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Rufus Thomas
New Dog, Old Tricks

The Five Blind Boys Of Alabama
(Jesus Hits Like The) Atom Bomb



     

Rufus Thomas: Just Because I'm Leaving... (Segue) cd.gif (1045 bytes)

 If ever a figure deserved the overused term larger than life it would certainly be the always exuberant and ageless Rufus Thomas, a fixture on the Memphis scene for some six decades. Rufus passed in 2001 but what a treat it is to hear "Just Because I'm Leavin'...", a near flawless recording made a decade before he died.

 Rufus was already a professional entertainer in the mid-'30s, when he was a comedian with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He made his mark on the Memphis music scene as a deejay on WDIA, one of the few black-owned stations of the era. Rufus soon became one of the station's most popular disc jockeys. His show, "Hoot and Holler", premiered music icons such as Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, Rosco Gordon and Junior Parker. Rufus continued to be an on-air personality at WDIA influencing musicians in the Memphis area for the next 40 years, while still creating and performing his own music. Rufus has the distinction of having the first hits with the legendary Memphis labels Sun (1953's "Bear Cat" hit three on the R&B charts) and Stax with his daughter Carla ("'Cause I Love You" in 1959). Rufus hit his commercial peak in the early '70s, when "Do the Funky Chicken," "(Do The) Push and Pull," and "The Breakdown" all made the R&B Top Five. Although he recorded little after the collapse of Stax, he continued to perform until his death in 2001. "Just Because I'm Leavin'..." recorded in 1990 and 1991 may be in fact be his best post-Stax effort as Rufus digs deep into the blues on a great batch of material supported by a sympathetic band.

 What started out as a guest vocal spot for a recording session by the Memphis band Randy and the Radiants, eventually resulted in this album. After doing the guest spot (recorded at the Sun recording studio) Rufus expressed and interest in doing a "return to Sun" album. The album was duly cut, tour plans made, but things fell through and the album has remained in the can ever since. Rufus, in his 70's here, is in masterful form on this loose, humorous and very bluesy set backed by a crack band of Memphis musicians. The super funky opener "Old Dog, New Tricks" was custom written for Rufus and sounds like a lost 70's era Stax nugget as Rufus hams it up in fine fashion. When he sings "Do you remember when I walked the dog/Way back in 64'/Now I'm back and I'm hear to say/That I'm better than I was before" you better believe it. The rest of the material is just as good as Rufus really cuts loose on the standard "Did You Ever Love A Woman" delivering those classic lines with plenty of feeling and shines on new material like the swinging "I'll Be A Good Boy", sings with passion on the low-down blues of "Jaunita" and "If There Was No Music" as he exclaims "If there wasn't for Rufus, there'd be no soul" in gospel-like fashion before kicking into a funky, sweaty workout. He even manages convincing versions of Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You" and a moving "God Bless America" which features Carla Thomas.

 "Just Because I'm Leavin'..." captures Rufus at his most outrageous, humorous and soulful best. A fitting epitaph for a truly larger than life performer who's like we won't soon see again

-Check out these related links:
Rufus Thomas Website

(Jeff Harris)


 
The Five Blind Boys Of Alabama: Atom Bomb
(Realworld)cd.gif (1045 bytes)
 

 The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, who formed way back in 1939 and still contain two original members, (the third, founding member George Scott recently passed) have somehow managed to reinvent themselves in recent years and sound totally relevant for the 21st century. "Atom Bomb" finds The Blind Boys stretching the boundaries once again without sacrificing one ounce of their unbridled passion and uplifting message

 Since 1992's "Deep River", produced by he legendary Booker T. Jones, The Blind Boys have been experimenting by adding pop songs to their repertoire. Their transcendent version of Bob Dylan's "I Believe In You" was proof that the formula could work and earned The Blind Boys their first Grammy Award nomination. The Blind Boys continued to blur the boundaries between gospel and secular music with 2001's "Spirit of the Century" and 2002's "Higher Ground", both of which garnered Grammies and opened up a huge new audience for the group. "Atom Bomb" is yet another remarkable chapter in the Blind Boys' saga and also a final epitaph for founding member George Scott who makes his last bow on this fine album.

 The group's latest, foray adds some hip-hop to the mix featuring rapper Gift of Gab from Blackalicious along with other guests like Billy Preston, Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo and Charlie Musselwhite who also appeared on "Spirit of the Century." Above all it's the still passionate voices of founding members Clarence Fountain, George Scott, and Jimmy Carter who take turns as lead vocalist that are the heart and soul of any Blind Boys album. The three are perfectly supported by a spare, contemporary sounding rhythm section including bassist Tracy Pierce and drummer Michael Jerome. The title cut, a cover of the influential Cold War classic "(Jesus Hits Like The) Atom Bomb," is one of the best numbers as George Scott's booming baritone delivers the song's still relevant lyrics with power and authority. Scott is also superb on the the traditional "New Born Soul" with some bluesy flourishes from guitarist David Hidalgo. Of the secular material nods go to a surprising and successful cover of "Spirit In The Sky" featuring some strong blowing from Charlie Musselwhite and a beautiful version of Blind Faith's "Presence of the Lord" movingly sung by Clarence Fountain and featuring some sensitive organ work from Billy Preston. The two songs featuring The Gift of Gab are an interesting experiment and is particularly effective on the hip-hop flavored "Demons."

 The Blind Boys once again prove that melding traditional gospel with a contemporary approach and adding some varied material can be a very successful formula. In doing so The Blind Boys have not diluted the power of their message one bit yet have managed to draw in an entirely new audience that was likely born decades after the group formed. A remarkable feat!

-Check out these related reviews:
Higher Ground
Spirit of the Century

(Jeff Harris)


Eric Nooden: Midwest Blues (Independent)cd.gif (1045 bytes)  

 Ohio native and Chicago settler, Eric Noden is Midwestern through and through, but somehow the Mississippi Delta crept into his very soul. An oxymoron is revealed in several places in Eric Noden’s life. He didn’t sell his soul to the devil at the crossroads, he made a deal with the angels instead. Eric’s undying dedication to Chicago’s Blues in the School program and the prewar acoustic blues provide a patient, purist example of music educator. A Midwesterner in geography, but a southern gentlemen with the patience of a saint, Eric has grown up a Bluesman in the industrial Midwest. Raised on folk and blues, the young man was practically born with a guitar, fell in love with prewar blues, folk and gospel and never abandoned his love.

 Midwest Blues embodies all of the descriptions above. A very clean, fun and pure approach to the Blues that blends original songs with covers fairly seamlessly. In fact, Eric appears to hop in his time machine when he writes and performs. The album is nicely broken up with Eric’s switch from guitar and piano. Rick Sherry (Devil in a Woodpile/Bloodshot Records) keeps a good beat on washboard on four of the tunes. Tom V. Ray (Bottle Rockets/Bloodshot Records) helps out on a few tracks on acoustic bass. "Black Cat Bone", penned by Eric, features an entire percussion unit of Eddie Ramos, Estaquio Mendez and ‘Sammy’ (no last name mentioned – could be someone in the witness protection program).

 "River Town" opens up the CD with the plucking of the dobro and harp (Rick Sherry) and tapping join in, an original song that holds up to all the good river songs. Lyrics like "Blew a gasket or cracked a head, The road I was riding came to an end" emphasize Eric’s sense of humor. Blind Willie McTell would be proud of "River Town". Eric’s voice comes across very well on this track; inflections, vibrato and other uses make the song fairly interesting. ‘Midwest Blues’ moves as well as ‘River Town’ with washboard accompaniment. Another original song, this borrows from Mississippi John Hurt and tells of the author’s wish to do anything to get out of Ohio to Chicago. All of us who’ve been to Ohio, can empathize with the theme. Nice guitar work on this track keeps the song moving along. "You Don’t Want Me", the Mississippi John Hurt song, breaks up the first two fast tracks and settles you down. Eric’s rendition is lovely and lonely. We move more into the barrelhouse juke joint mode with ‘Take a Chance on Me’, another original. The lyrics are simple on this song and lend well to the more intricate and impressive piano playing by Eric.

 "Shelby County Bound" has a completely different feel than the other songs, and less Blues and more rock. This is about the only song I would depict as contemporary on the record. It’s OK, but not his strongest track on either vocals or arrangement. "Cincinnati Flow Rag", by Reverend Gary Davis is played true to form and well by Eric. "Key to the Highway" – Big Bill Broonzy – is treated much like Broonzy’s original version, unlike the countless other covers of the song. I like the fact that there’s absolutely no accompaniment on this song and Eric’s lead guitar playing is excellent on this tune.

 "Chi-Town Breakdown" another Eric song, makes you want to find this party in Chicago. Eric’s songs take on a completely different personality when he plays the piano. This has a nice boogie-woogie feel to it and his piano work is truly spirited on this tune. Eric has spent some time in New Orleans and the next two tracks are noted as New Orleans and Delta Blues arrangements respectively. ‘Buddy Bolden’ is a solid guitar instrumental, the tenth track is "Catfish Blues" covered by almost every Bluesman in the world. Eric’s version incorporates some nice guitar work that reminds me of the Big Joe Williams rendition. I’d say Big Joe is living somewhere in Eric’s Blues psyche, just as much as the Reverend, John Hurt and Skip James.

 The album wraps up with two more originals, "What’s on Your Mind", a St. Louis Blues song that features Eric on piano and Rick Sherry on washboard and "Black Cat Bone". "Black Cat Bone" has a bossa nova feel to it with a beginning reminiscent of Buena Vista Social Club. However, because of the sophistication of the instrumentation and arrangement on this song, Eric’s vocals don’t quite fit the song. This would have been worthy of an overdub on the vocals, so he could sing this a little closer to the arrangement. But this is a fun song and it definitely sounds like all of the musicians enjoy themselves on this tune.

 Overall this is a great effort that provides a roots perspective of the Blues with a renewed interest and passion by Mr. Noden. "Midwest Blues" is a history lesson of the love of the Blues and Eric deserves high honors for both this effort and his Blues in the Schools programs. A worthy addition to any Blues collection with support to a man who’s carrying on a great tradition that wears very well.

By Dave Glynn
Lead Singer of the Empty Can Band found at www.emptycanband.com

This review is copyright © 2005 by Dave Glynn, and is reprinted by permission by Blues On Stage at: www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved







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