BLUES REVIEWS prietarily blending Wells with Know Me.” Just goes to show that Sugar Blue and a tad of Bobby the sign of a real Motorvator is Rush. Live! is surely the sound when their blues are as iridescent of the funk hitting the Chicago as their Technicolor wardrobe. blues fan. DENNIS ROZANSKI DENNIS ROZANSKI THE JAMES HUNTER SIX KENNY “BLUES BOSS” Hold On! WAYNE DAPTONE Jumpin’ & Boppin’ s long as Hold On! is spin- STONY PLAIN Aning, it’s still late-1950/ ERIC BIBB & NORTH OMAR COLEMAN oot-suited Kenny “Blues early-1960something. That’s COUNTRY FAR WITH DANNY Live! ZBoss” Wayne makes his liv- because all the valid compari- THOMPSON DELMARK ing the same age-honored way sons to Sam Cooke silk, Jackie The Happiest Man in the World nce upon a funky time, Junior that forerunners like Amos Mil- Wilson snap and Ray Charles STONY PLAIN OWells was the kingpin of Chi- burn and Louis Jordan once did: bluster that follow James Hunter ric Bibb is now, officially, The cago harp ’n’ jive. Now, nearly namely, by joyfully jolting the explode into the year’s grandest EHappiest Man in the World. Proof two decades since his passing, it joint. It’s only fitting then that flashback—ideal for twistin’ the beams forth from one of the most sounds like a new breed of hoo- Jumpin’ & Boppin’, staying true night away or instead cocktailing glowingly warm sets the 65-year- doo man is in town. Because right to its word, would be a funhouse it away with a highball in one old calming force has ever beamed. around this time last year, Rosa’s sprint on piano. “I’m Comin’ hand and a Chesterfield in the At the risk of spoiling us over some Lounge got the funk soundly Home,” “Rock, Rock Little Girl” other. 36 albums now, Bibb’s latest is yet kicked out of it. The three-night and the wordless “Boogie to The album, which mind- another unabashedly gorgeous proj- shakedown at 3420 W. Armitage Gloryland” barrel past with the melds with Daptone Records’ ect of thoughtfully-crafted acoustic Ave came at the hands of late- greatest of ease, leaving behind a mantra that old-school soul is grace and soft, melodic demeanor. blooming Omar Coleman, who’s wake of adrenaline and a cloud just way too cool, studiously Fitted with six- and 12-string gui- been making up for lost time of dust. B.B. King’s longtime pledges allegiance to that tran- tars, banjo, Dobro, fiddle, mando- with buzz-worthy performances bassist Russell Jackson extra adds sitional period when R&B lin, and the lauded standup bass of like this Live! one, taped hot on propellant, as does Duke Robil- was just discovering its soul, Danny Thompson (Alexis Korner, the heels of 2015’s Born & Raised. lard’s guest guitar. Plus, what a before succumbing to the funk. Richard Thompson), Bibb and For one hour, the 40some-year- difference horns make, whether Powering the time machine are North Country Far possess all the old with the tough, tussled voice booting the roly-poly “Blues the vibrant James Hunter Six, makings for a hoedown. How- and the pioneer spirit, issues his Boss Shuffle” or blasting Jordan- who impeccably detail every- ever, nestled in the idyllic English statement of identity, confidently esque thrust behind “Look Out! thing from the cha-cha footwork countryside around Norfolk, their doubling down on a personal- There’s a Train Coming.” Calam- of “This Is Where We Came In” unplugged lushness instead dapples ized interpretation of what his ity doesn’t stand a chance around to a hyperventilated “Stranded” sunshine onto winsome love songs. West Side turf should sound like. such effervescence, whose barely with foamy organ washes, wrap- And therein lies the wellspring of Sure, Muddy’s “I’m Ready” gets retrained energy prevents nei- around backdrop harmonies, all these good vibrations: Bibb’s ripped into with gusto. But off ther empty-pocketed “Bankrupt Hunter’s own overwound reverb songwriting pen is in love—with in the turbid backwash of funk Blues” nor extorted “Blackmail guitar, and, of course, horns that love, and eloquently so. “Born to and soul is where the real payout Blues” from derailing the prevail- continuously pump in oxygen Be Your Man,” the gentlemanly “I’ll lies. That’s where the band’s heat ing locomotive chug. Yet Wayne’s to sustain all this finger-poppin’ Farm for You,” “Wish I Could Hold from yearning to grow grooves 72-year-old foot doesn’t always action. You Now,” and the blissed-out title welds Johnnie Taylor’s “Wall ride the accelerator, laying off Equally wise to the era’s vocal track are as openhearted as their to Wall” directly onto Junior’s to gently give “Blues Stew” the mannerisms, Hunter colors a titles relay. Even the Kinks’ “You “Snatch It Back and Hold It.” ol’ soft-shoe and to majestically song’s every nuance with inflect- Really Got Me” lyrically swoons And where the hip-shake of his ache Ray Charles’ misty anthem ed twists, falsetto leaps, and notes amid its (relative) rocking. “Tossin’ own “Sit Down Baby” soulfully for secret admirers, “You Don’t that avert gravity’s pull by lin- An’ Turnin’” and the more exis- morphs into “Jody’s Got Your tentially agitated “Prison of Time” Girl and Gone.” Fire-fingered are the only bumps along an oth- guitarist Pete Galanis helps torch erwise smooth joyride. Compared “Born and Raised,” another to last year’s (nearly) all-covers Lead Coleman original, with quite the Belly’s Gold tribute, this (nearly) all- blowout solo, before quick-pick- original collection is quite the pivot. ing Junior’s 1957 “Two Headed So cozy is the session, Bibb practi- Woman” with country panache. cally whispers his tales and plucks Even Coleman’s approach to his instrumentals directly into your the harmonica deviates from enraptured ear. Little Walter dogma so prevalent DENNIS ROZANSKI throughout the city, instead pro- 18 | BLUESRAG | WINTER 2016 | MOJOWORKIN.COM BLUES REVIEWS as 2001’s Bad Juju and including quart bottles of beer, and live per- California blues harp. That means CONTINUED Panther Burn’s belly-slithering formances galore, tales get told by West Coast Toast slugs you with a gering on the tongue. The ulti- title track from just two years ago. the proprietors (including actor/ biding sense of swing and a ram- mate adrenaline-squeezer is that “Po’ Lightnin’” and the rootsy co-owner Morgan Freeman), pant flair for cool—yet slugs you shattering soul-scream of his. ramble to “Texassippi” character- the community, historian Dick nonetheless, especially given that Although born in 1962 England, istically spring into life under the Waterman, and, of course, the Kashmar’s chops are so strong Hunter comes off every bit as if whip of Suhler’s slide, whereas stream of musicians commanding as to have played alongside cats he’d instead been swinging the “Devil in Me” and “Scatter- the stage or either letting loose in named Eddie “Cleanhead” Vin- Copa with “If That Don’t Tell gun” prefer exploding into the backroom. Mugge’s cameras son, Pee Wee Crayton and Jimmy You” at that time. bottlenecked action. catch Alvin Young- Witherspoon. Now, after wait- True to form, the entire set “Across the Brazos” blood Hart putting ing a full decade since Wake Up was masterfully composed from dresses up nicely the stranglehold on & Worry, comes this fresh stu- scratch. With Hunter, there are with a little squeeze “Joe Friday” with dio slugging, cut precisely the no covers. Never. Ever. Luckily, of accordion. “Tijua- a rowdy trio (and way blues were intended: live his heart gets him into enough na Bible” embeds its a rowdier bottle- to tape. So the energized highs sorts of jams—be that pleading riff even quicker than neck) as well as from fellow harpist Billy Boy “(Baby) Hold On” en-route to its dodgy tale. But the Subway’s two Arnold’s “Don’t Stay Out All prison or soaring the equally for onstage transfor- house bands— Night” and Kashmar’s own “East contagious “A Truer Heart”— mation, the trophy King Edward’s of 82nd Street” instrumental are to now fill four records. And goes to the formal- Blues Band and the just as undoctored as the sludgy somehow, Hunter manages to ly-acoustic “My more saxy House lows through which “My Lil’ yet again keep topping the retro Morning Prayer.” Rockers—sustain- Stumptown Shack” alternately high attained by each of those Newfound electricity and ing a long parade of homegrown slogs. The set keeps slyly blend- three prior highs. To hear Hold cymbal haze elevate the atmo- talent from Pattrice Moncell ing borrowed old stuff (Sonny On! is to be smitten by the epit- spheric instrumental into cine- and nationally-heard Vasti Jack- Boy Williamson to Lowell Ful- ome of hi-fi coolness. Yeah, the matic abstraction. Besides all this son to the overly prolific song- son) with original new stuff flashback, cut live to 8-track tape, catchy fun, original songcraft smith George Jackson (“Down that sounds like borrowed old is truly that vivid. likewise powers the entire show, Home Blues” to “Old Time stuff. Kashmar’s airy lines breez- DENNIS ROZANSKI starting with the spring-loaded Rock & Roll”). But, like Bobby ing atop the whoosh of Ham- shuffle kickoff (“I Declare”) Rush harping solo on “Garbage mond organ chills the jazzy Toots and running straight through to Man,” guitarist Chris Thomas Thielmans-meets-Jimmy Smith the meltdown boogie sendoff King similarly rumbles “John jam of “Canoodlin’” like a meat (“Restless Soul”). How much of Law Burned Down the Liquor locker. Yet the hornless quin- a meltdown boogie sendoff? Just Sto’” on his lonesome. However, tet isn’t above Chicago gutter know this: When not anchoring little did anyone suspect these 86 crawls, dragging “Mood Indica” Monkey Beat, Suhler has been minutes were safeguarding blues up and down the Marine Band’s the lead hellraiser with George memories by capturing the Sub- full register amid pelting show- Thorogood & the Destroyers way’s unforeseen final days. After ers of ice-picked piano notes a la since 1999. its renovation project horrifi- Otis Spann. Such a grind actu- DENNIS ROZANSKI cally failed, only a pile of rubble ally turns out to be far oilier than remained in 2004, infusing Last “Petroleum Blues,” whose highly VARIOUS of the Mississippi Jukes with bona swinging release prevents any JIM SUHLER & MONKEY Last of the Mississippi Jukes fide credence. grease from ever much sticking. BEAT MVD (DVD) DENNIS ROZANSKI In other words, precisely as West Live at the Kessler unkered down inside a pair Coast blues were designed. UNDERWORLD Hof Delta hotspots during DENNIS ROZANSKI nd the crowd goes wild! Gui- that April of 2002, filmmaker Atarist Jim Suhler & Monkey Robert Mugge was on another Beat are in the house—Live at the mission to chronicle Missis- Kessler—and rocking the blues sippi’s ragged glory, just as his before an appreciative home- Deep Blues famously did two town Dallas crowd. Between the years earlier. This time, though, rush of a live performance and the documentary’s focus was the quartet’s comfortable famil- the Last of the Mississippi Jukes, iarity with the intimate room, viewed through the eyes of two the evening soars. The unveiling venues at opposite ends of their of aptly-named “Reverie” and lifespan: The Ground Zero Blues its hyperenergetic opposite in Club was a brand-new addi- MITCH KASHMAR “Doin’ the Best I Can” specially tion to Clarksdale’s blues scene, West Coast Toast marks the event. But rather than whereas the Subway Lounge DELTA GROOVE CLINT MORGAN roadtest new material, the band long stood as a landmark blues ust as are William Clarke, Scoff Law of 25 years instead launches into cavern beneath the equally his- JRod Piazza and Kim Wilson, LOST CAUSE a tried-and-true “best of,” pull- toric black-owned Summers Mitch Kashmar is also a reed- ere’s to the outlaw, the gang- ing from four of their last five Hotel in downtown Jackson. rattling descendent of George Hster, the desperado. Clint studio albums, circling as far back Amid plates of deep-fried catfish, “Harmonica” Smith, father of Morgan—an obviously creative 20 | BLUESRAG | WINTER 2016 | MOJOWORKIN.COM fellow known for teaching piano no smooth operator. Yet no less a wise triumph. And that no manu- at Pinetop Perkins Foundation soul man with pretty much only factured emotion was employed in Workshops—pulled out all the one thing on his mind. So much so the making this record. stops to hatch quite the ingenious that his 63-year-old tattered throat DENNIS ROZANSKI plan for his second album, Scoff gets sacrificed all the more on the Law. With a rogue’s gallery racing title track of Age Don’t Mean a through his songwriting mind, Thing—his new, best, first, and only he imaginatively designed and album—just to prove he can (wink, executed (no pun intended) this wink) “take care of business.” Com- fun, yet harrowing, look through ing off like a meatier, coarser O.V. the eyes of those who infamous- Wright on a particularly hoarse ly savaged the Old West and the night, such downhome charisma Depression. “I Got a Gun,” “I and the occasional tuneful offi- no doubt lights hometown Loui- Love Robbing Banks” and “Send cer. The natural, ragged glory of siana lounges afire. Me to the ’Lectric Chair” vouch I Will Not Stop Singing is just as Nothing more than his guitar for the red-eyed, cold-blooded every bit as disarming as the first and a place to plug-in is needed. crowd on hand. So, amid a hail Zomba Prison Project, last year’s (YouTube visually proves that.) of guitars and harmonicas, saxo- Grammy-nominated I Have No Gratefully, though, sage producers MATTHEW SKOLLER phone and fiddle, stickups get Everything Here. Bruce Watson and Jimbo Mathus Blues Immigrant held, safes get blown and folks get Amid an assortment of per- luxuriate Finley within a close- TONGUE ’N GROOVE plugged. Bowie knives, Colt .44s formance formats—male and knit ad-hoc Memphis band that lues Immigrant weighs mighty and getaway Fords enrich the female; electric, acoustic, and a always does right. Having col- B heavy from Chicago-based vocabulary of tales inhabited by cappella; solo, simple bands, and lectively worked alongside James harpist Matthew Skoller leaning a literal murderers’ row, includ- small choral mobs—the lone Carr, Solomon Burke, and other on the blues’ most fundamental ing Billy the Kid, John Dillinger, constant remains the untaint- greats, they come vetted with an feature—the curative powers of Butch Cassidy, and Clyde Bar- ed sound of the human spirit. innate sense of what works, starting venting pent-up grievance. Not row (whose mug shots stare back Because if only for a fleeting with synergism between organ and just generic woes or boilerplate from the thick booklet of liner minute or three, prisoner after tremolo guitars. “It’s Too Late” con- gripes, either. Oh, perennial notes). Covers of Johnny Cash’s prisoner tries to spiritually break vincingly bleeds its heart; “Come favorites like rotting relation- “Wanted Man” and “Wild One,” free with tailored escape routes. On” feeds on the funk. And with ships (“747”) and workforce 1958 rockabilly which Iggy Pop “All Is Loss” busts out behind their horns majorly flaring as grumblings (“Only in the Blues” rode up the charts nearly 30 brute vocal force, a polyphon- backup singers choreographically zings the biz) still naturally crop years later, get perfectly heisted. ic blizzard of chants and wild sway, Finley rides that extra power, up. But at one point or anoth- The jailhouse also fills up with ululations. “I Will Not Return storming “I Just Want to Tell You” er, everything from wealth (the originals as equally ominous as to Prison” charms its way out before converting physical desire venomous “Story of Greed”) and “Waco” or as flip as “A Sackful using warmly fingerpicked gui- into the grooving “You Make Me mega-stores (Sonny Boy Wil- of Cash” (“and a body in the tar and even warmer harmo- Want to Dance” aphrodisiac. liamson’s “Welfare Store Blues” trunk”). To help Morgan’s Cash- nizing. “Ambush of the Slaves” Your gut tells you this every- resharpened into “Big Box Store like baritone pull off a couple likewise enchants, except with man has likely lived these scenar- Blues”) to sociopolitical mat- jobs, Maria Muldaur and Diunna a drummed backbeat and an ios: cheating, lovemaking, vying ters (“Blues Immigrant”) wind Greenleaf ride shotgun: Muld- amplified guitar that’s all smiles. for lovemaking. That this isn’t the up in the crosshairs of lacerating aur, for sepia-tinted piano hymns “Protect Me” attempts floating first time musky moves have been criticism. Yet for all the fire in his seeking a sliver of redemption, up, up and away, serenely dis- put on in attempt to “Make It tongue, Skoller’s sly, cool voice and Greenleaf, for whenever the guised as a heavenly breeze. And With You.” That those serrations melts easily into any groove. situation calls for a hardened “Leave My Daughter Alone” up and down his voice are a natu- And having amassed a killer blues belter. plugs-in and rocks out. Just don’t ral by-product of a life lived hard. band—guitarists Eddie Taylor DENNIS ROZANSKI let Malawi’s retort to the Everly That ol’ Finley teeters on the brink, Jr. and Giles Corey to ace bass- Brothers sneak past unnoticed, just another glorious gut-punch ist Felton Crews (Miles Davis, ZOMBA PRISON PROJECT harbored inside the hidden final (“Snake in the Grass”) or two (“Is Otis Rush)—all this infuriation I Will Not Stop Singing track. It Possible to Love 2 People?”) rides on seething boogies (“My SIX DEGREES Never would you think of away from abandoning soul to Get It Done Woman”) and big- ven without the rats, barbed turning to a prison yard—espe- embrace the blues, for which his shouldered shuffles (“Get Down Ewire, or rifled guards, Zomba cially one that’s been banished rough-cut presentation would like- to the Nitty Gritty”) built to Prison is anything but a—volun- to the backwash of Africa—for a bear the load. Although Skoller’s tary—destination point. Being shot of sunshine. But, against all trusty Hohner readily shakes out stuck in the poorest of the odds, I Will Not Stop Singing par- sheets of notes, a pair of instru- world’s poorest nations (Malawi) adoxically outshines with blind- mentals really airs out those reeds: certainly doesn’t help matters. ing openheartedness. the great Papa Lightfoot’s after- Yet, without being sentenced DENNIS ROZANSKI hours “Blue Lights” more so than to do so, Ian Brennan passed Skoller’s own “Organ Mouth,” through its maximum-security ROBERT FINLEY which shares cooking space with gates. The tape deck and micro- Age Don’t Mean a Thing Johnny Iguana’s boil-over organ. phone tucked under his arm BIG LEGAL MESS You don’t harp alongside greats would again go to exceptional lim ain’t slick. Unlike Marvin, like Jimmy Rodgers, Big Daddy use recording melodious inmates SAl, or Teddy, Robert Finley is Kinsey, Bernard Allison, and Lur- MOJOWORKIN.COM | WINTER 2016 | BLUESRAG | 21 BLUES REVIEWS the mic instead of Jimmy “Baby and viola, that’s the entire band: a Walker being translated into CONTINUED Face” Lewis. Jimmie Vaughan is two-man wrecking crew. “Earth what’s spoken on the streets of rie Bell without coming away another of the All-Stars, who Saw” works a slow vortex. Their Chicago. The Maxwell Street jest with the kind of stuff that stirs arrives expressly to help pick dizzying, mercurial “Cummins of “One Eyed Woman” speaks the blood. apart the instrumental “Shufflin’ Falls” belongs on Wallahi Le for itself. The most majestically DENNIS ROZANSKI and Scufflin’” with utmost Texas Zein!!, arguably the wildest col- miserable is “This Worrisome cool. lection of Mauritanian guitar Feeling in My Heart,” a Bell DENNIS ROZANSKI tangles. Not because Chen’s confession in minor key. Just as teacher, Jeich ould Chigaly (hus- quickly, though, the lovestruck band of famed vocalist Noura rush from “Hidden Charms” Mint Seymali), erupts there. and Little Milton’s “Hold Me But because Chen’s famously Tight” send the band turning hyperactive guitar can be just as cartwheels with bounce to spare. provocatively medicinal with its That’s Matthew Skoller’s growly relentless restlessness, maintain- harp burrowing throughout ver- ing levels of ecstatic intensity for sus Roosevelt Purifoy’s strategy anywhere up to the 15 opioid with twinkling Fender Rhodes minutes of “I’m Not Trying to or the organ likewise purr- DUKE ROBILLARD & HIS Wake Up.” In the ambient ten- ing under his hands. And Dick ALL-STAR COMBO sion of his unyielding riffing is Shurman’s production sees to it Blues Full Circle where epiphany, catharsis and that the quintet treats your liv- STONY PLAIN 75 DOLLAR BILL hypnosis all communally lurk. ing room like a club. Their set is he prolific Mr. Reliable—or Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/ DENNIS ROZANSKI tough, tight, and impervious to Tthe consistent Mr. Prolific, Rhythm/Rock trends. These meat-and-potatoes either works—bumps up his THIN WRIST (LP; DOWNLOAD Chicago blues don’t rock in the overstuffed portfolio with Blues INCLUDED) slightest. “Drifting” even gets Full Circle, a telltale Robillardian ven if you can’t hear the counted off as if this was just effort, right from its meticulous Edin, you can always spot it’s another night up on the Kings- guitar down to that haltingly fever from any distance: Wher- ton Mines bandstand. mannered singing of Duke’s. Its ever New York City’s 75 Dollar DENNIS ROZANSKI title refers to the set’s roundtrip Bill plays, a huge cloud of dust from the past (three Roomful rises above. The dervish energy ABOU DIARRA of Blues revivals) to the present from their “tent music for tent Koya (eight new unveilings). Hearing people,” an exploratory form of MIX & METISSE the level of sustain that Robil- modal improvisation spun off oya comes on like a breeze. lard’s amp and guitar hit upon from North African guitar mys- K Softly materializing from certainly verifies that serendipity ticism, whips up quite the frenzy. LURRIE BELL out of the Malian blue, its mys- was in the Rhode Island air that The verve is vivid, electric and Can’t Shake This Feeling tique washes over you thirteen day. With teeth bared, the strings danceable. The format: instru- DELMARK separate times, serenely gracing draw “Lay a Little Lovin’ on mental, serpentine and hypnot- udging from the bound-to- your presence with its under- Me” with linear lines versus the ic. Like Pentecostals, end-stage Jbe iconic cover shot, guitar- stated magic before evaporat- wang-bar wiggle inside “You John Coltrane, the Velvets and ist Lurrie Bell evidently Can’t ing away. In that atmospheric Used to Be Sugar.” “No More other forms of trance-inducing, Shake This Feeling. Because string hour, Africa’s ancient past rec- Tears” and “The Mood Room” higher-state transport, the goal is bends that massive don’t just onciles with its fusionistic pres- (jolted by Kelley Hunt’s spar- for listeners—“listeners” is actu- erupt casually, not without emo- ent even more so than Abou kling voice) majestically swing ally too passive a role for such tional provocation. But, between Diarra achieved with 2013’s with crisp, classic riffing. But not highly interactive music; “par- the late, great harpist Carey Bell similarly exceptional Sabou. (So everything sprouts wings. “I’ve ticipants” is more apropos—to being his father and he himself hyped is Koya that YouTube Got a Feelin’ That You’re Foo- get swept up and then lost in the having been personally bur- sports two official teasers spy- lin’” ramrods its point of con- sound. Liberation of body and dened with more than one man’s ing on its recording session.) The tention. “Blues for Eddie Jones” soul awaits inside Wood/Metal/ fair share of grief, Lurrie comes gentle giant of kamala n’goni—a is just that: a biographical dirge Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock’s innately blues powered. He noble yet beastly, stringed sym- in tribute to Guitar “The Things four individualized journeys. never needs to pose. Plus, those bol of Old World Mali—enters That I Used to Do” Slim. Even Hardly fussed over, this is pure- shovelfuls of gravel which accu- moodier is the blue ornithology feel, gut-instinct, lightning-in-a- mulate in his throat with every of “Mourning Dove.” Duke’s bottle stuff. passing year only underscore All-Star Combo runs lean, trian- Rick Brown locks down the that point all the more, adding gulated by keys, bass, and Mark bottom with anything percus- credence to whatever testimony Teixeira’s stalwart drums. Horns sive (plywood crate, maracas, he airs. Trouble airs in all shapes are not on the menu. Except for shakers, bell, drum) while Che and speeds, from Lowell Fulson’s when Sax Gordon kicks on both Chen’s six- and 12-string guitars creeping “Sinner’s Prayer” to the thrusters (tenor and baritone) to employ their generous amplifi- original title track’s lumbering propel “Last Night” from the cation turning spirals that set strut. “I Get So Weary” rouses bandstand as if 1954 had substi- the trance. Except for menacing fancy yet muscular moves on tuted Sugar Ray Norcia behind guest drones from trumpet, sax the strings in-line with T-Bone 22 | BLUESRAG | WINTER 2016 | MOJOWORKIN.COM this deep dreamscape through own “Dumas Walker.” Rich- Slowing the tempo extracts even years. Hot off the road, James and the artistic direction of Nico- ard Young and Greg Martin’s more soul, although Earl’s spiri- his touring band ducked into a las Repac, who splices ethereal overlapping guitars drawl tight tuality beams through Gladys Vancouver studio with inspira- accents into layers upon sonic and tense, their Southern rock- Knight’s pop-peppy “(I’ve Got tional heroes on their collective layers built from the constant ing framed closer to Skynyrd to Use My) Imagination” just minds. Strung between Muddy comings and goings of instru- scrunch than Allmans sprawl. as blindingly as the three-part and Wolf to Tommy Johnson mentalists. Elements of old and Hell, even the fills flame hotter requiem encom- and Junior Wells, new compliment one other, than some hotshots’ entire solos. passing “In Mem- the diverse, all-cov- just as do the indigenous and “Beaver Creek Mansion” lights ory of T-Bone,” ers setlist affords the imported. Earthy Fula and the fuse that burns down into “Elegy for a Blues- motive to slide Mandinka flutes cool hot bursts utter powder kegs like the blis- man” and “Blues (“Goin’ Away”), of guitar scorch. Kora master tering “I Am the Hunter” or the for David Max- swing (“Lone- Toumani Diabaté’s glass water- blistering “Way Down Yonder,” well.” And by some”), slink (“Bad falls ring stately whereas Vincent nicked (then supercharged) from working the song’s Bad Whiskey”) and Bucher’s flickering harmonica Charlie Daniels. Even when red- dynamics—esca- even sear Peter wails in a blue mood. And Diar- hot, “Deep South Blues Again,” lating from sus- Green’s “Watch ra’s proto-guitar spider-walks “Lowdown Memphis Town pended animation Out” with a mighty atop hand-thwacked percus- Blues” and “Jukebox Full of that openly defies cool hand. Pound- sion that never stop bubbling. Blues” reveal the color of their gravity up to heavy, ing its descending Despite lots of moving parts, songwriting mindset. Although volatile bursts—the riff, “Going Down” the pair of radio singles in “Né the 21 YouTubeable minutes of five instrumentals as well as five gets treated like the rocking blast- Nana” and “Djarabi,” the mirage the band personally guiding an tracks Diane Blue sings become er that it is, whereas “Riding in of “Djalaba,” “Koya Blues” and in-studio tour of On Safari pro- sublime. Otis Rush’s “Double the Moonlight/Mr. Luck” sucks a deeply-grooved instrumental vide reason enough, the actual Trouble” hovers for nearly 12 through Steve Marriner’s harp named “Mogo Djigui” radi- crank-it-up album is compul- minutes, bleeding its heart like racing alongside James’ acoustic ate penetrating calm. Because, sory inspiration to give your air never before, rising from the fingerpicking. “Don’t Miss Your unlike the dancefloor exceptions guitar a lashing. faintest of pulses, and maintain- Water” is what finally baits in of “Tunga” and “Ma Chérie” DENNIS ROZANSKI ing Earl’s recorded streak of hon- horns, the ballad’s soulful regret with their big beats, Koya seeps, oring his mentor in the process. being far too tempting for a bit floats, and drifts unmoored, sub- But no matter how lithely Dave of brass. Yet the total transfor- tly widening the expanse of tra- Limina can make his Hammond mation of “Ain’t Long for Day” ditional Mali all the while. B3 murmur, or how heroically is how James best distinguishes DENNIS ROZANSKI creative Lorne Entress gets with himself, atmospherically extract- cushioning his drumbeats, Earl’s ing all of Blind Willie McTell’s magic guitar still breathtaking- intended ache by way of an elec- ly steals the show with utmost trified bottleneck’s gentle wag grace. and a softly shepherding piano. DENNIS ROZANSKI Consider Blue Highways as the Canadian Music Hall of Famer’s bid for his seventh Juno Award. DENNIS ROZANSKI RONNIE EARL& THE BROADCASTERS JANIS JOPLIN Maxwell Street Janis: Little Girl Blue STONY PLAIN MVD (DVD) uitarist Ronnie Earl and his e know how the story trag- Gthree hornless Broadcast- Wically ends on October 4, THE KENTUCKY ers find themselves on Maxwell 1970. But it’s in the intervening HEADHUNERS Street with heavy hearts for a 10,115 days before Janis Joplin On Safari fallen brother. Pianist David fatally overdosed in Room 105 PLOWBOY Maxwell, who passed last year COLIN JAMES of L.A.’s Landmark Motor Hotel eah, they’re the same Ken- at age 71, is the album’s hon- Blue Highways that Little Girl Blue captivates. Ytucky Headhunters who oree—not the Chicago street TRUE NORTH Oscar-nominated director Amy tore up the airwaves with Pickin’ notorious for flea-bitten blues. ven with having to traverse J. Berg’s documentary paints the on Nashville, their 1989 debut So rather than bare-fisted brawl- Ethe gulf between the romp- most complete portrait yet of the which gobbled up a Grammy en ing on the strings, Earl sculpts and-roar of Freddie King’s “Boo- meteoric rocker with the flame- route to selling over two mil- another album of the coolest- gie Funk” and Robert Johnson’s thrower voice, viewing the musi- lion copies. Still Dixie-proud, of-cool smolder with trade- front-porch “Last Fair Deal,” cal and emotional entirety of raucously attitudinal, and long- marked spine-tingle. No one Blue Highways still only took two Joplin’s all-too-short life. (She— haired (albeit grayer), the Heads out there sounds like this. Earl’s quick days to cut. That’s because along with Robert Johnson, Jimi roar even fiercer now, 11 studio sparse, economic and emotion- those songs are among 13 of Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt albums removed from when first ally invested signature is instantly Colin James’ personal favorites, Cobain, and, newest inductee, delivering the one-two punch of recognizable, where engulfing and the Canadian guitarist has Amy Winehouse—entered Bill Monroe’s “Walk Softly on black silence is as just vital as the been itching to record a desert- into the dreaded 27 Club, all of This Heart of Mine” and their warm glow around each note. island collection like this for whose members never lived to MOJOWORKIN.COM | WINTER 2016 | BLUESRAG | 23 BLUES REVIEWS flesh-and-blood behind that and brightly. But Harpe’s inspi- songcatchers like Alan Lomax CONTINUED gale-force roar. rations don’t all spin at 78 rpm. and Hugh Tracey traipsing off see their 28th birthday.) In fact, DENNIS ROZANSKI For when R.L. Burnside and into the hinterlands. Because so notable is the film that it aired Junior Kimbrough were spin- experiencing a tiger at the zoo earlier this year as part of PBS’ ERIN HARPE ning their rhythmic spells up is nothing like experiencing esteemed American Masters series. Women of the Country Blues in north Mississippi, Jessie Mae one out in the tall grass. In kind, Cheap Thrills, Otis Redding’s Guitar Hemphill was casting her own you get airdropped into circum- gotta, gotta tagline, heroin, STEFAN GROSSMAN’S GUITAR hill-country trance by welding stances as colorful as that touch- Pearl, locomoting aboard the WORKSHOP (DVD) a G chord onto a roughhouse and-go time recording blind Festival Express, and slaying the or two hours, Erin Harpe riff to contradictorily express General Paolino, who plucked Monterey Pop Festival in gold- Finstructively reminds us— “I’m So Glad.” Her 1986 ver- his guitar amid South Sudan en slippers are among the many note for note on her trusty acous- sion, which resides here along chaos. Such essays as “Using touchstones taking on special tic—that Robert Johnson, Blind with all the other bonus original the Microphone as a Telescope,” meaning here. A Lemon Jefferson recordings, is juke joint-worthy. “Surrendering to Sound” and wealth of con- and Blind Blake DENNIS ROZANSKI “There Is No Rehearsal” fur- cert footage from were not the only ther lay out a Big Picture phi- Joplin’s assorted first-generation IAN BRENNAN losophy for producing, record- renderings (Big guitar heroes. How Music Dies (or Lives): ing, listening to, and, ultimately, Brother, Kozmic Her Women of Field Recording and the Battle appreciating music. How Music Blues Band, Full the Country Blues for Democracy in the Arts Dies (or Lives): Field Recording and Tilt Boogie Guitar lesson ALLWORTH PRESS (BOOK) the Battle for Democracy in the Arts Band) melds with builds its 10-song “ eep it feral”: In this sterile, puts into words what you always such behind-the- repertoire from KAuto-Tuned age, that’s a hear behind and within the per- scenes moments one of the rarest mighty brazen mantra coming formances captured by any of as being inside blues commodi- from a Grammy-awarded man Brennan’s recordings: The raw Columbia ties: prewar ladies of sound. But Ian Brennan, just splendor of human expression Records’ stu- who accompa- like Hank Snow, has been every- left to sparkle with all its perfect dio when nied themselves where, man, sonically living up imperfections. “Summertime” by snapping and to that very goal. Way-off-the- DENNIS ROZANSKI gets taped. Fellow band mem- bending strings just as thrillingly map spots, too, like Rwanda, bers along with rocking col- as did their male counterparts. Cambodia, Transylvania, and leagues (the Grateful Dead’s Justifiably, the prolific Memphis Malawi, where he and his overly Bob Weir, “Bobby McGee”’s Minnie grabs the lion’s share inquisitive microphone sniff out, Kris Kristofferson, a Fish-less of material, chugging “What’s record, produce, and, thankfully, Country Joe McDonald) lend the Matter with the Mill” and introduce some of the world’s assorted and sordid tales. stomping “I’m a Bad Luck best kept secrets. Ever heard But her family members, Woman” with brutish bass lines. the Malawi Mouse Boys or the schoolmates, star-crossed lov- “When the Levee Breaks” is the Zomba Prison Project? You ers, and private letters (read epitome of clas- can thank Bren- by narrator Cat Power’s Chan sic. Here, Min- nan for having Marshall) also shed untold nie is up against braved the heat, intimacy and vulnerability on virtual phantoms haggling, barbe- Joplin’s ironclad stage persona. like Texan Elvie cued rodents and JOHN LEE HOOKER Now supplied with missing Thomas (in lulla- 2,000 inmates, so The Modern, Chess & VeeJay pieces of the puzzle, the boat- by form, “Moth- you didn’t have Singles Collection (1949-62) rocking outcast is seen searching erless Chile” to. (He has also ACROBAT (4-CD SET) eternal for inaccessible slivers renders misery worked more o matter how hypnotic she of lasting happiness and accep- beautiful) or the docile extremes, N was, poor “Sally May” never tance. We watch the psycholog- Delta’s Mattie from Merle Hag- transfixed an entire planet— ically-scarred “star” return to Delaney (chord- gard and Green for generations upon ongoing her high-school reunion. And lessly finger- Day to the Blind generations. Instead, that was we receive the takeaway mes- picked, “Down Boys of Alabama the immortal fate of her 1949 sage that if only she could have the Big Road and the Vienna flipside, a three-minute-and- lived onstage all the time, per- Blues” is anything Boys Choir.) nine-second shot of primitive haps the demons surfacing dur- but a Tommy Entrapped stomp indelibly named “Boo- ing her quiet downtime might Johnson carbon copy), whose within a world of growingly gie Chillun.” And the rest was have been kept at bay. So as Janis meager but mighty handful of homogenized and equally pas- history. croons “Little Girl Blue” before shellac is just about their only teurized music, Brennan advo- Herein lies the very bed- the 108 minutes fade to black, existing trace. Geeshie Wiley cates passionately that “Music rock upon which the John that song—and her life—comes is arguably the more known should bleed and breathe, and Lee Hooker dynasty solidly into crushing clarity. You’ll leave of these unknowns, thanks to not be vacuum-sealed.” Very rests: 101 potent tracks stem- reassured that Joplin was the a memorable name and even bite-sized, readily-digested ming from the formative span force of nature we’ve always more unforgettable songs. Her chapters (some as short as one of 1949 to 1962. Back when known. But also now with a high-compression “Pick Poor paragraph) peer into that sort Hooker and his heavily-juiced newfound appreciation for the Robin Clean” moves briskly of mindset which sent fellow guitar were at their peak of 24 | BLUESRAG | WINTER 2016 | MOJOWORKIN.COM being dangerous, twitching osities, led by Bernie Besman VARIOUS rarest of pre-war sides. Memphis like a raw nerve as Modern and cruising a roller-rink organ Classic Blues Artwork from the Minnie blares hot into the mic. Chess microphones listened around “Rock Me Mama,” 1920s- Vol. 14 Blind Leroy Garnett’s double-fists in. Back when VeeJay desper- turn heads. You’ll win bar bets BLUES IMAGES (CALENDAR & CD) a raggy piano. The raggedy Mobile ately tried domesticating his now knowing about scenarios t’s time again for the sights and Strugglers boozily ramble, string- Mississippi minimalism with in which no one would ever Isounds of blue yesteryear to ring band-style. A lozenge salesman’s rhythm combos. Back before fathom finding Hooker: jump- in the new year: The now 14th dream materializes in the gravel- the boogie became endless. ing R&B, Tequila rhythms, and annual Classic Blues Artwork from the throated convention of Charley But rather than playing favor- barking out “Blow, blow, blow” 1920s twofer is out. That means Patton, Blind Willie Johnson and ites, The Modern, Chess & VeeJay to, of all things, an urbane saxo- blues collector extraordinaire John equally growling Blind Gussie Singles Collection evenhand- phone. We even get to hear the Tefteller has raided his world-class Nesbitt. Harpist Jed Davenport’s edly crams its four discs with Boogie Man turn Lover Man, archives for another overstuffed “How Long How Long Blues” A-sides and B-sides. Stacked aberrantly swooning “Take Me package. Maintaining typically pulls off an astounding act of puff in chronological order, an evo- as I Am.” This unobstructed high standards, the ample (12 inch ’n’ pucker, equal parts creativity lution in one-chorded genius panorama—complete with by 12 inch) calendar synchronizes and respiratory stamina. So good resets back into place. views into an alternative is Blind Joe Reynolds’ “Out- From “I’m in the Mood” Hooker universe—nicely side Woman Blues” that (including the ’51 echo-cham- imparts a dimensionality Clapton’s Cream rewired the ber model) to the how-how- to someone legendarily 1929 cautionary tale of infi- how-how’ing “Boom Boom,” recognized for blues so delity for 1967 rock-craved the ordained essentials all con- primeval that competi- ears on their Disraeli Gears, vene. And on and on they keep tors like B.B., T-Bone, right down to its original coming: “Dimples,” both ’49 Wynonie, and even downhill guitar lick. And and ’59 species of “Crawlin’ Muddy came off sound- Big Bill Broonzy’s “I Can’t King Snake,” “Mad Man Blues” ing like cheery optimists. Be Satisfied”/“The Western … “Mambo Chillun.” Fear not, though: Over Blues” finally gets heard for “Mambo Chillun”? What?! the course of nearly five the first time since 1930. Such is the strategic advan- hours, a ton of adrenal- Sharing in the good fortune tage of inventorying Hooker ized boogies get pumped is “Illinois Blues”/“Yola My by his A’s and B’s: You discover and a second ton of spi- Blues Away.” Without the unheralded, unloved gems like dery crawls gets brooded. ferocious blizzard of scratchy that blatantly commercial hip- So, between the perpetual hiss that typically encases shaker given extra shake from churn from “I Got Eyes for its vintage advertising artwork and the emotionally crippling flipsides, Jimmy Reed’s harp. (In time, You” and the dire straits of photographs with the 23 audio Skip James’ minor-key picking the guitars of Eddie Kirkland, “Cold Chills All Over Me,” tracks on its accompanying CD. patterns are far better appreciated. Eddie Taylor and, yes, even Pop enough thump-and-shiver The combination lets you plan for Even Kansas Joe McCoy (aka Joe Staples also pop up.) Should- amasses here to relentlessly upcoming blues celebrations— Williams) can now be heard clear- have-been contenders com- validate that, although boogie from Howlin’ Wolf’s 107th birth- ing his throat before launching mand newfound attention, men will forever come and go, day party (Thursday, January 12) to “Mr. Devil Blues,” making such starting with the sonically/ there will only be one irre- Blind Willie McTell’s 116th (Fri- immortal sessions incredibly more psychologically savage “Need placeable John Lee Hooker. day, May 5)—while enjoying the mortal. Somebody.” Oddball curi- DENNIS ROZANSKI finest, cleanest (surface noise) and DENNIS ROZANSKI NOTABLE NEW RELEASE:

BOBBY RUSH the band and Rush put their own seriously Porcupine Meat stanky Louisiana fonk on each one. Kirk ROUNDER RECORDS Joseph on sousaphone is utilized in lieu of geless wonder is a bit of a cliche’, but bass on about half the cuts. Keb Mo’ appears ABobby Rush claimed to turn 83 on on “Nightime Gardner” which is the most November 10, and I’ve seen him jump and straight ahead blues shuffle cut, Dave Alvin do leg kicks within the last year most of us sits in for the subtle “It’s Your Move.” couldn’t do when we were 20 somethings! “Me, Myself and I” is multi-textured with Now hot on the heels of last year’s retro- Bonamassa throwing down a restrained spective Chicken Heads: A 50 Year history of solo. It’s the funky cuts that highlight the Bobby Rush, his new disc, Porcupine Meat is disc, opening with “I Don’t Want Nobody a fantastic follow-up to 2014’s acclaimed Hanging Around My House,” a lyrical take Decisions. Backed by a band of Louisiana off on the “garbage man” trope, “Snake in heavyweights including Vasti Jackson, Shane the Grass” built around a slinky guitar fig- Theriot, Jellybean Alexander, David Tor- ure, and “Funk O’ De Funk” which is of kanowsky, Kirk Joseph, and guest appear- course, “just too funky.” That’s Bobby Rush, ances from Dave Alvin, Keb Mo, and Joe er a funk-blues masterpiece. All songs are without a doubt the Funkiest Old Man Bonamassa, Rush departs from the show original though several clearly are based since Rufus Thomas. revue and solo bluesman format to deliv- on easily recognizable blues numbers, but BOB SEKINGER MOJOWORKIN.COM | WINTER 2016 | BLUESRAG | 25