February
2004
The Twisters Live at Harvest
Fest Full Swing FRRCD003/Festival
We must all head to Fredericton this September for this Festival! This is at least the fourth live album drawn from shows there and each one credits its success to the Festival's audience and vibe. For that, Artistic Director Brent Staeben deserves many kudos. With their third CD the augmented Twisters should garner even more nominations this year than last. The Twisters are from Vancouver and are Sandy "Bone" Smith on drums, David "Hurricane" Hoerl on harp, Brandon "Yukon Slim" Isaak on guitar and James "JT Doghouse" Taylor on doghouse bass. Smith, Hoerl and Isaak all share vocal chores. Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne guest on piano and Steve Hilliam on tenor sax. There are a couple of their own songs from their previous CD's plus two new Isaak originals to go with some well-chosen covers for a wonderfully varied set list. "Fulla Hot Air" is the stomping harp instrumental from their first CD and it sets the bar very high indeed. Jay McShann's "Jumpin' Blues" and Slim Harpo's "Dynamite" follow before another Hoerl masterpiece, Rice Miller's "Fattening Frogs for Snakes" with just Taylor on bass, a tour de force. Isaak's "Stay Away Baby", from Long Hard Road, starts picking up the pace again, helped by Jimmy Rogers' "Goin' Away Baby" both featuring Hilliam on tenor. Three more originals head towards the closer, with "Beg, Borrow or Steal" getting a particularly fine workout. The jazzy "Honey Bee" is listed as by `unknown' but features some fine playing from everyone to close out the set. Fortunately, Hilliam and Wayne appear on only a few songs, otherwise the band would have to find gigs as a sextet _ they really fill out the sound. This one should be at a store near you but you should visit www.twisters.ca anyway.
Pappy Johns Band with Murray
Porter Full Circle Indie
Some of this material was part of their fabulous set at the last Soul `n' Blues Festival. They had just returned from playing the Chicago Blues Festival, including a TV appearance there and were obviously raring to play. It was evident at that show that these players are at the top of their game and all that remained was to channel their talents into a worthwhile CD. This is it. Porter's boogie piano intro to his "Make Your Mind Up", with its alternating vocals, to the Faron Johns rocker, "Playing Me" begin a bluesy journey through bar life in Southern Ontario. The soulful "My Baby's Crazy", from Porter's pen, leads to Johns' excellent "Trouble in the Wigwam". "Third Degree" has a fine solo from guitarist Joe Mahfoud. This song, and "Meat on the Bone", use more traditional blues structures and themes but are none the worse for that. "Let's Just Do" is another fine original, by Porter this time. Oren Doxtator on drums and Don Powless on bass round out this powerful unit and shine throughout. Maybe a live album in a `home' club would be a wonderful next project - this band cooks! You can contact them through their web site at www.pappyjohnsband.com.
Ken Whiteley Gospel Music Makes Me Feel Alright! Borealis BCD159/Festival
This CD is drawn from three Sunday morning Gospel Workshops at Hugh's Room last year. Ken had written a number of new gospel songs and wanted to perform them in the setting of the Sunday morning workshops so integral to folk festivals everywhere and if anyone knows about these workshops it's Ken. His new songs are excellent, the crowds full and appreciative and the fellow travellers on stage enjoy themselves immensely. One highlight is "Moses' Last Miracle", a blues setting of text from the Book of Numbers, with Colin Linden & Jackie helping out. Another is "In the Night" which sounds like it came out of the Blind Willie Johnson songbook with Chris Whiteley on harp & washboard and "Wilderness", learned from Fred McDowell who also had no difficulty switching from blues to gospel. Ken's enthusiasm is boundless and produces some of his finest singing.
Anderson/Sloski
Footwork Make it Real MIR005
Lance Anderson is one of the veterans of our music scene and the Make It Real Records label is his vehicle for drawing attention to our grotesquely under-acknowledged artists. He has recently returned to playing organ after decades playing piano/synthesizer and it's his newly-acquired technique of playing bass on the foot pedals that gives the CD its focus and name. Drummer par excellence Mike Sloski certainly qualifies as the only other player you really need with this instrument and together they take you back through the years. Mandala is the focus early on with "Funk You Up" featuring their "Toronto Sound chord" (E7#9, according to the booklet). "World of Love" was recorded by Mandala with George Olliver as vocalist but he left before the song was released. Roy Kenner was subsequently dubbed in for the released version. Olliver gets to re-do his vocal here and a treat it is. Steve Ambrose of The Lincolns adds the harmony vocals but these are not exceptions on an all B3 CD. Lance and Mike sing on most of the other songs, including "She Caught the Katie" as performed by Teegarden and Van Winkle and "Devil with the Blue Dress On" in its slower original version, about half the speed of the Mitch Ryder version you'll think of first. Ambrose returns for a multi-tracked version of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition". A couple songs celebrate the work of the great jazz B3 players, in this case, Jimmy McGriff. As you might expect, there is plenty of bass in this Make It Real recording. Visit www.makeitrealrecords.com.
The Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir Saint Hubert Shoutin' Abner Pim SAP003
Recorded live to an eight-track recorder in a cabin in the Rocky Mountains, The Choir is Bob Keelaghan on guitar & vocals, Judd Palmer on banjo, guitar & vocals, Vladimir Sobolewski on stand up bass and Jason Wooley on, uh, percussion. They certainly are agnostic - this is raucous, gutbucket blues. I'm not sure Tommy Johnson would recognize his "Cool Drink of Water" but I am sure he would approve. The same applies to the rest of the songs here with the combination of banjo at its most metallic and electric guitar driving everything before it. The gruff, group vocals hollered over top seem most appropriate. These guys sound like a crazed version of the Tar Box Ramblers and I think it sounds great. Elements of gypsy and klezmer filter through the murk on occasion too. They can slow it down a bit as Eugene Chadbourne's "They Can Make it Rain Bombs" attests, it is solemn by comparison. The web site (www.agnosticmountaingospelchoir.com) could not be accessed but try v_sobolewski@hotmail.com.
Various Artists Stories We Could Tell Indie
Keno-Reno Arsenault has been working on this project since 1992 and this two-disc set now allows you to hear many of the road stories he and his partners in crime have been collecting. They've used various recording devices and hence there are varying levels of fidelity but the forty-one stories are all listenable. And they are by and large hugely entertaining but even more valuable are the insights you'll get on life as a travelling musician. Jack de Keyzer's first night in a new but dark hotel room for one. Many of the musicians are local but they did get many who were passing through town, for a nice variety. There is some foul language but fewer stories of sexual encounters than you might expect. At over two hours there's probably more here than you would want to hear at any one time but you can always play more of it at another occasion. Go to www.musiciansroadstories.com or get a copy at Sam The Record Man.
Holmes Brothers Simple Truths Alligator ALCD 4893/Fusion
Simple Truths are the subjects of the songs on the Holmes Brothers new disc, their second for Alligator. There are occasional guests helping out here but mostly it's just Wendel Holmes, Popsy Dixon and Sherman Holmes on guitar, drums and bass with those unmistakable harmony vocals. As usual, there's an eclectic mix of material, some original: You won't need another version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", so powerful is this arrangement. Wendel Holmes' "You Won't Be Livin' Here Anymore" is one burning slab of rockabilly blues and a pedal steel guitar version of Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man" will make you sit up as well. You can also reminisce with the Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby" and "He'll Have To Go". Recommended.
Kenny Neal & Billy Branch Double Take Alligator ALCD4894/Fusion
Yes, just the two of them in a French recording with a program of Chicago blues that you don't normally hear in an acoustic setting. In these capable hands, though, this is a treat. Branch often plays amplified harp, bringing to mind the Buddy and the Juniors album from a few years back where Junior Wells did that as well. That album had more of a loose jam feel to it, wonderful that that was, here the songs are tightly arranged. Little Walter's early "I Just Keep Loving Her" and "My Babe" are highlights.
Howlin' Wolf The Howlin' Wolf
Story Bluebird 82876-56631-2/BMG
You heard Rob Bowman say at the MBA's that you should get this DVD right away, here's why: Wolf's performing antics were legendary but relatively few of us have ever seen him in full flight. Now we can. Drummer Sam Lay made some home movies at Sylvio's, Wolf's home club in Chicago and it is unbelievable footage. The band is smoking, Otis Spann, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson (II) are in the audience and Wolf is in top form. The sound is surprisingly good and it's in colour as well. This documentary is as close to official as we're likely to get for a while. Wolf's daughters, Hubert Sumlin and his wife, Wolf's biographer, Mark Hoffman, whose "Moanin' At Midnight" is forthcoming, first producer Sam Phillips and Dick Shurman are among the many providing real insight into a very complex personality. Other highlights are the Shindig appearance that the Stones demanded, an excellent performance of "Shake For Me" that is otherwise not available plus the Lomax performances from Newport in 1966 that you may or may not have. Kudos to Don McGlynn for putting together this marvellous package. This DVD is Part Ten of BMG's When the Sun Goes Down - The Secret History of Rock & Roll. The nine previous CD's in that series reissue highlights from the famous Bluebird catalogue of prewar & postwar blues recordings and are all recommended. Like Rob said, get it and also get Robert Gordon's Can't Be Satisfied, the DVD version of the life of Muddy Waters on Wellspring Video.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2004