Events / Press
Releases / MapleBlues
Magazine / Join TBS / Contact Info
BluesBook
Online / TBS Listserv / Links
/ Live Blues / Background
/ Marketplace
October
2006
Braithwaite & Whiteley Morning Sun
Electro-Fi/Festival
Diana Braithwaite and Chris
Whiteley have been working together in various projects for some years now and it shows. For this one they wanted to focus on the "Bluebird" sound, a style that dominated
blues music in the 1030's and 1940's. They've been performing songs from this era for so long that they've been able to generate thirteen originals that fit the style completely. The acoustic part was no problem, Chris
just brought along his array of instruments, Al
Cross set up his minimal drum kit, Terry
Wilkins brought along his acoustic bass and
Jesse Whiteley sat at the piano. Drew
Jurecka is the one name you might not know, the fiddler and saxophonist is also sometimes a
Jazz Wizard behind Jeff Healey, among other bands. After the opening duet, Braithwaite gets to shine on her down home "Birds That Whistle". This is one her
finest vocals to date and I wonder if it's the acoustic setting, she doesn't have force herself to be heard over an electric band. Whiteley gets one of his next and its theme is close to my heart. "Great Big City" extols the
virtues of city life over the country one. Jurecka's violin over Chris's chording lends a gypsy air to "Blessing in Disguise". Some boogie piano lights up "Travellin' Man", a jaunty, too-brief duet with a trumpet solo
from Chris. "Mr. Subway Man" is a humourous double-entendre song that might bring a smile to your face during your commute tomorrow. Back to the Diana's blues we go for "No Longer Will I Roam" with some
nice harp from Chris. "Box Car Blues" is a hobo song by Chris but sung by Diana. It's set to a "St. James Infirmary" melody. Chris does
Sonny Terry on his "(Diggin') In My Garden" and he's spot on. Diana takes on
Robert Johnson's "Kind Hearted Woman" with her "Don't Mistreat Me". As you'll hear, her kindheartedness has limits. The best for last in "Morning Sun", a hymn to a child looking forward to the end of all the hard
work. Brilliantly written and sung by Diana over a simple guitar accompaniment. A
tour de force of an album _ the CD launch was a smashing success. Get your copy soon and get your tickets to see Diana at the
Women's Blues Revue.
Whether by design or because his fans simply demanded it, Colin James'
Little Big Band is back. He's certainly happy to provide it _ he sounds as if he's enjoying himself immensely, reveling in his
ever-improving ability as a singer. Good song selection, good charts, fine players and a superb recording all add up to an award-winning combination. Some of the players from
Limelight are back, led by co-producer and friend
Colin Linden. Chuck Leavell, on a break from the
Rolling Stones tour, or Reese Wynans on keys;
Bob Ruggierro & Jeff Sarli are on drums & bass;
Roomful of Blues members Greg
Piccolo and Doug James, Steve
Hilliam and Terry Townson provide the stellar horn work with a solo, on "Lonely Avenue", from the celebrated
Wayne Jackson thrown in for good measure. "That's Where It's At" features a duet vocal with
Keb' Mo'. Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite" gets the proceedings off to a roaring start, followed by "I'm Shakin'". "I Will Be There" slows things down for the blues with some fine B.B.-style guitar. "Lonely Avenue" is next,
followed by Louis Jordan's "I Want You To Be My Baby". With all his other skills, it's understandable that he may not do every album in this style, but he sure does enjoy when he does do it. The enjoyment is contagious!
This is a welcome tribute from EMI Canada to one of our greatest. A double CD package collects Baldry's solo recordings after his departure from
Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. There were two LPs,
Long John's Blues, from 1965, and Looking at Long
John, from the following year. Both are here along with meticulously compiled and transferred singles, some featuring a young
Rod Stewart plus previously unreleased songs from a session with
Ottilie Patterson, from Chris Barber's
Band. Even the briefest history of British blues would include all these names.
Long John's Blues finds Baldry in Chicago blues mode while
Looking at Long John moves on to Bobby
Bland and the Righteous Brothers and even
Screaming Jay Hawkins as role models. It was after this album that Baldry would take on
Tom Jones in the pop field. In 1980 he
moved here and continued his parallel careers. There is nothing juvenile on this set, however, and many of the performances stand the test of time very well indeed. This is the blues, British-style, the beginning of the
wave that would re-introduce the music to the world.
A forty-year veteran of the local music scene, MacLean has spent the last couple of decades alternating between here and the Mississippi Delta. From an early age, he determined to meet as many of the older
bluesmen as he could and not just for autographs. He accompanied
Sam Chatmon of the Mississippi
Sheiks, Peg Leg Sam and numerous others in their unending journeys, listening and learning. When MacLean sings
about living the blues, he knows what he's singing about. For him, the blues is not pretty: a `Narrow House' is a grave, the first song is "Bone Train". "Angola Prison Rodeo" involves an actual event that takes place
at the Angola State Prison. Like many early blues, these songs are often built on one-chord drones and part of longtime friend & producer
Colin Linden's genius is accompanying MacLean's National Steel with
mandolin, fiddle, bass, harp and percussion to enhance these uncompromising performances.
Larry Taylor, Stephen Hodges, Fats
Kaplan and Michael Pickett are all on board, you should be too. Go to
www.docmaclean.com or better yet catch him live and get your copy there.
Eileen Joyce Bluesman EJ
Dartmouth, NS native Joyce is a prime mover in the blues scene in the East Coast and her strong third CD is "a tribute the bluesmen of Nova Scotia", some of whom duet with her. One who could not is the
late Rick Jeffery, to whom the CD is dedicated. He is represented, however, with a trademark performance: "Like a Fool", taken from
Carter Chaplin's CD Don't Be So Evil. The title song opens this labour of love,
it's a fine original by Joyce and her husband and pianist
Bill Harvey. Garrett Mason is on guitar and
Joe Murphy plays harp and he stays on to duet on
Jimmy McCracklin's "Think". A vocal highlight next here
is Joyce's work on George Antoniak's acoustic ballad, "Deep in the Blues". "Chocolate Blues" features Harvey's jazzy piano, with a nice sax solo from
Kenny MacKay. "Dutchie's Blues", a slow blues written
by Joyce & Harvey sees Dutchie Mason really dig into his part with son Garrett on guitar and tough harp from Murphy.
John Campbelljohn is featured on "Are You Tough Enough?" another original. It's mid
tempo grinder with Campbelljohn on guitars as well. "Every Shade of Blue" switches gears a little for a contemporary R&B outing, complete with vocal chorus and an effective vocal from Joyce. "Too Hot To Handle"
features Charlie A'Court on guitar & the duet vocal, whose own new CD should be out very soon. All the proceeds from this all star CD go to the Lung Association of Nova Scotia and you can get yours at
www.eileenjoyceband.com.
John Campbelljohn Weight of the
World Nood/Festival
We don't get to see much of this slide man here because he's usually touring hard in Europe. In fact his lead off song is a grinder called "Autobahn John". The title song is a stunning guitar instrumental,
followed by the radio-friendly rocker, "Kathaline". It has a memorable
Sonny Landreth-style slide solo. A major highlight for me is "Sydney Steel". If, for a Cape Breton resident, the saga of the Sydney Steel mill is not
suitable material for blues then nothing is. Campbelljohn, with songwriting help from
Kenneth Larocque, does it justice. The group vocals at the end recall
The Men of the Deeps most effectively. "How Does It Feel" is
an older song of his that deals ambitiously with substance abuse and how the discovery of it works to reduce the status of a hero so labeled. The reggae-tinged arrangement adds some nice variety. Two
Hendrix songs get new arrangements for pedal steel: "Waterfall (May This Be Love)" and ""Little Wing". "Mississippi Queen" gets an acoustic slide makeover that takes a little getting used to! "Light At The End Of The
Tunnel" & "That's Just Fine" are excellent new songs. "Fine" chugs along merrily over multi-tracked slide guitars as Campbelljohn sings about being dumped. "Light" is built on a drone-like groove, he's lost his girl,
his job has moved to Mexico and there's a stack of bills at the door. The light, of course, turns out to be a train - it's much better than my words, trust me. Visit
www.campbelljohn.com, now.
Davd Gogo Acoustic- Official Bootleg Series Volume 2
Cordova Bay
Gogo's second acoustic album came about after some acoustic performances with
Colin Linden and Colin James last year. I hope this leads to more because he's clearly having a lot more fun creating outside
of the power trio format. "It's Killing Me" opens, it's a fast, Piedmont slide piece about forbidden love with
Gerry Barnum on harp. Fan requests led to the inclusion of "Dust My Broom", but it's a spirited
performance. Ken Hamm's "Intertidal Zone" is up next and I hope it leads to some others finding out about his songs.
Tony Joe White's "As The Crow Flies" becomes a solo slide exhibition. The centerpiece of the CD is up
next: an original song about a mining disaster that killed his Great Grandfather.
Jeremy McDonald's violin supports Gogo's heartfelt vocal beautifully. "(Ya Got Me) Walkin' Tall" is an original Gogo says was
composed with Little Richard in mind and
Rick Hopkins' piano certainly hammers home the connection. "Once it's Gone" is loosely based on
Billy Boy Arnold's "I Wish You Would" riff and is an excellent new
atmospheric blues. The CD concludes with Gogo doing a version of "That's How Strong My Love Is" with just
Michael Pickett on harp. It's a marvelous way to end a fine album.
Kim Doolittle Revamp Self
Kim Doolittle was a familiar name in town a few years back, gradually doing more country music and less blues before moving to the Peterborough area. Her new CD features acoustic versions of her
repertoire, with Michael Burns on the other guitar and
Dan McGrath on fiddle. "I Used to Think That Love Was a Good Thing", "Internet Mama", Don't Judge Me" and "Natural Born Woman" fare best with the rest of the
material being a little too far over the country line for me. She's in fine voice still, however and very much worth catching if you get a chance.
www.kimdoolittle.com connects you to her part of the cdbaby site.
Various Artists Blind Pig Records
30th Anniversary Collection Blind Pig/Stony Plain/Warner
Sometimes it can seem as though the blues recording industry is in a lot of trouble but then some established labels put out 30 and 35-year celebration sets like this one. Blind Pig can help you with your
next blues party with a masterful double disc compilation of uptempo blues. If you stop long enough to listen to some of the tunes you'll understand how they do it _ they just record good music. A third, bonus, disc
in this set is a six artist DVD.
- John Valenteyn,
jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
Colin James
And The Little Big Band 3
MapleMusic/Universal
Long John Baldry Looking at Long John Baldry (The UA Years
1964-1966) EMI
Doc MacLean Narrow House DLNI
[Back to Maple Blues Magazine]