New Releases -
April 2001
John Hammond Wicked Grin Pointblank 50764/EMI
John Hammond's career is so intimately tied our city that I want to begin this month's column with his new album. It has generated so much "buzz" that his record company seems to have been taken by surprise so you might have to search for your copy but however you get it, make sure you get one. Wicked Grin is an entire album of Tom Waits songs, produced by Waits, who also contributes guitar, a duet vocal and two new songs. His most important contribution, though, lies in creating a body of work that lends itself so magnificently to Hammond's first foray into contemporary material, after 35 albums of country blues (with some exceptions). Hammond guested on "Pony" on Waits' Mule Variations of a couple of years ago so their relationship has had time to develop. Wonderfully sympathetic accompaniment is by that same band: Stephen Hodges on percussion, Larry Taylor on bass and Augie Meyers on keyboards in a similar role to the one he played on Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind. This band will be with him on Monday, April 2nd, for the Toronto date on the Wicked Grin tour at the Horseshoe, with Frank Carillo helping out on guitar. Mr. Waits will apparently not be present. Charlie Musselwhite's "filthy-rich harp" (to quote MOJO) is on a couple of songs on the album as well. The songs are from Waits' entire career so "Heartattack And Vine" is here as well as "Big Black Mariah". "Get Behind The Mule" and "Murder In The Red Barn" are the more traditional blues structures but this is a blues album from beginning to end. If you've wondered why you were also a Tom Waits fan, this album is your answer. Visit the Wicked Grin website (www.johnhammond.com - it links to his full bio/disco) and I'll see you at the Horseshoe on April 2nd.
David Gogo Halfway To Memphis Cordova Bay
West Coast-based Gogo's last releases were an acoustic/electric pair full of new originals and versions of songs by the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. Halfway to Memphis sees him recording from the motherlode of bar band blues that are a feature of his live shows for about half the album. The remainder are new songs, including an electric version of the title song from his acoustic Bare Bones CD. The result is a strong blues-rock program from Gogo on guitars and vocals; Bill Hicks, drums; Brendan Hedley or Rick Hopkins, keyboards; Todd Sacerty, bass and Gerry Barnum, harp. If you like lots of electric slide, with organ and harp support, this one's for you and you can catch him live as well: Gogo is currently touring with Ottawa's Tony D in a package called The Back 2 Back Guitar Attack, "perhaps one of the most exciting blues/rock packages this country has seen in years. The show is very electric with each artist doing their own set with the band followed by an all-out barn burner jam session together for the show finale" (to quote the press release). The tour lands at the Silver Dollar Room, Saturday, March 31. Check out www.davidgogo.org.
Thor & The Thundercats Diggin It! Bluestone TT-002
Also from Vancouver Island, Thor Kristinsson leads what appears from their photo to be a band of veteran players. The album was recorded live at three Island pubs and consists of six originals by Thor and four covers by T-Bone Walker ("Stormy Monday"), Ronnie Earl ("Stickin'"), John Lee Hooker ("Bang, Bang, Bang") and a fine version of "Tequila". Besides Thor on guitar and vocals, the lineup has Dave Blinzinger Jr., tenor sax; Wayne Diggins, alto sax; Hoss Kristinsson, bass and Ray Flatman, drums. Snuffy Ladret guests on trumpet and Shaky Reay Seuter on harp. Thor is a fine singer and songwriter and on the strength of this album, you would enjoy an evening with them, should you get a chance. A fine calling card. They have a website-www.seaside.net/thundercats.
Otis Taylor white african Northernblues NBM0002/Festival
Taylor is of mixed Caucasian/African-American heritage, his first album was called blue-eyed monster, and he has used this heritage to act as a kind of bridge between the two in order to point out the enormous injustices faced by African-Americans. On this album, tales of wrongly accused hobos, fathers with children dying because they can't afford the medication and survivors of a lynched man struggling on are mixed with more "usual" stories of failed relationships are told/sung by Taylor accompanying himself on acoustic guitar or banjo. He gets very effective support from Kenny Passarelli on bass & keyboards; Eddie Turner on occasional lead guitar and Cassie Taylor on background vocals along with some telling sound effects. Not for easy listening but his best album yet. Check out www.northernblues.com.
Billy Boy Arnold Boogie `n'
Shuffle Stony Plain SPCD 1266/Warner Music
Arnold's great mid-`50'sVee Jay singles, "I Ain't Got You" and "I Wish You Would" were heard by most all of us when they came back in versions by the Yardbirds and other British blues revival groups and Arnold even lived there for a time but he never really went away as far as performing is concerned. He most recently recorded for Alligator with two fine albums produced by Bob Margolin and this new one, under the auspices of Holger Petersen and Duke Robillard may be even better for not putting him in a strictly Chicago setting. With some new and some not overdone older songs, Arnold's John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's-influenced harp stands out, especially when not amplified, and when you add in some trademark horn charts and stellar Duke guitar solos, you have a fine album indeed. Special kudos to pianist Matt McCabe for his work on the title song and also for the Arnold originals "Bad Luck Blues" and "Greenville".
Big Bill Morganfield Ramblin' Mind Blind Pig/Stony Plain/Warner Music
William "Big Bill" Morganfield, Muddy Waters' son, is back with his second album, this one produced by none other than Dick Shurman. With the exception of one song, the band consists of Billy Flynn on guitar; Bill Lupkin or Billy Branch, harp; Mr. B, piano; Nick Moss, bass and Kenny Smith, drums. Taj Mahal, using the Howling Wolf/Blind Willie Johnson growl he's fond of lately, guests on two songs, "Strong Men Holler" (his own composition) and "You're Gonna Miss Me". The one song is "Dirty Dealin' Mama" which appears to be a holdover from the first album. I said in that review that I hoped Morganfield would develop a style that wasn't rooted in early fifties Chicago, that album's overall sound. Well, with him sounding more like his father all the time, it seems there was not much choice but to make a Chicago blues album with new material. In this the assembled crew has been largely successful. All but five of the fourteen songs are credited to William and make for a very solid album in a more modern style. Should you be distracted for any reason, though, you would have to be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled on a lost Muddy Waters album. A song like "People Sure Act Funny" with its striking similarity to "Mojo Working" is all the evidence you need but this is true of several of the other songs as well. It's the fact that the models chosen are so strong that makes this so enjoyable.
Michael Burks Make It Rain Alligator ALCD 4878/Warner Music
Burks is a young guitar ace based in Arkansas with an auspicious debut album on tiny Vent Records, From The Inside Out, that got him a slot at last June's Chicago Blues Festival. Alligator Records signed him on the spot and this album should be a great boost to his career. The Flying V guitar you see on the cover is no accident-Albert King and especially his vocals have been a huge influence as "Begging Business" and "Everybody's Got Their Hand Out" show. One gets the impression, though, that, like Carl Weathersby, Burks will move on, no problem. Perhaps he'll pick up from where Luther Allison left off. The Jim Gaines production and the similar two guitars, organ, bass & drums lineup lead that way. "Thank God For Fools", "Make It Rain" and "Voodoo Spell" (for just elecric guitar & vocal) are standout tracks.
Carey Bell, Lazy Lester, Raful Neal & Snooky Pryor Superharps II TelarcBlues 83514/Universal
Superharps (I) was a highlight release a couple of years ago and I'm happy to report that volume 2 can sit proudly beside that one on every blues harp fan and blues lover's shelf. As with the first one, the four players get solo spots and combine in pairs in front an excellent band, the same one, with Kid Bangham on guitar, Anthony Geraci on piano, Michael "Mudcat" Ward on bass and Per Hanson on drums. These should all be familiar names to you and their credentials are beyond reproach. As before, "Harp To Harp" is the everyone on board finale. Most importantly, the incredibly high energy level of that first volume continues undiminished. These four harpmen are far less well-known but the music here proves they should not be. The song selection is sometimes obvious for the collectors among us but probably not for most. The interplay that is the feature of this series is the big bonus here and there are more examples than I have room. It's especially nice to hear Raful Neal, the patriarch of the Neal clan, finally getting some exposure.
Luther "Guitar Junior "
Johnson Talkin' About Soul TelarcBlues
83476/Universal
For this album, Johnson did some looking back with new versions of songs he recorded early in his career. The title song was originally on a Big Beat 45rpm(remember those ?) when he still lived in Mississippi. "Somebody Have Mercy" was the song that got him a job with Magic Sam when he arrived in Chicago. "It's Your Thing", the Isley Brothers' hit was a Magic Sam show staple and fellow band member Bobby Rush wrote a take-off called "I'll Pay You Back", Johnson simply runs the two of them together. "Lonesome Whistle Blues" was West Side mainstay Freddie King's second single. The notes say "Come Back Baby" is a first time recording of a Johnson song from this period and claim that would have been a hit had it been recorded; however, the melody sounds suspiciously like a Buster Benton tune, one he recorded as "Spider In My Stew" but back on the West Side, I doubt anyone remembers who did it first. The remainder of the songs are not as closely related to his past and he wrote a couple of fine new ones for the album in "Suffer So Hard With The Blues" and "No Worry No More". "Ramblin' Blues" features Johnson on acoustic with Jerry Portnoy on very effective harp although he plays a little too much on some of the other songs. Dave Maxwell is on keys and special mention must go to Catherine Russell, who duets on "Crazy Over You", a voice to watch for. All in all, a fine addition to Johnson's discography.
Ernie Hawkins Bluesified Say Mo' SM007
Pittsburgh-based fingerpicker Hawkins was one of the last students Rev. Gary Davis took on and Hawkins has kept the flame burning in the intervening years. A fellow student, Andy Cohen, was assembling a second Davis Tribute CD and invited Hawkins to contribute. There he met another fellow former student, Maria Muldaur, for the first time. Their music making for Andy went so well they recorded another song together - "I Belong To The Band" and it's here as well as on Richland Woman Blues, although I gather Hawkins won't be at the Horseshoe for Muldaur's show on April 11. A couple of other Davis songs are on the program here as well as some Blind Willie McTell. The title song, however is band song triggered by a conversation with Tony D at last year's Ottawa Blues Festival. Tony misheard Blues Advice as the name of Hawkins' CD and thought it was Bluesified. A song was born that night! Hawkins is also getting into the work of the thirties supergroup, The Harlem Hamfats, a brainchild of producer/A&R man J. Mayo Williams who persuaded Delta bluesmen Joe and Charlie McCoy to record with a New Orleans combo. The resulting sound was a huge success, the forerunner of R&B, and a main influence on a young performer by the name of Louis Jordan. For the Hamfats' "Root Hog Or Die", Hawkins adds clarinet player Lou Schrieber to the band and the resulting arrangement could just as easily be Klezmer blues as early R&B. There is also a song by a couple of African musicians, all of which makes for a fascinating listen! It's available, along with Blues Advice and instructional videos, at www.erniehawkins.com.
- John Valenteyn, jayvee@ican.net
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2001