Roundup
Of Notable New Reissues
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Solomon Burke knows
how to sell a song. As the old saying goes, he could sing
the phone book and make it sound compelling. Burke has had
his ups and down since those classics 60's singles for Atlantic
but has never totally dropped out of sight. Burke is riding
high again with his terrific new record, "Make Do With
What You Got", on Shout! Factory which followed the
widely praised "Don't Give Up on Me" which came
out in 2002. Now Shout! Factory has dipped into the great
Black Top catalogue to unearth two early 90's gems by Burke
that can only enhance his already outsized legend. Soul
of the Blues finds Burke tackling his first all
blues album as he interprets twelve classic blues numbers.
Burke is backed by a superb cast including the late, great
guitarist Clarence Hollimon sitting in on a few numbers,
Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff on tenor, baritone and harmonica
and the wonderful Sammy Berfect on B-3 and piano. Burke
delivers a joyous, horn fueled version of "Good Rockin'
Tonight", transforms Elmore James' "Along About
Midnight" into deeply soulful meditation aided by sizzling
fret work from Holliman, digs deep into Guitar Slim's "Sufferin'
Mind" and romps through a swinging "Street Walking
Woman."
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Solomon Burke is a
show man of the highest order, his live shows the stuff
of legend as his overpowering magnetism envelops the crowd
like a warm embrace. It's not unlike going to church as
Burke delivers his tales of love and loss like sermons from
the pulpit. Live at the House of Blues recorded
in New Orleans in 1994 captures every bit of that magic.
I should know - I was at that show and this recordings brings
back a flood of memories. Don't take my word, here's what
Burke says: "Of all the shows I have played over the
years - always to beautiful faces that I've been honored
to perform for - this one at the House of Blues in New Orleans
holds a sacred space. Sometimes all the magic walks in the
room at the right moment. This was one of those nights.
I'm glad someone was there to record it." Indeed Burke
is masterful, the audience in the palm of his hands, as
he delivers classics like the brassy opener "Everybody
Needs Somebody To Love", a medley comprising of "If
You Need Me"/"Tonight's the Night"/"I
Almost Lost My Mind", his timeless "Cry To Me"
before closing things down with a romping, horn driven version
of "Good Rockin' Tonight." If you want a clinic
on how to deliver a live performance, this is it.
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The incendiary music
of the Carter Brothers resides at the intersection of where
soul, blues and gospel meet. Roman Carter (lead vocals,
bass), Albert Carter (guitar), and Jerry Carter (vocals,
piano) really hit their stride when they hooked up with
Stan Lewis' Jewel label in the early 60's. The Essential
Carter Brothers serves as a fine introduction collecting
twenty tracks including a number of fine unissued items.
The title is somewhat of a misnomer as the UK based Westside
label issued the splendid 2-CD set, "Blues on Tour:
The Jewel Recordings 1965-1969" which collects everything
the group cut during this period. Surprisingly this collection
is the first domestic set of the group's seminal sides.
This is some exceptionally tough soul and blues with a strong
gospel flavor and a number of wild rockers. The group's
lone hit, "Southern Country Boy" (#21 R&B,
#133 Pop), kicks things of in blistering fashion featuring
Albert's stinging guitar and Roman's over-the-top, gospel
soaked pipes. This a uniformly strong collection including
smoldering bluesy workouts like "Booze In The Bottle",
"I've Been Mistreated (For Five Long Years)",
"Why Baby Why" (Part 1 & 2) featuring labelmate
Lowell Fulson on guitar plus upbeat rockers like the torrid
"(She's So Fine) So Glad She's Mine", the funky
"Hey It's Alright" and the super tough "Roast
Possum" issued under Roman's name. As usual for Fuel
2000 releases sound is excellent and there's informative
notes written by the ubiquitous Bill Dahl.
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I have
to concur will Bill Dahl who speculates that Bobby Patterson
should have achieved soul stardom based on listening to
Soul Of A Man. This nineteen
track collection draws together some sizzling soul numbers
Patterson cut for Paula Records (a subsidiary of Stan Lewis'
Jewel label) between 1971-1973. The multitalented Patterson
played guitar, keyboards and was an ace songwriter and producer
but had very little luck in the way of chart success. "Soul
of a Man" makes a fine compliment to his earlier material
which has been reissued by Sundazed and Charly among others.
Patterson was strongly influenced by the country tinged
soul of Joe Tex and like Tex can really put across a good
story in song. He alternated between that style and a smoother
southern soul delivery. There's some very good material
here (almost all written by Patterson and longtime collaborator
Jerry Strickland) backed by a funky, skin-tight rhythm section.
The punchy opener, "Right on Jody", is an answer
song to Johnnie Taylor's "Jody Got Your Girl and Gone,"
"If You Took A Survey" is a simmering cheating
number, "How Do You Spell Love?" sports a tough
as nails groove with a nasty guitar riff, "Quiet! Do
Not Disturb" is another frenetic workout while "She
Don't Have To See You (To See Through You)" is a gorgeous
deep soul number with a strong Joe Tex vibe (a single and
LP version are both included). Top drawer soul all the way.
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The
Iceman at Mount Fuji is a live recording from the
1992 Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival which was first issued as a
DVD in 2003. Collins would pass away a year later but on
these recordings he's at the peak of his powers. Collins
was an electrifying performer and that comes through loud
and clear on this recording. Collins' guitar is way out
front here, which is the way it should be, and his aggressive,
distinctive playing is outstanding throughout. Backing Collins
is a good band who acquit themselves very well. The only
problem with this disc is that it collects two performances
Collins did that day so we get four songs that are done
twice and a couple of the songs are among the longest. Also
the track listing is totally jumbled with two songs not
even listed! Of course the music is what matters and on
that score little fault can be found. The disc opens with
a blistering "Iceman" (both versions are red hot),
a funky "Put The Shoe On The Other Foot", torrid
takes on "If You Love Me Like You Say" and "Honey
Hush" and a tour-de-force workout on "Frosty."
Bill Dahl provides some good notes on Collins' career, although
has relatively little to say about these actual performances.
Albert Collins fans will certainly want this one in their
collections.
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Johnny
Nicholas isn't exactly a household name although this fine
bluesman has impressive credentials which include producing
and playing with Walter Horton, Roomful Of Blues, Asleep
At The Wheel, Long John Hunter, Snooky Pryor and Johnny
Shines. He's cut little under his own outside of a fine
one for Blind Pig and the exceptional "Rockin' My Blues
To Sleep" in 2001 on the Topcat label. Thrill
On The Hill is a remastered reissue of his superb
1994 Antones release with four unreleased cuts. "Thrill
On The Hill" was recorded live at Nicholas' own Hilltop
Cafe ("inconveniently located in the middle of nowhere")
and is a steamy set of traditional down-home blues. Nicholas
sings and plays guitar, harp, mandolin, keyboards and is
helped out by a terrific little band. The set list is mostly
traditional including three by Robert Johnson with fine
solo versions of "Kind Hearted Woman" featuring
some effective falsetto and the risque "Phonograph
Blues." Other highlights include L.C. Robinson's "House
Cleaning Blues", a hand clapping, acapella version
of "John The Revelator" and the Chicago blues
styled "Sleeping With The Devil" featuring some
tough slide work. Johnny Nicholas is a bluesman who can
do it all and makes it sound easy on this thoroughly engaging
album. Nicholas' bandmates aren't listed but they provide
stellar ensemble playing throughout. If you didn't grab
this the first time don't miss it the second time around.
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