  
 
 
|
 CD Review  Book Review
Page 1 of 2 of Reviews
section
Every month Bad Dog Blues takes a look at the best new
blues releases and offers our opinions, criticism and general ramblings. We'll also take a
look at noteworthy reissues and blues related books. If you happen to disagree, fine, drop
us an e-mail and we'll file it appropriately. Now on to this months reviews:
"And we played it on the sofa, and we
played it side the wall
And we played it on the sofa, and we played it side the wall
But boys, my needles have got rusty, and it
will not play at all"
(Robert Johnson, Phonograph
Blues)
 The
Excello Story Vol. 1-4 (Hip-O)
Think of Excello
Records and most blues fans conjure up the deep, laid back swamp blues of
colorfully named bluesmen such as Lightnin’ Slim, Slim Harpo or Lonesome
Sundown. Almost fifty years after the company’s first recordings the Excello
legend looms large among fans and collectors. There has been a steady stream of
Excello reissues over the years under several different companies. Hip-O
Records, a division of MCA, currently holds the rights and has started their
reissue program with four separate CD’s each taking a chronological look at the
Excello story.
Each CD contains
twenty tracks covering a slice of Excello’s history. Each disc
contains excellent liner notes by Louisiana scholar John Broven who provides a
detailed and entertaining background to place these recordings. What emerges
after listening to these 80 tracks is the consistency and quality of the
R&B and blues that emanated from this small Tennessee label.
Volume 1 covers the
years 1952-1955 and uncovers many hidden gems from the label’s early years.
Certainly the most well known song is Arthur Gunter’s “Baby Let’s Play House”
which achieved lasting fame when Elvis covered it for his fourth Sun single.
The song reached #12 on the R&B charts and is only one of two songs from
this period to see any chart action. Kid King’s Combo earns the honor for the
first Excello record to chart with the catchy Latin flavored instrumental
“Banana Split.” There’s a number of
strong R&B cuts from now forgotten artists such as Jack Cooley’s Rocket
88 inspired “Dyna Flow”, Little Maxie Bailey’s topical “Drive Soldiers Drive”
with references to President Eisenhower and the Korean war and the Chicago
sounding classic “Callin' All Cows” by the Blues Rockers.
Volume 2 covers the
years 1955-1957 and finds Excello hitting its stride with a pair of hits both
backed by Louis Brooks and His Hi-Toppers. “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)”
with vocal by Earl Gaines and “Pleadin’ for Love” with lead by Larry Birdsong
are great slices of R&B that foreshadow 60’s soul music. The first swamp
blues from producer Jay Miller’s Crowley Louisiana studio began to show up on
the Excello label producing a number of classics. Lonesome Sundown’s “My Home
is a Prison”, Lightnin’ Slim’s “Mean Ol’ Lonesome Train”, Lazy Lester’s debut
“They Call Me Lazy” and Slim Harpo’s immortal “I’m a King Bee” can all be found
on this volume.
Volume 3 spans
1957-1961 a finds the label finally breaking into the national charts. The
Gladiolas were first with 1956’s “Little Darlin’” and the volume ends with
another Slim Harpo classic, “Rainin’ In My Heart” which reached #34 on the pop
charts. In between you’ll find such swamp classics as Lightnin’ Slim's “Rooster
Blues”, Lazy Lester’s “I’m a Lover Not a Fighter” and Guitar Gable defining
swamp pop with the soaring “This Should Go On Forever." Lesser known gems
include the straight up soul of Roscoe Shelton’s “Please Think it Over” and the
churchy, souful “Somebody’s Gonna Miss Me” by Lattimore Brown. A pair of
classic rock and roll songs by Warren Storm round out this volume.
Volume 4 covers the
label’s final years from 1961-1975. Swamp blues was still going strong as
evidenced by solid records by veterans Lightnin’ Slim, Lonesome Sundown and
Slim Harpo’s funky R&B #1, “Baby, Scratch My Back.” Louisiana artists Tabby
Thomas, Silas Hogan and Whisperin’ Smith also cut strong records during this
period but the end was near. Founder Ernie Young retired and sold the company
in 1966 to the Crescent Company. The company rode with the times cutting some
fine soul records by Tiny Watkins, Marva Whitney and Kip Anderson among others
until folding in 1975.
The Excello Story
is an important and insightful look at one of the greatest blues and R&B
labels done with class and intelligence. Listening to these four CD’s it’s
remarkable how much timeless music was produced by this small Tennessee label.
(Jeff Harris)
|
 Lonnie
Brooks, Long John Hunter, Phillip Walker:
Lone
Star Shootout (Alligator)
Lone Star Shootout
is a record that has classic written all over it. It’s not hard to see why with
Gulf Coast veterans Lonnie Brooks, Phillip Walker and Long John Hunter all
playing masterfully and with obvious affection for one another. All three are
veterans of an area in Texas known as the Golden Triangle a place where the
Louisiana swamps converge with Texas. The area was a blues hotspot where the
crowds were rough and rowdy and if you couldn’t cut it on the bandstand they
weren’t shy to let you know. It was a time when T-Bone Walker and Gatemouth
Brown ruled the scene, Clifton Chenier ruled the Bayous and a pair of
Lightnin’s, Hopkins and Slim, could be heard on the radio and jukeboxes. All
three paid their dues in this blues hotbed and it’s obvious on this record that those
roots are firmly in place.
Of the three, Lonnie
Brooks is perhaps the best known. In the 50’s he was known as “Guitar Junior”
and was well known locally with hits like “Family Rules”, “The Crawl” and
“Roll, Roll Roll” which he reprises on this record. Brooks came to national
prominence after a string of well received records on Alligator. Long John
Hunter also came to national prominence in the 90’s with Alligator but before
that he was the unofficial blues king of the Golden Triangle region. Both
Walker and Brooks recount idolizing Hunter well before he was known outside of
Texas. Phillip Walker played and competed with Long John for two years and
obviously enjoyed it. Walker went on to be a much in demand session guitarist
as well as putting out some great but under recognized albums on his own.
Lone Star Shootout
is not just a jam session but more like a family reunion with much admiration
between the three as well as a healthy dose of competition. All three are
master guitarists as well as very good singers and the material is a mix of
regional classics and obscurities to some very good new songs. The artists are backed by a killer horn
section as well as guest Marcia Ball on two tracks. Things kick off with a
rockin’ reprise of Brooks 50’s classic “Roll, Roll, Roll” and then moves into
Gatemouth Brown’s “Boogie Rambler” that really cooks with the aid of some great
horns and Walker out in front with some phenomenal guitar work. All three plus
Marcia Ball are on board to tackle the classic “Bon Ton Roulet” as well as a
faithful reading of “This Should Go On
Forever” which has gone on to become a swamp pop classic. Other highlights
include Walker and Hunter with a wonderful take on T-Bone Walker’s “Street
Walking Woman” which ends in full out guitar battle between the two and “Your
Playing Hooky” originally by Lonesome Sundown given a fine workout by Walker
and Brooks. There isn’t a weak track on the record and the interplay between
the three is impeccable.
Alligator should be
commended for bringing these three together as well as going the extra mile to
provide a great band as well. Lonestar Shootout contains everything that makes
Texas blues special and comes highly recommended.
(Jeff Harris)
|
 Earl
Hooker: Simply The Best (MCA)
Let’s get this out
of the way first- Earl Hooker was a monster guitar player. While Hooker’s
recording career was sporadic the quality and innovation of his music is
timeless. “Simply The Best” is an excellent cross section of Hooker’s
recordings for various MCA subsidiaries including Chess, Checker, Argo, Blue
Thumb and Bluesway. This is a welcome compilation culled from rare singles and
out of print LP’s that only solidifies Hooker’s reputation as one of the finest
guitar players of his generation.
Hooker’s chops were
well honed by the time the first of these sides were recorded. In the 40's he
ran away from home to play with the legendary Robert Nighthawk. During this
time he also ran into Sonny Boy Williamson and his King Biscuit Boys often
backing them up on Helena’s KFFA radio. In the 50’s he toured incessantly and
by the time of this CD’s first recordings the Earl Hooker sound was firmly in
place. Not only was he amazingly fast and clear toned but he had the ability to
make his guitar weep, moan and talk the blues like no one before him.
“Simply The Best”
starts off with Hooker laying down some low down slide on Muddy Water’s “You
Shook Me” from 1961. Up next is 1956’s Argo single “Frog Hop” that finds
Hooker, even at this early date, to be a totally unique player coaxing out some
amazing slide guitar sounds on this instrumental workout. There’s a number of
other instrumentals on this collection with special nods going to his
beautiful, laid back reading of “Drivin’ Wheel” and the fast picking, wah-wah
blues of “Universal Rock.” Hooker was one of the first bluesmen to use wah-wah
and special effects. In anyone else’s hands the results might be heavy handed
but Hooker uses it to explore the furthest reaches of blues guitar sounding
like no one you’ve ever heard before. Just listen to the instrumental “Hookin”
or the almost psychcodelic intro to “You Got Lose” and you’d almost believe
aliens had landed and taken up blues guitar. Other highlights include the
straight up Chicago blues of “Come To Me Right Away” with great vocals from
Andrew Odom and “Would You Baby” featuring the under recorded Johnny “Big
Moose” Walker on piano and vocals. The CD closes with a Hooker backing Charles
Brown sympathetically on an updating of his classic “Driftin’ Blues” and
closing with the atmospheric “If you Miss ‘Im…I Got ‘Im…” with cousin John Lee
Hooker on lead vocal exhorting you not to “mess with the Hooker’s.”
“Simply The Best”
cements Earl Hooker’s reputation as one of the blues most far reaching guitar
players and adds to his small but impressive body of work. Next time the
discussion turns to who was the greatest blues guitar player you may want to
simply put this disc on an end any further arguments.
(Jeff Harris) |
 B.B.
King: Live In Japan (MCA)
B.B. King has been
on top so long it’s hard to imagine a time when he wasn’t the reigning king of
the blues. No sound in blues is more recognizable than the notes he’s been
ringing out of his beloved Lucille for the past half century. Yet while King consistently
had hits in the 50’s and 60’s it wasn’t until the beginning of the 70’s that he
achieved across the board acceptance. “Live in Japan” comes from 1971 and is a
brilliant document of King’s coming out to worldwide acclaim. This set has only
been released in Japan and probably would have been release stateside if it
wasn’t for “Live at the Cook County Jail” which had come out just prior to this
concert.
Recorded in Tokyo’s
Sankei Hall, “Live in Japan”, finds B.B. and the band in tremendous form riding
an unparalleled wave of success. The power and confidence come through loud and
clear in every ringing note of the 70 plus minutes of this concert. The set
starts off with a quick, swinging version of “Every Day I Have the Blues” that
makes this familiar song sound fresh. He then launches into a powerful version
of “How Blue Can You Get” with an amazing three-minute intro that explores
every nuance of the song. Other familiar B.B. songs include an authoritative
“Sweet Sixteen” and a powerful version of “The Thrill is Gone” that has the
audience roaring their approval. Certainly one of the many highlights is a
storming version of Sonny Boy’s “Eyesight to the Blind” with the audience
eating up every minute of it. Topping off this set are three long instrumentals
that are a joy to here with great interaction between B.B. and his band.
It’s amazing to
think that 28 years after this recording B.B. King is still the unquestioned
king of the blues. “Live in Japan” is a major league live recording from one of
the blues true stars and ranks as one of his great live recordings.
(Jeff Harris) |
 Hash
Brown's Texas Blues Revue (Cannonball)
Hash Brown’s Texas Blues Revue is proof positive that Texas blues is
alive and doing very well indeed. Hash
Brown may not be well known outside of Dallas but he’s one of that city’s must
prolific session guitarists. On this CD he gathers some of the city’s finest
talent to produce a wonderful swinging record that pays loving homage to the
Texas blues tradition. This CD is a reissue of one that came out in Europe a
few years ago but with an additional cut and remixed with better sound
fidelity.
This is a true
blues revue featuring such Texas luminaries as Sam Myers, Darrell Nulisch, Big
Al Dupree and the late great Zu Zu Bollin. Bollin passed away in 1990 after a
long absence from the music scene and went on to put out one record, the fine
“Texas Bluesman”, in 1989. It’s a real treat to have Bollin’s deep booming
voice on four tracks with the highlights being “Hey Little Girl” and “I Can’t Lose With The Stuff I Use” both solidly in the T-Bone Walker
tradition.
Other guest
vocalists include Sam Myers best know from his work with Anson Funderburgh
& The Rockets and Darrell Nullisch who fronts Texas Heat. Myers is a strong
vocalist and shines on two slow numbers, Robert Lockwood’s “My Daily Wish” and the humorous “Dog In A
Man.” He also lays down some very capable harmonica work as well. Nullisch lends his soulful vocals to two
tracks with a nice reading of Jimmy “T-99” Nelson’s jump blues “I Sat And
Cried.”
Of course what
really holds this record together is the band which is filled out with veteran
Dallas session men including a pair of very good piano players and an excellent
horn section that makes this record swing from start to finish. I should also
probably mention Hash Brown himself who plays fine guitar firmly rooted in the
T-Bone Walker, Gatemouth Brown style and he wraps this CD up with a pair of smokin’ instrumentals. Hash also sings on Pee Wee Crayton’s “Mistreated Blues (“T” Is For Texas) and
proves himself to be a very good singer as well.
Hash Brown’s
Texas Blues Revue does the Texas tradition proud and shows that Texas blues is
still a mighty force. Hash Brown has been a Dallas secret for far to long and
this is a record that should garner him much wider and deserving attention.
(Jeff Harris)
|
More Reviews 
|
