, and
'70s when she began focusing on guitar. The 80's were Jessie
Mae's decade issuing several 45s on the High Water label and
her first album, "She-Wolf", on the French label
Vogue in 1981. In 1986 she recorded tracks for the "Mississippi
Blues Festival" album on the French Black & Blue
label. She won the W.C. Handy Award for Best Traditional
Female Blues Artist in 1987 and 1988. In 1991 she released
her second album (the first in the US) entitled "Feelin'
Good" on the High Water label winning a Handy Award for
Best Acoustic Album that year.
The blues
and spirituals captured on "Get Right Blues" were
mostly recorded for the University of Memphis' High Water
label featuring Jesse Mae in prime form playing both solo
and with a band. Jesse Mae's unorthodox blues is deeply rooted
in North Mississippi's regional style which is highly rhythmic
and percussive and has a droning, repetitive quality that
has rightly been called hypnotic. R.L. Burnside is currently
the prime living exponent of this style. This is raw and at
times ragged down-home blues, good time music, perfectly suited
to the house parties and picnics where she often performed.
Jesse Mae can stomp out the blues with authority as on the
unrelenting "Streamline Train" (her version of "Mystery
Train"), the full band driven "Shake Your Booty
(Shake It Baby)" and the rocking "All Night Boogie
(Jesse's Boogie)." Jesse Mae has a fine, almost lilting
vocal style heard to good effect on slower and mid-tempo numbers
like "Cowgirl Blues", Memphis Minnie's "Bumble
Bee" and especially the wonderful solo "Jessie's
Love Song (Tell Me You Love Me)" a captivating love song.
There's some equally fine spirituals including "Lord,
Help The Poor & Needy" a solo number with just tambourine
and the stunning "Get Right Church" featuring vocals
by Compton Jones, Napolean Strickland and
bo-diddley by Glen Faulkner cut near Como, MS in 1979 and
emblematic of the music she played for friends and at parties
before she achieved greater fame.
Despite
her stroke Jesse Mae remains active, making appearances at
various blues events, recently appeared on a record by Richard
Johnston and still sings and plays the tambourine in church.
"Get Right Blues" is a fine addition to her slim
recorded legacy capturing her at the peak of her powers.
-Check out these
related links:
Jesse
Mae Hemphill Foundation
(Jeff Harris)
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