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Precious Bryant: The
Truth (Terminus)
"Fool
Me Good", Precious Bryant's belated debut at
the age of 60, blew in like a fresh breeze in early
2003 and became one of the year's most critically
lauded records. "The Truth" is a potent
follow-up as Bryant fills out her sound with a band
on a few numbers but otherwise delivers another slice
of charming down-home blues, R&B and gospel.
Bryant
has been playing music all her life as she related
in an interview in Juke Blues magazine: "I came
from a musical family, my whole family was musical.
My father played guitar, and all my sisters - there
was nine girls and one boy. ...We had a spiritual
group, my sisters an me - The Bussey Sisters."
The radio was another prime influence and she was
an avid listener of the legendary John R. on Nashville's
WLAC as he spun blues and early rock and roll platters
as well as soaking up the sounds of the Grand Ole
Opry. Bryant filters all those influences and more
through her own personal style giving everything her
own unique stamp, all beautifully captured on "The
Truth."
Bryant's
sound is filled out on eight numbers by her son Tony
Bryant on bass, drummer J.D. Mark and second guitarist
Jake Fussell on two tracks. None of this undercuts,
or really enhances Bryant's unique brand of down-home
blues as she alternates between delicate and propulsive
guitar accompaniment, all featuring her warm and vulnerable
vocals. Like her debut, the recording is a warm and
intimate affair as Bryant come across like she's playing
for a few friends on her front porch. The songs are
an eclectic mix including covers of Willie Dixon,
Denise LaSalle, traditional gospel and some wonderful
originals. Bryant is at her most passionate and heartfelt
on the spirituals, delivering beautiful solo acoustic
renditions of traditional numbers like "Morning
Train" and "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray"
plus a driving, full band take on "Sit Down Servant"
that's sure to raise the rafters. Bryant puts her
on stamp on fine covers like Denise LaSalle's racy
"Don't Jump My Pony", the relentless drive
of Memphis Minnie's similarly themed "My Chauffeur"
and Willie Dixon's "My Babe", a number she
surely heard on old John R's program. Bryant's original
pieces are equally good including the chugging "Dark
Angel", a tribute to her favorite TV show (Jessica
Alba is thanked in the credits), the beautiful and
haunting "The Truth" and the engaging full
band instrumental "Sugar Hill Blues."
Precious
Bryant is firmly in the great tradition of tough,
guitar toting blues woman like Memphis Minnie and
stands right beside contemporary ones like Sue Foley
and Lucinda Williams. As she sings in "Dark Angel"
- "She can handle her business and that's a fact"
- the same is definitely true of Ms. Bryant who handles
her business like nobody else.
-Check
out these related links:
Precious
Bryant Website
Fool
Me Good Review
(Jeff Harris)
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Freddie King: Live
In Europe (Eagle Vision)
Guitarist
Freddie King rose to fame in the 60's with a string
of brilliant sides for the Federal label. It was the
instrumentals, in particular, like "Hideaway"
and San-Ho-Zay" that were vastly influential
in both blues and rock circles. By the 70's he had
crossed over and his concerts became increasingly
popular among rock audiences. There's no shortage
of live Freddie King recordings from this period,
most of questionable legality, and there's also some
excellent video footage as well. "Freddie
King: Live In Europe" is a nice addition featuring
67 minutes of prime material from three early 70's
performances.
This DVD captures King on stage during three European
concerts in 1973 and 1974. Two performances were taped
less than a year apart in Stockholm, Sweden while
the third includes some never before released footage
from the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. The third set
taped from Opopoppa in Sweden has appeared previously
on "The!!!! Beat" video as bonus material.
That video, which collects performances of Freddie
from 1966 on a black music variety show called The!!!!
Beat, still remains the best footage we have of Freddie.
"Freddie King:
Live In Europe" is still a welcome addition
as any new footage of Freddie is a good thing.
The
opening three songs are from the 1973 Montreux Jazz
Festival. These are typically good performances although
Freddie seems to be having trouble with his vocal
mic and seems to have trouble hearing himself. The
video here looks great and the same can be said for
the other performances. Excellent camera work with
plenty of tight focus on Freddie. Freddie simply dominates
the stage and really lives up to the tired phrase
larger than life. The opener is Freddie's
classic "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" which
starts with an intense five minute guitar intro before
he launches passionately into the vocals. Freddie
follows with a loose, funky arrangement of "Look
Over Yonders Wall" that gets the hippies up and
dancing and closes with the soulful ballad "Ain't
No Sunshine" that swells in intensity before
Freddie brings it back to a simmer. Freddie and the
band are in good form but some of the songs are a
bit over long and tend to meander.
Better
is the second performance taped at the Fun House in
Stockholm, Sweden in December 1974. This is a more
intimate venue and seems to be a classy club or restaurant.
The highlight here is the opener, "Woman Across
The River", given a soulful, passionate workout
as Freddie seems much more focused and intense then
the Montreux footage. This is a great reading of one
of Freddie's best latter day numbers. Up next is is
a wonderful soulful and funky take on B.B. King's
"Ghetto Woman" which B.B. had just cut the
year before, a powerful version of "Sweet Home
Chicago" and the torrid instrumental "Blues
Band Shuffle."The latter tune is a fast and funky
full band boogie that reminds me a bit of Magic Sam's
"Feelin' Good" as the whole band really
cuts loose.
The
final performance is an outdoor concert from Opopoppa
taped in Stockholm, Sweden in July 1973. Taped seven
months down the road from the Montreux footage, Freddie
has the same band and seems in better form this time
out. "Big Legged Woman" seems to open in
mid-action and is given a funky, organ heavy shuffle
as Freddie rips of some searing guitar licks. The
signature "Have You Ever Loved A Woman"
is fiery and intense and very similar to his Montreux
version while the closer is "Blues Band Shuffle"
given the same blistering treatment as the Fun House
version.
Freddie
King was a dynamic, incendiary live performer and
we are lucky that a fair bit of this has been captured
on live recordings and video. "Freddie
King: Live In Europe" is an excellent
addition to those performances. Sound and video quality
are superb throughout. A couple of quibbles is that
there are no DVD extras and there really should have
been a booklet included which could have provided
some more background on these performance outside
of the brief blurb on the back. Sill Freddie King
fanatics will be pleased and will certainly want to
add this to their library.
-Check out these related
links:
The
Freddie King Story w/ Audio Feature
(Jeff Harris)
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Nathan James
& Ben Hernandez: Make A Change Sometime (Independent)
While
most younger so called blues guitarists are
really playing more rock than blues, it's heartening
to hear the duo of Nathan James and Ben Hernandez
playing traditional blues and doing it exceptionally
well. "Make A Change Sometime" finds
the duo beautifully tackling 1920's and 30's
era country blues and rural music with a rare
freshness and vitality.
The
duo first came to my attention on "This
Road Is Mine", the debut record by guitarist
James on the Pacific Blue label that featured
the multi-talented
Hernandez on vocals, harmonica, kazoo, washtub
bass - playing basically everything but the
kitchen sink. James' big break came when he
joined the James Harman Band at age 19. During
his stint with Harman, James got the opportunity
to record and tour throughout the United States
and Canada. He's also worked with such talented
West Coast artists as Johnny Dyer, Jamie Wood,
Rick Holmstrom and Janiva Magness. "This
Road Is Mine" was one of the best debuts
of 2003 and "Make
A Change Sometime" is every bit as impressive.
James
is an exceptional blues guitarist who has a
feel for the traditional blues well beyond his
years. James displays his versatility playing
impressively on resonator, flattop, six string,
twelve string or baritone guitar. James and
Hernandez are both fine vocalists, splitting
the vocals nearly evenly. For his part, Hernandez
is a master of percussion whether foot stomping,
playing the spoons, the jug or washtub bass
as well as harmonica and even the much maligned
kazoo. James draws deeply from 1920's blues
clearly inspired by guys like Big Bill Broonzy,
Blind Boy Fuller and Tampa Red. Sometimes recreating
that vintage sound comes across stilted when
played by modern players but everything here
comes across lively and fresh. James gets a
great sound from that resonator on tracks like
Sleepy John Estes' "Everybody Make A Change",
the driving "Curley's Blues" and Sonny
Boy Williamson's salacious "Rub-A-Dub."
The interweaving of guitar and vocals is seamless,
bringing to mind Sonny Terry & Brownie McGheee
and those great Sonny Boy Williamson I 30's
combos featuring Big Joe Williams, Robert Lee
McCoy and Yank Rachel. Other highlights include
the gospel number "Get Right Church",
Big Bill Broonzy's "Lonesome" with
James backed by the great Gene Taylor on piano,
"Mistreatin' Mama", another Broonzy
number, featuring some stunning fingerpicking
plus originals like "Here's Your Breakthrough"
featuring James Harman on vocals and amplified
harp and the lovely closer "Finished Last"
which sounds like a Stax era soul number with
Hernandez on vocals backed by guitar and the
wonderful piano of Gene Taylor.
Despite
their youth, Nathan James and Ben Hernandez
belong in the company of the best of the current
traditional players like Corey Harris, Guy Davis
and Alvin Youngblood Heart. "Make
A Change Sometime"
is one of those great little records that all
too easily can slip under the radar
especially since the music isn't exactly what's
considered fashionable. Well worth seeking out.
-Check
out these related reviews:
Nathan
James Website
This
Road Is Mine Review
(Jeff
Harris)
|
Roomful Of Blues:
Standing Room Only (Alligator)
Over
the course of it's 35 year plus existence a dizzying
array of top flight musicians have passed through
Roomful's ranks but collectively the band retains
plenty of the original fire thanks in large part
to those mighty, swinging horns and ability to
play any style they choose. The band is in peak
form these days coming off the success of 2003's
"That's Right!", one of their best,
and show no signs of slowing down on the terrific
follow up, "Standing Room Only."
After an association that stretched back
to the early 80's with the Rounder family of labels,
Roomful jumped ship to Alligator which captured
the band at it's rocking best on the critically
lauded, "That's Right!." This edition
of Roomful is a mix of veterans like Rich Lataille
on alto and tenor who's been in the band since
the beginning, guitarist Chris Vachon (1990),
trumpeter Bob Enos (early 80's) and newcomers
Jason Corbier on drums, Travis Colby on piano/B3,
bassist Brad Hallen, Mark Earley on tenor/baritone
and singer/harpist Mark Dufresne. Dufresne has
been playing with the band a few years and made
his recording debut last year. He's an outstanding
big voiced frontman who comes across as a classic
blues shouter in the best tradition of Wynonie
Harris, Roy Brown and the like. "Standing
Room Only" shows Dufresne and the boys once
again hitting on all cylinders.
Like
their Alligator debut, "Standing Room Only"
finds the band rocking and jumping like mad as
they put their stamp on a number of more obscure
covers and first rate originals. One of Roomful's
strengths is their knack for picking great covers
that stand on equal footing with their original
numbers which all have that vintage, timeless
feel. The band storms out of the gate with the
relentless Little Milton gem "She Put A Spell
On Me" and cruises along with the shuffling
lilt of Jimmy Nolen's "I Can't Stand You
No More" featuring some vintage West Coast
styled fret work from Chris Vachon who also shines
on the steamy stop-time burner "The Love
You Lost On The Way", one of the album's
finest originals. The jumping and jiving "Jona
Lee" is another killer original that rocks
like crazy and was penned by new piano man Travis
Colby who really cuts loose on the 88's as the
horns swing away madly plus the Rich Lataille
penned big band number "Straight Jaquette"
a rousing tribute to the late Illinois Jaquette.
One of the album's best covers is a jumping, horn
heavy version of one of my favorite Roy Brown
numbers, "Up Jumped The Devil" ("Well
up jumped the devil in a brand new Cadillac/He
said I'm sorry buddy boy, it's time to take you
back") that's a perfect vehicle for the band
and one I was lucky enough to witness them play
live last year.
There's
nothing creaky about the Roomful of Blues who
still swing with plenty of power, passion and
a good dose of fun. "Standing Room Only"
is a fabulous follow-up to last year's great Alligator
debut. If you like what's in the grooves do yourself
a favor and catch these guys live when they roll
through your town. You'll be glad you did.
-Check
out these related reviews:
That's
Right! & The First Album Reviews
(Jeff
Harris)
|
Guitar
Slim: All Night Long (Monkey Bizness
Music)
Guys like Cleveland's Guitar
Slim and joints like the Cascade
Lounge, where he holds court, aren't
supposed to exist anymore. But as
long as anyone can remember Slim
has been laying down his slide soaked,
raw boned blues there to a packed
house every Friday and Saturday
night. Outside of that insular world
Slim is virtually unknown but finally
the outside world can get a glimpse
of that magic on "All Night
Long", Slim's tough as nails
recording debut.
The Cascade Lounge located
at East 79th and St. Clair is in
the type of neighborhood you might
instinctively roll up your windows
and press on the gas a little harder
when you're driving past. It's a
bonafide juke joint in downtown
Cleveland complete with folding
tables, wood paneled walls, a small
food store in the rear, Christmas
lights strung around the bandstand
and a limited beer selection served
in cans. This is not the store bought
ambience of the House of Blues,
but the real deal, probably unchanged
from the day it opened. Weekends
the place is jammed and Guitar Slim
is the star attraction. Slim and
his ultra-tight band, The Blues
Boys, proceed to rock the crowd
all night long with some of the
toughest, bone thumping blues you'll
ever hear. "All Night Long"
comes as close as possible to capturing
that vibe and indeed it sounds like
someone just let the tape roll as
Slim and the boys do their thing.
Slim
doesn't play any originals but invests
such authority and rings so much
passion out of classics by Elmore
James, B.B. King and Muddy Waters
that you'll swear you're hearing
them for the first time. Slim is
a powerful, commanding vocalist
and powerhouse guitarist who lays
down some vicious, razor sharp Elmore
James inspired slide that cuts right
to the bone. As you listen to the
record you can almost see the sweaty
bodies cutting loose on the dance
floor and the nods of approval as
Slim delivers those well worn lyrics
with a lifetime of feeling. The
dozen tunes on this album find Slim
and the band locking into a a deep
groove as they plow through such
favorites as "Down Home Blues",
given an intense, dirge-like treatment
here, a rocking, slide heavy instrumental
version of "Shake Your Moneymaker",
sizzling takes on Muddy numbers
"Can't Lose What You Never
Had" and the throbbing "Screamin'
And Cryin'" both featuring
some powerful amplified harp from
an uncredited player. There's not
bum track among the dozen cuts and
for just under an hour Slim rocks
the house just as he's done for
the past 30 or more years (no really
knows how long) at the Cascade Lounge.
While
still something of a rarity, there
are joints like the Cascade Lounge
in many big cities and small towns
down south. It's an insulated world,
known to all but the faithful who
come to dance their worries away
to those low down blues. That's
what they do every weekend at the
Cascade and to them Guitar Slim
is a star. One listen to "All
Night Long" and I think you'll
agree with them.
-Check
out these related links:
Blues
From The Cascade Lounge
(Jeff
Harris)
|
Kirk Fletcher:
Shades Of Blue (Delta Groove)
Originally
reviewed 11/3/03 when issued on the German Crosscut
label and has now been issued domestically on
Delta Groove with 3 bonus cuts
Living on the East Coast I'm not personally
clued into the West Coast blues scene by
judging by the records I've been hearing
the last few years the West Coast is teeming
with great blues talent. One of the up-and-comers
is Kirk Fletcher a young guitar slinger
with phenomenal chops who really delivers
the goods on "Shades Of Blue"
helped out by an all-star cast of West Coast
cohorts.
At 27 Fletcher has already made a
name for himself honing his chops in the
bands of West Coast veterans like Al Blake
(former Hollywood Fats frontman), Lynwood
Slim, Junior Watson, Jimmy Morello and most
recently with Kim Wilson. Fletcher made
his debut with 1999's strong "I'm Here
& I'm Gone" for the JSP label.
"Shades Of Blue" is even better
as Fletcher delivers a sizzling history
lesson of blues guitar styles surrounded
by a terrific band that evokes the great
ensemble bands of Muddy Waters and Howlin'
Wolf.
Fletcher
is one of those guitar players who's obviously
studied those old blues records intently,
absorbing all the great blues styles from
B. B. King (a big influence) to T-Bone Walker
and playing it all with impeccable phrasing
and a great tone. Fletcher doesn't sing
but he's enlisted a talented crew for the
vocals including Kim Wilson who also blows
up a storm on harmonica, Janiva Magness
and Finis Tasby. Fletcher gets plenty of
room to cut loose but above all this is
great ensemble blues playing evoking the
tight bands of Muddy, Wolf, Little Walter
and the like. The vibe draws less from the
West Coast than it does Chicago evident
on the choice of covers like a blistering
version of Eddie Taylor's "Bad Boy"
with Kim Wilson on vocals, the throbbing
"Little By Little" and a bouncy
take on Muddy's "Don't Go No Further"
both featuring Janiva Magness' smoky vocals.
Underrated singer Finis Tasby gets the spotlight
on four cuts including the impassioned "Welfare
Blues", Percy Mayfield's classic "The
River's Invitation" given a loose,
funky feel and the romping "Worried
Man Blues" with Fletcher ripping out
some Elmore James inspired licks. Other
highlights include the ominous, murky swamp
blues of "My Home Is A Prison"
with Wilson's vocals sounding like he's
singing from the bottom of a barrel and
the shuffling instrumental barn burner "Club
Zanzibar" (named after a Chicago club
where Muddy, Wolf and Little Walter used
to play).
"Shades
Of Blue" firmly places Kirk Fletcher
as one of the best of the younger generation
bluesman, one who's keeping alive the classic
blues sounds of the past with a fresh contemporary
edge. Special mention goes to the German
based Crosscut label who has been giving
an outlet to fine American bluesman who
have been ill served by American blues labels.
(Jeff
Harris)
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