July
2003
Jerome
Godboo Live at Healey's Healey's
Various Artists Live at Healey's Healey's
Both these discs come from the Thursday night Jeff Healey Live sets at the club, recorded over several nights. Jerome's CD is easily his best so far. He sounds comfortable and assured singing what is for him a straight blues set and his harp work is perfectly appropriate for each song, never flashy. There are four different bands backing Jerome but he maintains a cohesiveness that might otherwise be lost. The sound is what might be called contemporary/traditional, with "Jesse" for instance, being an original lyric over a "funky, "Help Me" structure with some nice organ work from Rod Philips. "I Stand Up For My Baby" is another original, a slow blues with lead guitar work from Damien Arokien. "Low Yo-Yo" has some blues-rock guitar from Kurt Shefter and heavily amplified harp from Jerome who often uses the harp mike for his vocals. Slim Harpo's "Teena Neena Nu" seems to have gone over very well indeed with the audience that night. "October 17" deals with the passing of a friend and is taken at a faster clip than one expects for this subject but it works. "Where's My Money" is from the first Sons of the Blues album and it gets a very good workout here with a group vocal. Jeff Healey and his band get the closing duties on this disc with "Sing for My Supper", a ten-minute plus jam with lots of fine repartee and guitar work from Jeff & Pat Rush. A good time was obviously had by all. You can join in on the fun when this CD is officially released at Healey's on July 24th.
Jerome
was also the producer of the other disc and it's available now. It features
performances from ten other singers plus Jerome and opens with
Michael Pickett and his "World Gone Crazy". As with the
Live at Grossman's LP's, each song has a different band so I'll mention
only it's singer. Peterborough's
Lil Jimmy Bowskill was eleven years old on this evening and his version
of "Kind Hearted Woman" sounds odd at first but he draws you in very
quickly. This is his first recording and his first full CD will be reviewed here
next month as he'll be a featured guest at the
Southside Shuffle on Sept. 5-7 in Port Credit. That festival's director
is
Chuck Jackson and he chose "House of the Rising Son", with
Rod Phillips taking the organ duties. Danko
Jones aka "Mango Kid" is up next with
Joe Turner's "The Sun is Shining".
Shannon Fayth leads the Tuesday jams at the club and she chose "Feelin'
Alright."
Suzie McNeil does vocals on Tina
Turner's "Sexy Ida". Jeff
Healey contributes a fine, slow "Back O' Town Blues" and
Jake Chisholm "Old Man Mose", a
Louis Armstrong song from his CD. Dawn Tyler
Watson does "Cigarette" from her Ten Dollar
Dress CD. Pat Rush has two, "She Loves My Automobile" and
Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein". Jerome Godboo closes things out
with "Voodoo Chile", a performance that might have seemed a little out
of place on his own disc. As you can tell from the list, the program is
interesting and varied, the performances are well chosen. B
Ronnie
Hawkins Still Cruisin' Hawk 0515
With all of the news stories about Hawkins and his battle with cancer recently, it seemed odd to me that little mention has been made of this CD of new material by central figure in our music history. It was assembled over a couple of years and features a guest list longer than the space allowed for this column but fortunately, the spotlight is on Hawkins all the way. The new songs are good, the leader is in excellent voice and no one should think that he'll be retiring any time soon. "Can't Stop Rockin'" is a rousing opener by son Robin that effectively pays tribute to the entire rockabilly lexicon. "Friendship" is a country duet with Kris Kristofferson, the one guest aurally obvious. Ray Bonneville's "Foolish" emphasizes the country side of his songwriting. "Dangerous" gets the blues side of things moving with a fine solo from Jerome Godboo, who holds down the harp spot in The Hawks currently. Alex Harvey's "Five Dollar Fine for Whining" gets the award today for clever song and Hawkins does a fine job with Lazy Lester's "I'm A Lover Not A Fighter". The most famous version of the Hawks of course became The Band and their distinctive sound is beautifully represented here by Colin Linden's "Promise Road". I'm assuming here that it's Colin's band with Richard Bell on keyboards. Robbie Robertson does guest on the album and Levon Helm is the drummer on "Down in the Alley", at least, but it's hard to tell without a detailed program, assuming that such careful records were kept! Also blues friendly is the funky "If That's What I Get". All in all this is a worthy CD for your collection and not just for sentimental reasons. The web site is www.pipcom.com/~thehawk.
Various
Artists Johnny's Blues NorthernBlues NBM0017/Festival
When I first heard about this project I stared in disbelief: a blues tribute to Johnny Cash? The man's voice and his songs are so inextricably entwined in my mind as a mainspring of country music that blues versions of the songs seemed to be a contradiction. While I still think I was mostly correct, this is still a very worthwhile acquisition. The most telling sign of the success of this CD is the fact that Cash's unique baritone is not missed. Paul Reddick takes Cash's "Train of Love" to the Hill Country with rousing Mississippi Fred McDowell slide from Colin Linden. Gatemouth Brown then trades lines with Benjy Davis on "Get Rhythm" with more than a nod to the Ry Cooder version. Maria Muldaur, with Del Rey on guitar, does a marvelous country blues "Walking the Blues" and Chris Thomas King combines the Cash version of "Rock Island Line" with Lead Belly's in a performance that is closer to Lead Belly than Cash. "I Walk the Line" is perhaps the song that for me is most "blues-resistant" and Garland Jeffreys successfully solves the problem with a cajun accordion. Blackie & the Rodeo Kings marry "Fulsom Prison Blues" to Howling Wolf's "Forty-Four" for another of the tribute's highlights. As is Harry Manx's "Long Black Veil" which gets recast distinctively through his blues/Indian style. An especially noteworthy contribution is the background vocal trio. Alvin Youngblood Hart does a convincing but disappointingly straightforward version of Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". Sleepy LaBeef does a fine take on "Frankie's Man Johnny", which he claims no one else has covered. While he has recorded some fine blues in his long career he does it straight rockabilly here. Corey Harris tackles "Redemption" with a Rastafarian beat which is going to take a little getting used to but it his performance certainly enhances his position at the cutting edge of mixing traditions. Kevin Breit decided to do "Send a Picture of Mother" with various stringed instruments carrying the melody and interestingly adds some Mariachi horns, something Cash did himself, of course, for "Ring of Fire". Colin Linden, as Executive Producer, is the masterful guiding hand behind this project and has already contributed to Paul Reddick's song and as a member of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings. His own treatment of "Big River", while a valuable addition to his own work, isn't particularly bluesy. Neither is Mavis Staples' version of "Will the Circle be Unbroken" but the song was performed by the Staple Singers, at the Cashs' invitation, at the Grand Old Opry where they all sang this together. Jim Weider effectively recalls Pops Staples' guitar in a fitting conclusion to a tribute that should proudly join the other recent acknowledgements of Mr. Cash's contribution to American music.
Etta James Let's Roll Private Music 11646/BMG
The title is the same reference Neil Young used for his song about 9/11 but Ms. James' tribute CD rocks a lot harder. Much of the material comes from Delbert McClinton and/or his piano player, Gary Nicholson and the twin guitars of Bobby Murray & Josh Sklar give a Stones-ish feel to the album. This should be all the evidence you need that this one is not for the faint-hearted. Etta roars over this band as she has rarely done recently and these songs are worth the effort. "The Blues is my Business (and Business is Good)" and "Stacked Deck" provide some straight ahead blues and "Leap of Faith " & "On the 7th Day" some gospel but the rocking blues dominate here. "Somebody to Love" (not that one), "Strongest Weakness", "Lie No Better (Better Tell the Truth)", "Trust Yourself" and "Old Weakness" provide a song lineup that few recent CD's can match. Strongly recommended.
B. B. King Reflections MCA B000053202/Universal
In listening to the re-grouped Crusaders CD, Rural Renewal, I was thinking that it would be nice to re-unite them with B. B.; their late `70's albums together, Midnight Believer & Take It Home, were B. B. career highlights for me. And lo & behold here we have their keyboard man Joe Sample on board and Simon Climie in the producer's chair not with new material, but with a selection of R&B standards that B. B. has always wanted to record. The result is a delightful change of pace in an otherwise crowded discography. Fortunately for us, B. B.'s taste in material takes in some seldom-heard masterpieces and Climie's production cloaks them in a modern sheen - even Lonnie Johnson's "Tomorrow Night" becomes palatable. "Neighborhood Affair" is from his own back catalogue (RPM 391, 1953) and was an unusual song choice, almost doo wop, and relegated to a "B" side. It was also revived for the Guess Who album but greatly benefits from the new arrangement and the company here. "There I've Said It Again" has been recorded by Vaughn Monroe and Nat "King" Cole, among many others but I think I'll be coming back to this version. The CD closes on a most unusual choice in Louis Armstrong's great signature song, "What a Wonderful World" but I think B. B. really does it justice, perhaps because he clearly believes that it's true. As with the Etta James CD, these veterans are both well served by albums they believe in and it shows in their performance. This type of CD does not call for a lot of guitar soloing but there is enough to satisfy.
Liz
Mandville Greeson Back in Love Again
Earwig 4949
Earwig Music is a Chicago company that's often lost in the spotlight around Alligator but Michael Franks has been recording worthy blues men & women for more than twenty years. Mandville Greeson's third for the label showcases both her songwriting and her development as a more all-round singer. Previous CD's and especially her live shows emphasized a well-travelled image that relied more on volume and bravado than craft. All the songs here are hers and cover a wide variety of styles and moods. Soul, blues/rock, gospel and blues are here, covering as she writes in the notes, "the dark side of love". A basic blues band is augmented occasionally & effectively by back up singers, horns and on "The Gift", a cello. "Juicehead Blues", "All Alone", "Johnny and Me" and "Broken-Hearted Fool" head up the solid blues tracks. "Soul Tender" and "For Real" are soul highlights but there isn't a bad song here. Visit her site at www.lizmandvillegreeson.com and Earwig at www.earwigmusic.com.
Various
Artists Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues-A Musical Journey
This is the Year of the Blues as designated by the U.S. Congress and the blues equivalent of Ken Burns Jazz is barreling towards us. The primary vehicle is seven PBS Specials starting in the fall. Each will also be available simultaneously on DVD (all with extra features and as a box set). There will also be a companion book, a double CD overview, a 4-CD History of the Blues, soundtracks of the TV specials and multiple individual artist CD's. The films are:
Feel Like Going Home, directed by Martin Scorsese
A journey from the Niger River in Mali to the Mississippi Delta, with performances by Ali Farke Toure, Salif Keita, Taj Mahal, Corey Harris, Otha Turner and rare archival footage.
Warming By the Devil's Fire, by Charles Burnett
This is a tale of a young boy and his family in Mississippi in 1955 with the heavenly strains of gospel and the devilish moans of the blues.
The Road to Memphis, by Richard Pearce
He shows us the musical odyssey of B. B. King, with performances by B. B., Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon & Ike Turner.
The Soul of a Man, by Wim Wenders
He explores the lives of his favourite artists: Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson & J.B. Lenoir. It includes archival footage and performances by contemporary musicians.
Piano Blues, by Clint Eastwood
A lifelong passion for piano blues uses a treasure of rare historical acts with interviews & performances by Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Little Richard & Dr. John.
Godfathers and Sons, by Marc Levin
He travels with hip hop legend Chuck D and Marshall Chess to explore the heyday of Chicago Blues. It features never-before-seen footage of Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and original performances by Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Magic Slim, Ike Turner & Sam Lay.
Red, White and Blues, by Mike Figgis
He joins Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Tom Jones performing and talking about the British invasion, which re-introduced the blues to North America.
There is a web site up and running, www.yearoftheblues.org, which includes much valuable information including a list of must-have blues recordings and listings for radio programs.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2003