New Releases -
October 2001
Whiteley Bros. Taking Our Time
Borealis BCD-135/Festival
It is not unusual for Ken and Chris Whiteley to appear in this column, together or singly - in fact it's difficult to come up with a name in the music business who has not involved one or the other of them in some capacity. But this is the first time these two multi-talented multi-instrumentalists have decided to do it all themselves, no rhythm section, no backup singers, nada. The most important thing they've done here though, together and separately, is come up with some fine songs. "Looking For The Blues", "I'll Be Looking For You" and "Stranger In Your Home" are among the very best new songs I've heard anywhere. There are also some truly fine musical touches: the Lonnie Johnson sound to "Homeless Man", the decision to use a unison trumpet/slide guitar on the melody of "I'll Be Looking For You" with a jug bass line, the John Lee Hooker-ish "Shufflin' and Shaggin'" and the stringband sound of "Saskatchewan Blues". To keep things from getting too serious, "I Don't Mind" is a plea for a share of a partner's lottery winnings that will keep a smile on your face for its 3:55. "Hold It", "Perfume And Tobacco", "On This Journey" and "Take Your Time" are perhaps less of blues interest but are excellent songs nonetheless. Most every instrument we've seen them play shows up at one point or another and always appropriately. They'll be playing them all at the CD Release Party and all the details are on page 3. See you there.
Curly Bridges Mr. Rock `N' Soul
Electro-Fi 3369/Festival
Some months ago I wondered in this column if Electro-Fi could arrange to re-issue some of Curly Bridges' impossible-to-find Toronto recordings. Label owner Andrew Galloway later told me he wasn't sure who would buy such an album but an even better solution was found in new recordings of some of those songs. "Mr Rock `n' Soul" was on a 1972 LP called Chip Dip on Paragon Records according to info supplied by Bill Munson, the archivist who discovered Curly in semi-retirement in Barrie. "Ya Ya", from the same LP is also here. The rest of the songs here were probably in the set list all this time, if not recorded, and receive spirited performances from Curly and the re-assembled crew. They are: Chris Whiteley on harp, trumpet & guitar, Bucky Berger on drums, Victor Bateman, bass and Dan Whiteley, guitar. Pat Carey on saxes replaces John Deehan from the cast on Keys To The Blues, the brilliant comeback CD. "You're The One (That I Adore)" was originally a Bobby "Blue" Bland Duke single from 1961 that is just one of the gems here, as is Chuck Willis' "What Am I Living For" from 1958 and "I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts of Town", the Casey Bill Weldon country blues revived forever by Louis Jordan and given a Chicago style treatment here with a fabulous harp solo from Chris. It's a lifetime of performing that also shows how to do "Little Red Rooster", "Caledonia" and "Mo-Jo Re:Worked" - they were the hits then and for many people they still are.
Mel Brown & The Homewreckers Homewreckin' Done Live
Electro-Fi 3370/Festival
Before the Handy Award and before signing with Electro-Fi, Mel Brown & The Homewreckers recorded an album(two actually, the other with Angel on vocals) at his regular Thursday gig at Wally's in downtown Guelph. Homewreckin' Done Live is the Live At Wally's album from 1998 with some spiffy new artwork and much improved distribution. This is what I wrote then: the performance "is with his fine trio: John Lee on keys, Al on bass & Jim Boudreau on drums with David Wiffen guesting on sax and features Mel on vocals. Considering that he rarely speaks, the fact that he sings makes this something of a milestone. I shouldn't think he'll want to put his guitar down any time soon but he mostly stays within his range and gets the job done. John Lee takes the vocal on "Honey Bee". The ten songs are all covers and the production, by Mel and Dave Ellerson, succeeds in putting you right there in the club." Still true and with some extended soloing by Mel on "The Sky Is Crying", "I'll Play The Blues For You" and "Spoonful". Make sure you get the album this time around. The website is www.electrofi.com.
Nanette Workman Roots `N' Blues disques BROS BROS-11001
You will have noticed our cover story on this show business veteran by now so I'll just write about her 16th CD. It starts out with a fine version of "Breaking Up Somebody's Home", a la Etta James, with strong lead guitar work from arranger Steve Hill and you might expect from that and the title that a covers album is what's on offer here as she remembers her Jackson, Mississippi, background and the music she heard (and hears) there but there's rather more here than that: six of the songs are Workman originals (some with brother Billy), there's one by Ray Bonneville and an acoustic ballad by Rob Lutes to go along with the Leiber-Stoller "I'm A Woman" and "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen(!).
With that one acoustic exception this is an rocking, electric album with, on most tracks, Hill (or Billy Workman) on guitars; Bob Stagg, keyboards; Tim Loftin, bass and Sebastien Langlois, drums. The tough vocals continue as "So Hard To Do" leads off the strong originals (with some fine harp from Guy Belanger) followed by Bonneville's "Trouble Come Around" before we get to the anthem "I'm A Woman" and they don't let up until "At The Mercy", the Lutes ballad with Lutes and Rob MacDonald on guitars, Rick Howart on dobro, pedal steel & mandolin and Stephen Barry on bass. Workman has no trouble switching gears on the vocals. "Hallelujah" gets a slow, more conventional, gospel treatment that I'm sure would receive Cohen approval.
Workman was inducted into the Mississippi Hall Of Fame in the Contemporary Pop category but contributes some fine blues vocalizing here. Something very much to look forward to at The Women's Blues Revue!
Blues Parlour One Way Ticket To The Blues Blues Parlour BLP444/Indie
A little lull in new releases allows me to backtrack a little. This band almost made the short list for the Talent Search and so perhaps should lead the queue. Working for the past five years in the Orillia area, Blues Parlour is a quartet with Mike Battram on vocals, guitars & harmonica; Hugh Hardy on guitars (and emails); John Shand on vocals & bass and Ian Black on drums; horns and keyboards are added on a couple of songs. The overall sound is much closer to rock with some R&B than blues despite the use of the word blues throughout but then this sound probably keeps them working in the clubs. Of the eleven songs, seven are by the band, with Battram's name appearing in the credits most often. "Hindsight" and "When You're Not Around" are the best of these. Of the others, Tony D's "She's In Love" may be the best performance on the disc and Roy Head's "Treat Her Right" gets a good workout (it sounds like it could be a live favourite). One of the singers has a much more distinctive voice than the other and some of the guitar solos are a little indulgent but with a little more work on their original material, this band could move to the next level. Even now, if you saw their name on a marquee, it might be an evening well spent. Their attractive website is at www.realtyguy.com/bluesparlour.
Odetta Lookin' For A Home
M.C. MC-0044
Odetta's return to international prominence continues with this Leadbelly tribute, adding to her last M.C. CD, Blues Everywhere I Go, and her acclaimed live shows. She has been performing some of these songs for her entire career and the combination of these insights with these new acoustic arrangements and spirited performances makes this CD sound vital and fresh. Jimmy Vivino leads a group of topflight players, including Kim Wilson on harmonica and Gatemouth Brown on violin, in settings that are always appropriate. She wastes no time getting down to business with Leadbelly's most famous song, "Goodnight Irene", as the opener in a New Orleans-style second line setting that boldly announces her intentions. "In The Pines"'s arrangement is so different it seems a new song, with only its familiar lyric to remind you. Lead Belly's career led him to record his non-blues repertoire several times and sometimes his ability as a bluesman gets overlooked. A number of the songs here should help correct that: "You Don't Know My Mind", "How Long", "Bourgeois Blues", "New Orleans", "Easy Rider", whether they are twelve bars or not. This one's highly recommended.
Eric Bibb Painting Signs EarthBeat 74382/Festival
For better or worse, Sweden-based Eric Bibb is grouped with Guy Davis, Corey Harris, Keb' Mo' et al and each seems to have chosen a niche. Bibb's albums have a stronger religious element than those of the others both in song and in guest selection. His fourth for EarthBeat is dedicated to the memory of Pops Staples and "Got To Do Better", with labelmate Linda Tillery and Emma Jean Foster comes very close indeed to the Staple Singers style and message. Rev. Gary Davis' "I Heard The Angels Singing" and a subdued version of Jimi Hendrix' "Angel" with just Janne Petersson on piano are highlights as are Jimmy Reed's "Honest I Do', the overt blues content, and the live gospel closer, " Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down", with none other than Wilson Pickett on co-lead vocal with Tillery's Cultural Heritage Choir, Hans Theesink and his tuba player Jon Saas and our own Colin Linden on acoustic guitar. EarthBeat's website is www.earthbeatrecords.com or go to www.ericbibb.com for more.
Various Artists Down The Dirt Road-The Songs Of Charley Patton TelarcBlues 83535 /Universal
Charley Patton's place of honour in the earliest history of the blues is undisputed but that's largely because we are told that. Few people know his music very well - the available original recordings are so worn that they tax the patience of almost everyone and the masters were lost long ago. The aural difference between these scratchy Paramounts and the properly-recorded (and transferred) 78's of Robert Johnson or Bukka White, say, is dramatic and is surely the important reason they are better known names. The success of an album like this then, combined with new, improved transfers of the originals should correct the imbalance. Catfish has recently issued a three CD set of the complete available recordings from more recently discovered 78's, using the latest transfer technology and I'm told that Revenant's forthcoming comprehensive, seven CD package sounds even better. I'm glad to write that the performances here are an enjoyable way of getting to know the songs before (re-)investing in the originals. Unlike the previous albums in Telarc's Tribute series, it seems the artists did not all troop off to the studio in bucolic rural Maine to record but sent along tapes recorded on their own. The result is an unusual variety of sound, each suited to the chosen song, but with no loss in quality or consistency. Steve James' "Elder Greene Blues" is a stunning album opener and a delight to listen to while you read his beautifully-written notes; he returns later with Mark Rubin's tuba for a rollicking "Shake it and Break It" that gives some idea of Patton's legendary performing antics. Snooky Pryor on just vocals and harp was an inspired choice for "Pony Blues". Guy Davis uses the band from his last album, including Levon Helm, to good effect on "Some Of These Days", followed by Joe Louis Walker sliding through "Sugar Mama". Corey Harris contributes an all-too-brief "Moon Going Down, but brevity is a lesson newcomer Colleen Sexton should have learned before contributing her nine minute closing medley. You might also check out Bob Dylan's "High Water (for Charley Patton)" on his new Love And Theft.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@home.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2001