New Releases -
November 2001
Long John Baldry Remembering
Leadbelly Stony Plain SPCD 1275/Warner
Long John Baldry has declared this to be the most important album of his career and it shows in every aspect of this production. Baldry traces his career back to hearing Lonnie Donegan's 78 rpm of Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line" when he was 14. Leadbelly's music had been a central part of the English scene for more than a decade and how well Baldry learned his lessons is evident throughout - he has lived these songs. And, much like Odetta's new CD, he has re-created these songs, they aren't simply newly- recorded staples from his show. Each one gets a new arrangement that is true to the spirit of the song if not necessarily to Leadbelly's recording(s) of it. Variety is the key here with Baldry's voice and guitar augmented by horn sections, vocal choruses, electric guitars, mandolin, accordion, fiddle, etc. as necessary. One sound returns throughout and that is the distinctive presence of the Dixieland clarinet - the trad jazz trademark that we don't normally associate in this context but which was so very much a part of his beginnings. Fifty years on and away from that tradition, it lends an interesting and unusual colour. Special mention should go to the performances of the hard-rocking "Rock Island Line", the old 78-sounding intro to "Good Morning Blues" that then edits directly to a horn riff by the full band, the vocal artistry of "Here Rattler", the hurdy gurdy accompaniment to "John Hardy" and the electric fiddle of "Gallow's Pole". The sixteen songs are augmented by two interviews, one of Leadbelly by the mentor & folklorist Alan Lomax and of Baldry by Holger Petersen. Baldry's live shows will feature Leadbelly songs for the near future and I hope he stops here.
Sue Foley Back To The Blues/Secret
Weapon Antone's ANT 50 (Import)
Two titles because this CD exists in two forms with different artwork but with the same music on the silver disc. In this JUNO-winning & Bishopstock Festival-invited banner year for Ms. Foley, Antone's, her old Texas label, thought that issuing these songs left over from two of her four albums was a good idea. I think so too, although Foley's management could not convince anyone to release it here(I think this is where the 2nd version, Secret Weapon, came into the picture). It therefore remains an expensive import and that's a pity. As with those earlier albums, the emphasis here is on a "young chick with a guitar" making swamp blues and Earl Hooker instrumentals the order of the day(No bad thing, eh?). Her Memphis Minnie-style vocals add to the flavour of what were, in hindsight, simpler times. Highlights are "If You Think I've Lost You" a la Lazy Lester, an excellent acoustic "Can't Afford To Do It", an anger-less but curiously still-effective version of Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street" along with "Gone Blind", a fine original from a stray session with just Kim Wilson on harp. Winnipeg's Jon Penner was her longtime bass player and he's on most of the songs here. Available at HMV and most US websites but you should check out the other fine Antone's blues albums while you're shopping at www.antonesrec.com. See you at the Women's Blues Revue.
John Campbelljohn Nerves Of Steel Nood 005/Festival
Cape Breton's slide guitar master has some new songs he wants you to hear. He adds lap steel and occasional harmonica to his armory with Bruce Moore on bass & a lead vocal and Steve Preeper on drums and percussion. Lennart Krogoll produced and together they've come up with a good-sounding consistently-interesting small group CD. Some fine song lyrics may be Campbelljohn's most important contribution, though: "(I Ain't)No Philosopher" and "I'd Rather Be Rich Than Famous" start things off in a fashion that should go over like gangbusters at your local bluesbar and "Guilt Trips" will make them switch to the hard stuff. The title song, the reggae-tinged, sarcasm-filled "Nerves Of Steel", picks the pace up again, as does the solo slide accompanied "Honey, I've Had My Fill" and the dancefloor-filler Chuck Berry-ish "Let's Get Twisted". This band doesn't get here very often but I hope they bring these songs here soon. Visit www.campbelljohn.ca.
Lance Anderson Shorthanded Make It Real MIR 003
Local piano veteran Anderson was one of Professor Piano's guests on his second CD and also a member and the prime mover of the 2B3 CD a year or so ago. His solo CD on his own Make It Real label is subtitled Blues, Boogie and Stomps and that's just about all you need to know about it: a lifetime of blues piano is distilled in these 19 songs, with the starting points helpfully supplied in the liner notes. Anderson's two main wells of inspiration, the New Orleans masters and Oscar Peterson are, of course, well represented. Although a longtime Orillia resident, Lance holds forth every Wednesday at The Rockit, 120 Church St. and that might be the best place to acquire this CD, otherwise, check out www.makeitrealrecords.com.
Little Bobby & The Jumpstarts Tickets In The Glove
Box Indie
Oshawa's Little Bobby (Chorney) has been playing the blues for fifteen years, say his liner notes, and all I can say is it's too bad we didn't have a recording to enjoy earlier. They also say that he wanted the CD to reflect what clubgoers would hear so we get two styles: a straight ahead Chicago one and one based on Rod Piazza's West Coast/Little Walter style. The band performs very well in both but would probably do well to chose one or the other, even if only for recording. Bobby is a talented, expressive singer who has learned his craft well and he has assembled a good little band with Pete Schmidt on guitar; most often Chueng Lui on bass and Bob Vespaziani, drums. For the CD, Mel Brown and Julian Fauth alternate on piano and Chris Murphy contributes the horn parts. Schmidt and Fauth appear on Dave Rotundo's recent CD as well, if those names look familiar. As good as the non-originals are, though, it's Little Bobby's own songs that generate some buzz: "Don't Get Caught Looking", No Second Chances" "4 O'Clock In The Morning" and especially the title song, "Tickets In The Glove Box" are all excellent. The CD release is at the Silver Dollar November 23rd. Mel Brown, and mentor Gary Kendall will be there.
Wayne Buttery & The Groove Project Waiting WPGP-0001 Indie
This veteran Orillia-based band is normally a quartet with Buttery on vocals & guitar, Bob Federer on keyboards, Dennis King on vocals & drums and Charlie Hinkel on vocals & bass. For a couple of songs on this CD, Simon Wallis, saxophones and Paul Robillard, trumpet were brought on board and Steve Thomas guests on harp throughout. Federer's B3 is the most prominent sound and with Buttery on vocals, that gives them a `60's R&B feel. They open and close the album with Little Milton songs and that should give you some idea of the music they perform here. Ten of the remaining songs are band originals and of these, "Waiting", the title song (by Hinkel) and"Are You Doin' It Alone", with its acoustic intro, (by Buttery) are the best. "Waiting" is a well-written tender ballad done as a duo by Hinkel & Buttery and "Doin' It" is a mid tempo blues with a nice vocal a slide guitar part. Sound files are available at www3.sympatico.ca/wayne.buttery.
Chris Thomas King The Legend Of Tommy Johnson Stony Plain SPCD 1279/Warner
The emphasis is on the word legend. Mr. Thomas King played bluesman Tommy Johnson in the wildly successful O Brother, Where Art Thou film and this CD is a delightful extension of that role. He has manufactured a history complete with liner notes by a fictitious musicologist to take this Tommy McDowell Johnson into the modern era from the time of the action of the film. The academic writes about recordings from the `30's, never-released electric ones from the `50's, the "missing years" in a New Orleans juke and how nice it is to have a New York rock band finally covering the songs! Thomas King supplies great original music for all this and plays all the instruments: "O Brother, Where Art Thou", "John Law Burned Down The Liquor Sto'" (done live with Colin Linden on the O Brother live concert CD, Down From The Mountain), "Do Fries Go With That Shake?" (from the "electric" period!) to name just three highlights. Fans hoping for a full traditional blues album from this talented young man might be slightly disappointed at first but the concept has clearly inspired him and we can all chuckle along until Act II arrives.
R.L. Burnside Burnside on Burnside Fat Possum Epitaph 80343
Well, well, after several albums of R.L. in a variety of modern and rock settings comes this unadorned live set before appreciative audiences and it is a treat! All his best known songs are here, in spirited performances with grandson Cedric Burnside on drums and Kenny Brown on the other guitar. This is the band, and the set, you probably heard during his visits here and now you can enjoy it at home. Put a piece of Mississippi in your CD player!
Larry Davis Funny Stuff Rooster Blues ROB-CD 2616
Arthur Williams Midnight Blue Rooster Blues ROB-CD 2646
Eddie "The Chief" Clearwater
Flimdoozie Rooster Blues ROB-CD 2622
Robert "Bilbo" Walker Rock The Night
Rooster Blues ROB-CD 2643
Rooster Blues Records is Jim O'Neal's old label, for which he remains A&R Director. In this batch, we have two new ones and two old friends so long absent to those without turntables they are virtually new. 1982's Funny Stuff won one of the first Handy Awards when it came out and the late Larry Davis was not to record this successfully again. It's a modern blues masterpiece, produced by the legendary Oliver Sain who also plays keyboards and saxes, along with pianist Johnnie Johnson and Ike Turner alumnus Billy Gayles on drums among others. A welcome return indeed. Harp ace Arthur Williams recorded in the `50's and then disappeared into the bars of East St. Louis. Recently he has begun recording again and this new set nudges ahead of the others on the strength of superior songs. 1986's Flimdoozie was only Eddie "The Chief" Clearwater's second LP after some 25 years in Chicago's clubs. There are excellent songs here and Otis Rush's guitar is on five of them - an important return to the discography of a bluesman who still puts out great CD's and puts on one of the best shows around - and he now has his own Chicago club, The Reservation. Veteran Delta bluesman/Bakersfield, CA resident Robert "Bilbo" Walker went to Chicago to record his 2nd CD for Rooster, to The Hideout last February. With Sam Carr on drums and David "Pecan" Porter on bass, a fine Delta jook night clearly was had by all. One of my fondest memories of a '94 trip to Clarksdale is Walker doing B.B. King's "Why I Sing The Blues" (I think the cardboard sign said The Red Top Club) with Walker's guitar very effectively replacing all the studio polish of the original. It's here. Check out www.roosterblues.com.
Other significant releases this month:
Martina Sorbara The Cure For Bad Deeds
Wonderboy
Jackie A Woman's View...Through Child's
Eyes Marshmellow
Ronnie Earl Ronnie Earl and
Friends Telarc/Universal
Kid Ramos Greasy Kid Stuff Evidence
Various Artists Blues Xmas Evidence
Guitar Shorty I Go Wild! Evidence
Beausoliel The Best Of The Crawfish
Years Rounder/Universal
Boozoo Chavis Down Home On Dog
Hill Rounder/Universal
Bobby Hinton Singing The Blues/Umbrella
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@home.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2001