Xmas
Blues
2005
A thumbnail sketch of the nominees for Maple Blues Award Recording of the Year precedes our Gift Guide mostly because we think they should be in your collection and eminently useful as a gift recommendation. This year we decided to also add the two different selections that are nominated for Producer of the Year. As usual, to avoid any sense of bias, the selections are in alphabetical order. Don't forget to vote!
Downchild Blues Band: Come On In (Downchild Music). These amazing new songs will double as instant memory triggers for fans that have been with them for the past 35 years.
James Cotton on harp, Gene Taylor on piano,
Jeff Healey, Tom Lavin, and David
Gogo all help Donnie Walsh on lead guitar for the anniversary celebration.
Julian Fauth: Songs of Vice and Sorrow (Electro-Fi). Fauth's style derives from the `Bluebird'-era players like Memphis Slim. He writes contemporary, perhaps not very happy songs, but plays barrelhouse piano as though he were born inside one. He'll play for hours - you'll have this CD in your player for even longer.
Carlos del Junco: Blues Mongrel (NorthernBlues). People are still talking about his Downtown Jazz Festival show this past summer and this CD shows you why. It's just some of the most inventive harmonica playing you've ever heard married to some marvelous songs played by a truly fine band.
Garrett Mason: I'm Just a Man (G-Spot). The title is also the autobiographical, concluding song of this unpretentious CD that came out of nowhere to win the Blues JUNO this year. With the help of veterans from father Dutch Mason's band, these original songs extend the tradition of the most satisfying kind of bar blues.
Paul Reddick: Villanelle (NorthernBlues). A new adventure in blues begins here as Reddick creates new sound pictures from `long gone music'. Reddick has a remarkable ability to draw you into his world and Colin Linden has helped to digitally preserve it. Don't miss your chance to come along for the ride.
Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne: Let It Loose (Electro-Fi). Wayne uses Amos Milburn as a starting point and his boogie woogie piano drew a large crowd at the Chicago Blues Festival. Like those new fans, you'll spend your time with this CD on the dance floor.
Chris Whiteley: It's the Natural Thing to Do (Electro-Fi). A masterful blend of styles and voices with Curley Bridges and Diana Braithwaite joining Chris on some of the best songs he's ever written. The voices extend to guitar, harmonica and trumpet and the styles to a sophisticated sense of humour. Just check out "Forgetful Baby".
Here are our additional picks for your gift-giving convenience:
From Brad Wheeler,
Globe & Mail music writer:
Big Mama Thornton: Sassy Mama (Just a Memory Records). Slow and easy, nightclub pace - "B.B. King-style." Recorded at Montreal's Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club in 1977, a tough, no-nonsense veteran gets into the blues, in very heavy ways.
Snooks Eaglin: New Orleans Street Singer (Smithsonian Folkways). In one of America's hottest cities a solo-acoustic jukebox plays to gobsmacking effect, yet there's no sense that any sweat is broken. Mojo magazine hailed the original 1959 release as one of the top 10 greatest albums ever, and a new package with previously unreleased tracks and expanded liner notes won't lessen the ranking.
B.B. King: Original Greatest Hits (Virgin). It took more than a royal last name to earn the King of the Blues title. A two-CD collection of the man's early work charts a throne-ascension.
Susan Tedeschi: Hope and Desire (Verve/Universal). Soaring, upbeat soul. And yes, her voice sure sounds like Bonnie Raitt's. But is that so bad?
Various Artists: The Music Issue (Oxford American). Dang near impossible to find on the newsstand, the glorious magazine and accompanying 29-track CD is worth every effort to grab. So, don't wait - call now at 501-450-5820. Operators are standing by.
Ian Angus, producer/host of "Let The Good Times Roll", Thursdays 3 to 5 pm, on CIUT 89.5 fm in Toronto:
Johnny Adams: The Great Johnny Adams Blues Album (Rounder Records). They called him the Tan Canary. From the early fifties until his death in 1998, Johnny Adams sang blues, soul, gospel and jazz with equal brilliance. In this album, blues fans can hear twelve of his best blues songs, all in one place.
Mary Flower: Bywater Dance (Yellow Dog _ www.yellowdogrecords.com). Colorado-based Mary Flower is one of the best finger-style guitar players in blues today. This album teams her with some of New Orleans best musicians, including Jon Cleary, Henry Butler and Dr. Michael White.
Maria Muldaur: Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul (Stony Plain). In 2002, Maria Muldaur earned a Grammy nomination for Richland Woman Blues, which featured songs originally recorded by great blueswomen in the 1920s and 1930s. Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul continues in the same vein, and it's even better. Guests include Pinetop Perkins, Taj Mahal, and guitarist Del Ray.
Aretha Franklin & King Curtis: Don't Fight the Feeling: Live at Fillmore West (Rhino). In 1971, Atlantic Records released one of the best live soul recordings of all time _ Aretha Franklin, Live at the Fillmore West. That album was edited from three nights of live performances in San Francisco. Now Rhino has remastered and released all three nights on four CDs _ it's even more stunning than the original.
Gaye Adegbalola: Neo-Classic Blues (Hot Toddy _ www.adegbalola.com). Gaye Adegbalola is best known as a member of Saffire _ the Uppity Blues Women, but she also has a solo career as a singer and blues educator. She says she decided to record Neo-Classic Blues because Martin Scorsese's much-hyped TV series paid so little attention to the women who first made the blues popular in the 1920s. With Roddy Barnes on piano she delivers impressive versions of the hits of Ma Rainey, Sippie Wallace, Alberta Hunter and more.
John Valenteyn, MapleBlues music reviewer, and contributor to Let The Good Times Roll, Thursdays 3 to 5 pm, on ciut 89.5 fm in Toronto:
It has been a good year to go back to the source:
Various Artists: American Primitive, Volume 2 (Revenant). Paul Oliver, the dean of blues scholars & writers, said in a recent speech that we should concentrate less on blues artists who recorded frequently and more on those who only recorded once and disappeared. He thought that they might have much more to tell us. Here's your chance to find out. The late John Fahey, one of the first generation of blues collectors, worked on this collection as his last project. The two discs contain an amazing variety of `phantom blues' - music by people you've never heard of and it may well be the best collection of pre-WWII music yet. From Mattie May Thomas' "Workhouse Blues" to Alfred Lewis' "Mississippi Swamp Moan", you'll have lots to absorb.
Various Artists: The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Volumes 1 _ 4 (Ace). We move ahead to the early `50's to a series of recording field trips through the south by Modern Records, with a young Ike Turner as a talent scout. You may have some of the songs in your collection but not in this much historical context or in this good sound. There are extensive notes by Jim O'Neal. Volume 3 features Big Walter Horton and Joe Hill Louis while Volume 4 takes you to Texas and features Alexander "Whistlin' Alex" Moore & Jesse Thomas. It would be hard to come up with a better sampling of the state of the blues in the South in this era.
Precious Bryant: The Truth (Terminus). We don't have to stick with old 78s or 45s though. Precious Bryant still lives in Waverly Hall, Georgia. Fool Me Good was an acoustic country blues album of songs she learned from her parents but this one is electric blues and R&B plus a couple of originals. Her son Tony helps out on bass, with close friends on drums and second guitar. Like she says: "I like the blues because it tells the truth."
Big George Brock: Club Caravan (Cat Head). A fixture of the St. Louis & Delta club scene in the current era has finally made it to CD, Now in his 70's, harp ace Brock and his band have been captured perfectly at Jimbo Mathus' Clarksdale studio. Brock's Muddy-like, commanding voice and Riley Coates' compelling guitar drive standards and originals that show you what down home blues is all about.
Magic Slim Anything Can Happen CD + DVD (Blind Pig/Warner Music). The down home contribution to Chicago blues has always been Magic Slim's strength and now you can enjoy it in 5.1 Surround Sound. This DVD of a typically hot Slim show will let you create your own Chicago blues club in your music room. The CD has a slightly different song selection, get it for your car!
Dr. Feelgood, alternating producer/host of Lowdown 2 Uptown, Wednesdays 8 to 10 pm, on ckln 88.1 fm in Toronto, or live at www.ckln.fm.:
The Robert Cray Band: Twenty (Sanctuary/Sony BMG)
Johnny Rawls & The Rays: No Boundaries (DeepSouth/Catfood/TopCat) www.catfoodrecords.com
The Blues with Soul: Robert Cray matures as a musician with every recording he makes. Soulful and varied, Cray delivers musically and doesn't hold back in the lyrical department. And then there's his cover of William Bell's "I Forgot To Be Your Lover". Johnny Rawls is a journeyman soul blues musician who's released the best recording of his career. Like Cray, Rawls sings songs that veer dangerously close to the truth _ check out his "Never Found A Smoking Gun".
Harrison Kennedy _Voice + Story (Black & Tan www.harrisonkennedy.ca)
James Blood Ulmer: Birthright (Hyena/Fusion III _ www.fusion3.com)
The Blues is Just Fine: Two deep blues recordings: the first is by a veteran Canadian musician supported by a Netherlands based label _ the CD is available only as an import. Please track it down as the folks at Black & Tan know a good thing when they hear it; Harrison writes songs filled with the gospel and blues impulse, sung with the sweetest voice you could imagine. "Birthright", Blood Ulmer's third recording for Hyena, is a solo outing. It's a gutsy session that fuses Ulmer's Afrocentric lyrical output with his modal jazz background. Together, both CDs represent the living blues tradition at its finest.
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: Naturally (Daptone _ www.daptonerecords.com
Bettye LaVette: I've Got My Own Hell To Raise (Anti-/Epitaph www.bettyelavette.com)
Sisters Speak the Truth: Sharon Jones second release for NYC's Daptone Records is a blast of retro stylings _ JB funk workouts, deep soul ballads, R&B strolls _ and then their radical reworking of Woodie Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" hits you. Lookout! What can I say about Bettye LaVette's new CD? She's transformed ten songs into soul masterpieces, singing them with a voice you can't ignore. If you enjoyed Solomon Burke's "Don't Give Up On Me", this is as good, better even.
Robbie King: Showtime in the Main Lounge (Aero Music/Festival Distribution _ www.festival.bc.ca)
Amen: Thank you Oliver Conway and Chris Nordquist. These gentlemen, stalwarts of Vancouver's blues and rhythm scene, had the foresight to cajole one of Canada's most innovative Hammond B3 players, into recording his only session as a leader _ recorded in 2003, King died of throat cancer on Sept. 17 in Vancouver at the age of 56. Robbie left us with fifteen songs of grace and passion; most are trio settings _ B3 (with King playing the bass pedals), drums (Nordquist) and a guest soloist _ they ooze with the gospel impulse. One listen to King's version of "Mary, Don't' You Weep" will shed light as to why Aretha Franklin used to call Robbie when she needed a B3 player with the right feel.
Blues Doctor Julie Hill, alternating producer/host of Lowdown 2 Uptown, Wednesdays 8 to 10 pm, on ckln 88.1 fm in Toronto, or live at www.ckln.fm.
Various Artists: Toronto Blues Society 20 Years (www.torontobluessociety.com). Okay, I produced this CD, so bias declared, but, you know how you can tire of a project in which you've been intensively involved? Well, I still regularly enjoy listening to this 2-disc compilation of 37 current Toronto area blues artists - a testament to the depth, as well as breadth, of our local talent. With 2 and a half hours of blues, the quality pool still isn't tapped! Variety provides something for every blues aficionado, either for up front listening, or party background.
Dylan Wickens & Jon Knight: Wickens-Knight (www.wickens-knight.com). Okay, same qualifier and same testament - I heard all of the recording sessions, yet I still enjoy the resultant CD, and the band's live act. Youthful Jon Knight brings a pop rock background to create freshness in his roots and blues compositions and presentation on this debut recording by this year's deserved TBS Talent Search Winners and MBA Best New Artist nominees, which may suit the younger recipients on your gift list, but you'll also enjoy the variety in the tunes, and the strong vocals and instrumental performances.
Various Artists: Blues Guitar Women (Ruf). Another compilation, 29 tracks also with pleasing breadth and depth, and still there are so many more blues guitar women available for the next volume. A tip of the Telecaster to Sue Foley for capturing both the traditional and contemporary in compiling these artists, and, as she says, "it features some amazing guitar playing by the leading female blues guitarists... a double CD of the greats - past, present and future women blues guitarists, lots of well-known names, and many new surprises as well." Currently available at www.rufrecords.de, www.suefoley.com, or www.guitarwoman.com, you could also position it a Martin Luther King Day or Chinese New Year's gift when it's released in Canada by Fusion III on January 17, 2006.
Eddie Turner: Rise (NorthernBlues). If Jimi Hendrix had lived, matured into his blues influences, and used modern production technology, well, maybe Eddie Turner has channelled his spirit into this recording of tasty psychedelic blues guitar, vocals, and mostly original compositions.
And a stocking-full of indies: Mr. Rick & the Biscuits: Cocktails & Cornbread ("skillet-fried" country roots blues by the Toronto acoustic trio; www.mr-rick.com), Grady: Y.U. So Shady? (the Austin-based trio of ex-Torontonians Gordie "Grady" Johnson and "Big" Ben Richardson, with ex-Double Troubler Chris "Whip" Layton, are like Big Sugar turned past 11; www.shadygrady.net), The Perpetrators: the gas and the clutch (MBA-nominated Winnipeg electric trio serve up "true house-rockin' blues and relentless rock and roll"; www.perps.ca), Mojo Stu: Real House Blues (the tidy 9 all-original tracks with great production from this Philadelphia-based slide and finger-picking guitarist provide a spirited "retro-revival of decades of blues, gospel and soul through grooves and beats"; www.mojostu.com, www.realhouseblues.com), Nathan James & Ben Hernandez: Make A Change Sometime (16 tracks of original and traditional acoustic country blues played with guitars, vocals, foot percussion, and occasionally kazoo, spoons, jug, and washtub bass; www.nathanandjames.com), and Zac Harmon: The Blues According to Zachariah (last year's Blues Foundation's "best unsigned blues band", the multi-instrumentalist's solid blues debut takes you "from the pulpit to the juke joint").
- Compiled by Julie Hill