Twang, Johnny Concheroo, Blue Boy, Junior Wells and Fortune 8 abandon the pod to meet at the crossroads at midnight to discuss the blues…they make a deal with the Devil that they will be done in an hour but Old Nick, as well as having the best tunes, curses the producer with a discussion as fine as a vintage shot of Jack over ice on a hot summer night, meaning Twang abandons the edit and delivers the full skinny. A topic so broad was never going to be adequately addressed in one session…even now the team are dusting their brooms in preparation for part 2…
The Afterword #49: Moanin’ the Blog blues
by 188 Comments
Cor lummy lawks what jolly japes.
I guess the proposed jazz pod is now consigned to the morgue. Pity.
Think Jazz pod is still planned if Twang can herd enough hep-cats to get their furry arses in front of a Skype mic
Obviously no appetite for it. Take me off the list.
I’m happy to get involved. I love jazz. Increasingly so.
I thought it was you, me and @Moose-the-Mooche, Pencil! I’m still game if you are.
Whoah, all the Dream Boys on one pod? I’ll be listening to this one for sure! 🙂
Next one (if I get me arse round to editing it) will feature…gulp….a woman
Is that allowed?
The male contributors will find it very difficult to be loquacious while sucking their stomachs in.
Ha ha
I was invited.* As I have previously indicated, the low manly rumble of my voice would really be too much for any womenfolk listening. That, and I have nothing of interest to say on the subject and always get peoples names wrong, making me sound like a knobend. I’ll stick to the safety of typing, and leave talking to people who can talk.
So if you want to hear somebody say Maaahles Davis, The Dahl Sahdes of Chaaalie Paaaker or Philly Jerr Jerrrnes , you’ll have to doorstep me.
(*I was! I bloody was!!)
I take that as a yes.
That’s been your problem in life.
I thought we were good to go and everyone went quiet but I’m well up for it if the team are. Get over to Messages and let’s sort out a date. Doobie doobie doo.
Nope @pencilsqueezer – plenty of appetite but nobody can decide on which restaurant and if they are having starters
So it’s on? Not on? Sometime/never.
*Stumbles off muttering to listen to Henry “Red” Allen.
See PM Pencil, all will be revealed.
@Twang
I think you have a quorum of eminent Afterworders for the jazz podcast. Put me on the sub list if you get caught short.
Will do Junior.
Nice one Twang and all concerned. I’ve never listened to an AW podcast before but I’m 20 mins into this one and will listen to the rest in due course.
It’s almost enough to nudge me into saying yes to a jazzcast.
Well, that sounds good – a jazz podcast- I hope it ventures into ECM territory.
Hope a few people had their interest in the blues piqued/ rekindled.
Coming soon, the Beanocast?
Followed by the Toppercast… basically me droning on about Music in a Doll’s House
Then one for the ladies – the Bunty & Twinkle cast
The Beanycast could be, erm, fun.
In fact it sort of exists already, in the shape of these ‘unique’ chazza mixes from the man himself, aka SecondhandSounds:
https://m.mixcloud.com/SecondhandSounds/
Wow! That was excellent. The cast were articulate and incredibly knowledge. And, @Twang, you hosted it superbly. I fear a Jazzcast, if it happens, will be full of incoherent hysteria in comparison, especially from me.
How about putting together a playlist? With the album source as well, please, for us novices?
Wow thanks Tig. Well we enjoyed it too so glad you did. ..thanks for the feedback, nice to know people are listening. I’ll have a go at a playlist – good idea.
I love Incoherent Hysteria. A top notch baritone sax player.
Outstanding in his field. Since he inadvertently burnt his house down.
It’s a good job he’s got a field.
You’re mixing up Hysteria with Pyromania.
Do you do Spotify Tiggs? Were you looking for a listing here? The selections on the playlist were artists songs or albums mentioned in the podcast. Where I could I went back to the original album but some selections are just taken off compilations which I can’t particularly vouch for.
I’m sure between us we can come up with some essential albums. Starting with Bluesbreakers obvs….
I don’t actually Spotify. I still buy albums, so an albums list is perfect for me!
Enjoyed that. Thanks chaps.
Grand to hear Roy Buchanan mentioned along with my old teenage stomping ground The Stadium in that Liverpool. I was at the RG gig that Blue Boy referred to, a stormingly good night as I remember. There is a website devoted to the place, including photos and no I’m not telling which ones yours truly may be captured on. Just Google it for a hit of early 70s nostalgia. You can almost smell the weed, patchouli, and the unmistakable aroma of unwashed greatcoats.
Btw Twang the best of British if you think you’ll be able to shoehorn a reference to the Tull into a jazz discussion.
No sweat Pencil. Leave it to me. I have a good boot of Rory at the Empire from a few years later.
Small word, eh @pencilsqueezer? I’ve had a look at that website in the past as well – great stuff although I only went to the Stadium a couple of times. Every chance we were at some other gigs together as well – the Empire, the Royal Court, St George’s Hall, Student Union were all venues I remember from that time.
‘Wally!’….
It certainly is. I suspect Tigg was present at a few gigs in and around The Pool of Life at that time as well.
I missed very few of the gigs staged at The Stadium. It was indeed a boxing stadium hence the staging being where the ring would usually be, in the middle of the space. It was a dump wasn’t it? I did get to see some amazing gigs there though and remember those chemically assisted happy days with great fondness.
Yes, indeed. Hawkwind, Thin Lizzy, Tangerine Dream, Mott The Hoople, Queen, Graham Parker…. the list goes on.
Hawkwind’s best album, Space Ritual, was recorded there. You can hear Pencil squealing in the audience.
As for boxing, John Conteh defended his World Lightweight Title there in March 1977.
Funnily enough, I don’t remember it being such a dump (wasn’t everywhere in those days?). I only ever saw it in the dark. Even when I went to a reggae all dayer. It was dark in the daytime.
As it happens I had a go at a playlist last night – here’s the link. I’ve made it collaborative so feel free at add or change choices folks.
Warning to fellow podcasters – may contain traces of Robert Cray and Jack White
Great playlist BB. Nicely done.
Good work BB! Thanks. Look forward to giving that a listen.
ditto !
Yes good work. I can’t open it in Spotty on the iPad for some reason – it just takes me to the “store” despite the fact that I have Spotty on the pad, but I’ll add a few things later on the PC where stuff works.
I’m a bit worried by the way Spotify shows Otis Rush, the writer of All Your Love, together with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, as if both are performing on the record.
Rush recorded his original version in 1958, then did it again for Blue Horizon in 1969.
The version on the Spotify playlist is, of course from the 1966 Beano Album with no involvement from Otis. .
So it is. Hadn’t spotted that. I just gratuitously added “Have you heard” for good measure.
That version of “Walk on” is the one I know from an ancient compilation called “Leonard Feather’s Encyclopaedia of jazz” I think.
EDIT….this…
http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i449/charlieboy14/Various-JazzEncyclopediaOfJazzVolumeOn437371_zpsdfye18bp.jpg
…no idea why the pic won’t post…
Yes I noticed that when I made the list so had to go back to check it was the Bluesbreakers version. Same with Hideaway which lists Freddie King. Very odd.
Just added a Trout and a Healey. Much rockier but I love it, as previously confessed…
I think Jack White is ace. Just saying.
Someone has to. What’s that saying about form over content?
Form is temporary, class is permanent.
Thanks Tiggs. I did try
In the old place, I wrote a feature on Jack White, A Colossus Of The 21st Century. Has anyone done more to keep the electric guitar exciting, interesting and cool in the last fifteen years? He deliberately imposes limitations on himself to stimulate the Edward De Bono green hat on his head. If we were drawing up a top one hundred albums since the year 2000, I reckon he’ll have a big hand in at least half a dozen, maybe a lot more.
I’ve seen him , I’ve listened to his records. Nyet – just don’t get him.
Can you list 6 tracks for me to listen to?
I really like Jack White. His heart is absolutely in the right place and he’s obviously listened to all the right records. He’s come up with some fabulous, timeless quotes, too.
eg: “Do not trust people who call themselves musicians or record collectors who say that they don’t like Bob Dylan or The Beatles. They do not love music if those words come out of their mouths.”
But despite loving Jack and his obvious enthusiasm for the music, I can’t say I have much affection for his records, finding them simplistic and lacking in technique.
Seems to me has substituted the hard miles of getting good on guitar with posing and gimmicks. Which clearly has some traction in the market so good for him. It’s an enjoyable racket but doesn’t move me.
The White Stripes – Fell In Love With A Girl
The Raconteurs – Top Yourself
https://youtu.be/XW2BuX5vQgQ
The White Stripes – 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues
The Raconteurs – Old Enough
https://youtu.be/v4QbEcVVBHM
The Dead Weather – Will There Be Enough Water
Jack White – Love Interruption
The Raconteurs – Blue Veins
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
The Raconteurs – Carolina Drama
The White Stripes – Ball And Biscuit
This one should have a place in any Jack White “Starter Kit”
You Don’t Know What Love Is ( You Just Do As You’re Told)
The video is style over substance but the record is an irresistible blast
http://youtu.be/MvpoiiBW9bc
Nice recent acoustic appearance on American TV. Youve Got Her in Your Pocket is a gorgeous song
http://youtu.be/UbDrtUZGHPA
And finally White Stripes do a terrific version of Burt Bacharach’s brilliant I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself. Probably better on the record (Elephant) but here’s a live performance
Jack can hardly believe his luck here as he’s invited up to sing with the Stones
You mean Jagger can hardly believe his luck. A decent guitarist next to him for the first time in about 20 years…
Excellent work! I promise not to add too much Gary Moore…..
I’d welcome your input – he’s not an artist whose work I really know. I picked a track from the Blues for Greeny album pretty much at random. It has some beautiful guitar playing but I was disconcerted to note some pretty saccharine strings as well. Is that typical of the record?
I loved the Still Got the Blues album on release in 1990. Thought it was a great blues boom tribute and all those Beano Album references on the sleeve seemed magical at the time
But after a while Gary’s heavy rock roots began to show through and the music began to sound heavy-handed and lacking in subtlety.
Far better was Blues For Greeny. Moore reined himself in on that album and played with real feeling and restraint.
Yes he does reveal his origins somewhat, but of the balls out and blasting fraternity he’s a leader. “Blues for Greeny” shows he can do subtle. The saccharine strings are a bit of a nod to the original Mac version I think. The live one is good too, again un peu OTT.
Glad you chose that- it is a favourite of mine. Strings on blues tracks is not uncommon – called sweetening it up.
But to answer your question, no the album is not heavy on the strings, it’s a great album.
And it was Mickey Baker, the great jazz guitarist who arranged the strings for Mac’s Need Your Love So Bad. Baker was also one half of Mickey & Sylvia who recorded the timeless and much covered Love Is Strange way back in 1956
Here’s Gary and John Mayall. I think Buddy’s solo is a great contrast to Gary’s
You call that an Australian accent, Jay-C ?
Just noticed a stuff-up on track #9, Manfred Mann, Smokestack Lightning.
Although the track details and album cover are correct, the track we hear is actually Sack O’Woe from the Manfred Mann jazz instrumental album Soul Of Mann.
Spotify’s fault I think.
nice track tho’
Yes, for sure. Although it’s probably too jazzy for the Bluescast, quite apart from the fact it’s nothing like the Howlin’ Wolf song.
have finally got round to checking this out, and it seems the entire album is mistitled. Had fun locating Smokestack Lightning and have now put it on the playlist. It is however entitled Down the Road Apiece. Of course it is…
Working through the playlist I came across Mississippi John Hurt doing Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor. I’m glad this was included because in the podcast we neglected to mention the ragtime influence on blues. All that great Reverend Gary Davis stuff like Candy Man (covered by DONOVAN, of course) which influenced a generation of folk guitarists like Ralph McTell, Stefan Grossman. John Renbourn etc.
I’ve never understood that song. Sleeping on a pallet would be very uncomfortable. The gaps between the slats would mean that you would wake up covered in stripes*. And then there are all the splinters.**
(*White stripes. Hyuk)
(**If you will, a Splinter Group. Hyuk-hyuk)
Nice work guys! Thoroughly good listen whilst I was stripping wallpaper this afternoon.
Nice to hear mention of the first Manfred Mann album – The Five Faces Of Manfred Mann (btw – Sack O’ Woe is on it, hence the Spotify confusion I’m guessing?). A year or two ago The Manfreds were touring its 50th anniversary and I got my original copy signed by Jones, McGuinness and Vickers. I said to Tom McGuinness that it was the first time I’d really heard the blues and it set me on a musical journey into that music, and he stood up and shook me warmly by the hand and thanked me! Lovely bloke!
We also go and see the Blues Band when they are in town and they are always excellent – I was surprised at the lukewarm comments on them. They always do something different and Paul Jones is just a great frontman.
I was a fan when they started up in the early 80’s, and they always put on a good show – as you say Jones is a great frontman.
I have signed copies of their first 2 albums from a signing I went to in Cardiff, having seen them play the studnet union the night before. A quite grumpy Jones couldn’t be engaged in conversation, very much in contrast to Tom McGuinness. I caught the band maybe 10 years or so later; a gig memorable because I saw something I’d never seen before (or since). Someone at the front of the stage was jamming along on harmonica with the band. It wasn’t easy to hear given the strength of the PA (from what I caught he sounded pretty good) but Jones noticed and wasn’t best pleased. I can see why – I suppose your options are invite him up for a blow (clearly risky) or tell him to shut the fuck up, which was the option Jones went for.
And to think he turned down Keith and Brian Jones invite to join their new band….
I’ve found Paul Jones OK when I’ve spoken to him – maybe it was just an off night! The last time Isaw the Blues Band I was waiting to get his CD signed and the woman in front of me asked…’Did you used to sing that Doo Wah Diddy song..?’
And then they confused things further by doing a song on their first album called Diddy Wah Diddy… er, which is not the same as the Captain Beefheart one. Erk!
Yes on reflection maybe I damned them with faint praise quite unfairly as I really like that first album. NOt got any of the others.
I was surprised that the podcasters weren’t really aware of them. They have made too many albums, but the early ones are worth checking out – Ready, Itchy Feet, and Bye Bye Blues is a good live album which came out when they packed it in for a while. The recent Ray Charles themed Thank You Brother Ray is different, and worth a listen.
I always liked the fact that they were in direct line of descent from the R&B/ blues boom years….and Gary Fletcher used to be in Sam Apple Pie (refe recent blog entry!).
I enjoyed the first Blues Band LP (the faux bootleg one) but they are one of those bands I always felt would work better live than on record. It all seemed a bit retro after the novelty wore off.
I was surprised how much I liked this after buying a copy this summer at Mr B’s insistence (we were at a car boot, obvs). It wasn’t half as antiseptic as I’d expected it to be.
I love the rearrangement of Muddy’s Trouble No More as Someday Baby. Their take on Son House’s Death Letter is also quite imaginative.
I concur with Johnny C there.
A very good live act but not a record act for me. I already have a few more than enough electric blues albums.
TBB are quite badly represented by their studio output apart from the first two albums. There were some misguided attempts to break into the pop mainstream on some of the later records, which don’t usually have very much punch and are altogether a bit too tasteful. Live they can still be very good indeed, and well into the 90s they were as good a night out as you were likely to get in the right kind of venue (Leeds Irish Centre in about 1993 was a classic, for example). As you say PJ is a great frontman and Dave Kelly is one of the best blues players of his generation (see also his solo records like Dave Kelly Band Live and When The Blues Comes to Call)
Gary Fletcher was also in Jimmy Riddle & The Piss-Pots. I’m astonished that they don’t have their own AfterWiki page yet.
I gave the first 2 albums a listen again this afternoon. They had more punch than I remember. I’ll try “Itchy Feet” tomorrow but I recall it not being up to the previous 2.
“Two Bones & A Pick” is first class and Dave Kelly’s vocals are a good alternative to PJ’s. My only gripe is the rather cheesy Huggy Bear style dialogue on “I Don’t Know” but blues music is hardly a good place to moan about appropriation I suppose.
They are/were great live, but my problem with Paul Jones is his cheesy showman upfront. Shit hot harp man, but the, at best, 2nd best singer in the band. Dave Kelly really is a hero. Sings and bottlenecks meticulously. Hs occasional forays with Christine Collister (featuring Pick Withers on drums) are fab; I think maybe only a live album. Plus his solo work and stuff with his sister, Jo-Ann.
PJ is basically extremely showbiz, which isn’t for everybody. He once said that he couldn’t open his fridge at night because the moment the light hit his face he’d have to do twenty minutes.
I like him but I understand why people don’t. I realise this is odd.
Before I forget: Tom McG gives great Guitar Face. During a solo he often looks like he’s being terrorised by an eel.
OK, some TTB love. Great harp playing forgives leather trousers. I also note DK is a middle fnger for the slide guy, like me and Ronnie Wood. We are right.
You got off lightly. PJ was rocking the red trouser long before the county set made them Quite The Thing.
That would have been unforgivable.
I think that clip was originally on a show about R&B with three bands – the Blues Band represented the 60s I think, also on were Nine Below Zero….and Dr. Feelgood…??
True on all counts. Fair enough when you consider that, for example, this line up included Hughie Flint of the B***o album fame.
At that time NBZ played with TBB a few times, usually to similar audiences.
The Rockpalast gig from this era is great too. That seemed to bring the best out in a lot of bands.
Given all this chat I am quite surprised at justy how little I knew about them.
First defence – well why bother when you can explore Muddy, the Wolf etc. But then again I’ve got plenty of Rory, Climax Blues, (hmm we never discussed them) Feelgoods , Canned Heat etc).
Second defence, they never toured here. Well, I’ve got a lot of records by artists that haven’t toured here.
Can’t say they ever got much exposure down here – just fell through the cracks.
When I saw the Manfreds last year both original vocalists had showcase segments. Mike D’Abo played a selection of the songs he’d written for others (Handbags and Gladrags etc) while PJ did a solo blues medley with plenty of harmonica.
South Bank Show 1981
One thing I learned from this Podcast is that Johnny C is a fan of the Blues Boom. Why didn’t we know this before?
We all have our little secrets Colin
Wait, WHAT?
I know, I know – I’m still reeling from the shock!
I’ve been trying to keep it to myself, but it appears to have slipped out in conversation
Well, look, we won’t tell if you won’t. Hopefully we can draw a line under it and move on…
Any particular albums grab your attention back then Johnny ?
Oh, I don’t know, there were so many. The first Chicken Shack album on Blue Horizon springs to mind, 40 Blue Fingers Freshly Packed and Ready To Serve.
I misread that as 40 fish fingers….
Got some gardening to do on a sunny day and it going to be to the soundtrack of white boy blues slide guitar Brian, Johnny, Rory, Colin,
‘Colin?’ And surely it be ’40 Chicken Nuggets…’
Colin Haycock
Climax Blues Band- slide extravaganza.
Pete Haycock, surely? Although there was a member named Colin Cooper early on.
Around 1977 I had a job as a van driver delivering high class furnishing fabric around London. One day I delivered a roll of fabric to a house in Putney or Barnes, (I forget which) and as the lady of the house was signing for it I noticed several framed pictures of a guitarist on the wall in the hallway.
I asked her about them and very proudly she told me “That’s my son Peter, he’s in a group”.
Turns out it was Pete Haycock’s mum and she invited me in to take a closer look at the photos.
Yes you are right of course Conch – my mistake. For years always had him stuck in my mind as Colin.They could be a bit heavy handed but he loved to shred that slide.
Nice anecdote. I don’t recall any songs professing “I’ve got the stain on my high-class furnishing fabric blues”
And the same job took me to the houses of Tom Baker, Connie Booth and John Gilroy, the artist responsible for all those great wartime Guinness posters.
I daresay you wouldn’t be invited into Johnny Winter’s mum’s house on such a flimsy pretext.
The thing about those Climax people – they couldn’t get it right. Surely that says it all?
There’s a joke there about pornography that I won’t soil this thread with on a Sunday morning.
Pete Haycock was a great slide guitarist.
I have his “Guitar & Son” album which was the first release in Miles Copeland’s IRS No Speak series. Wishbone Ash’s “Nouveau Calls” LP was next and the only other one I bought was “The Deacon” by the mighty Steve Hunter.
Haycock, Hunter and Climax bassist Derek Holt later made an album called H Factor. It’s on the shelf, filed under H strangely, so I think I’ll give it a listen tomorrow.
They started life as The Climax Chicago Blues Band, a full-blown blues boom outfit with a 1969 LP on Parlophone, before shortening their name and becoming a kind of FM friendly rock band.
Idea for thread – bands who change their name mid-career:
The Climax Chicago Blues Band
Tyrannosaurus Rex
er,
that’s it.
The Bonzo’s dropped the Doo-Dah (and before that, the Dada) and weren’t the Stones originally Rollin’?
True, and let’s not forget The Bay City Rollers became, simply, The Rollers toward the end.
Jackson 5 – Jacksons. And The Supremes became ‘Diana Ross and …:
Still in Scotland:
SAHB… without Alex
Does Manfred Mann’s Earth Band count? You’re right – it’s probably a whole new thread.
MMEB was probably a totally different band. And this thread is getting awfa skinny on a hand-held device
Chicago were originally called Chicago Transit Authority
Yes! Textbook example.
The talk of Blue Horizon made me think of Duster Bennett – I love the first album ‘Smiling Like I’m Happy’ with Fleetwood Mac guesting on, I think, 3 tracks or so. Saw him live in around 1970 and he was terrific. Sadly died in 1976.
And Duster wrote the great song Jumping At Shadows which Fleetwood Mac performed live. Also covered by Gary Moore.
Why aye bonny lads, weez fookin’ love the blooze up ‘ere in the Toon, like. Yuz can keep yuz John Lee Hooka though, it’s Bur Diddley all the way for us Geordies, like. An’ any fooka who sez otherwise can haddaway an’ shite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8t387oPwQI
Hang on a minute, you’re pinching my entire act, yaboogaman!
Now you know how Van feels…
Tore down á la Concho…
I divvin’ want to steal your thunder Colin, but surely you mean “had on a minute”?
An aeon ago the Spotify-free Tigger asked for a playlist of albums to explore in this field. Reckon this should be a collaborative effort from anyone interested. I’ll start with a few obvious ones, all artists mentioned in the podcast
Rory Gallagher – Live in Europe, or Irish Tour 74.
Derek and the Dominoes- Layla and other Assorted Love Songs
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton
BB King – Live at the Regal or Live at Cook County Jail (I also have a realaffection for Take it Home, his 1979 album with the Crusaders, but its hardly a blues record)
Robert Cray – Strong Persuader or Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
Muddy Waters Live at Newport 1960, Folk Singer, or any of the Chess compilations
WIith many of the old Blues artists, like Mississippi John Hurt, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, etc, I don’t know if there is any particular album to recommend, but there are any number of compilations out there. Others may have more informed suggestions.
What else?
Lovely! Keep ’em coming!
Albert King – Born Under A Bad Sign and Live Wire: Blues Power
Robert Johnson – King of The Delta Blues Singers
Let me also recommend….
The BB King compo Sweet Little Angel, which pulls together some of his 50s records, is well worth it. As are the first couple of discs from the King of the Blues box set. The later stuff I find a bit overproduced.
Charly put out a Hooker compo around 1980 called This is Hip which is pretty much everything you need by John Lee. I’m glad he had a few years in the sun at the end of his life, but the records were pretty ropey, with the exception of The Hot Spot soundtrack where he collaborated with Miles Davis.
JB Lenoir’s Vietnam Blues – soulful folk blues with 60s protest lyrics. Yiss!
If you’re going to have one Clapton blues album besides That One, it oughta be From the Cradle.
I’d try out
Joe Bonamassa – Blues Deluxe
Oli Brown – Open Road
Laurence Jones – What’s It Gonna Be
The Blues Band – Official Bootleg
Nine Below Zero – Don’t Point Your Finger
NBZ’s Live at the Marquee is phenomenal.
It is and the recent extended version release has a great DVD of the gig.
From the podcast comments and subsequent exchanges…
The Five Faces Of Manfred Mann
The Official Blues Band Bootleg Album
Gary Moore – Blues For Greeny
Gary Moore – Back To The Blues
Fleetwood Mac – Mr. Wonderful
Let me recommend the essential Shane Pacey Trio – rescuing the soulful blues spirit from all the tired old blues-boom bombast. His recent album ‘Watch Out!’ is quietly sensational. Here’s a nice compilation of a few solos from a recent show (hey, camera guy, what happened to the songs!?)
Nice! Shane is a lovely player. A bit of wah-wah on the second piece, too.
Otis Rush Right Place Wrong Time
Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Hoodoo Man Blues
Albert King Laundromat Blues
Howling Wolf
Muddy Waters
Little Walter harmonica feature
Sonny boy Williamson harmonica feature
Etta James
probably best of CHESS compilations.
The Muddy albums albums produced and recorded with Johnnny Winter
Slick polished acoustic blues Big Bill Broonzy compilation
Raw right to the roots of it all Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charley Patton
Muddy Waters Folk singer for some fine acoustic blues
Robert Johnson king of the delta blues
I’m a huge fan of Big Bill Broonzy’s acoustic blues guitar, but it’s very hard to get his best stuff on CD. He had such a long career from the 20s to the late 50s and his music ranged from slick jump jazz with big band outfits, to rustic acoustic folk blues. The CDs don’t really tell you which is which.
When he was playing to black US audiences Bill would dress up in a suit and play with a big band like Louis Jordan. In Europe however, he’d wear the dungarees and pretend to be a poor sharecropper with an acoustic guitar, because that’s how the French and British audiences liked their blues.
Great stuff guys, and as always it could have gone on longer and covered more ground, especially the blues boom, Clapton, Green, Hendrix (a podcast on those three alone would be good, extending into Beck and Page and the lasting legacy of the 60s guitar greats).
One guy I would have highlighted is Robben Ford. He’s moved around the styles a great deal over the years but he’s a really great blues player, not only in the trad style but also in taking blues into some fairly experimental and even psychedelic areas. I’ve seen him evolve this live several times in the past 20 years.
A Jazzcast you say? Bring it on
Cheers Nick. There are dark rumblings about a Beanocast coming up before long.
Yes I realised afterwards that I forgot Robben Ford, without doubt one of the best more recent blues players who does that jazzy notes thing.
I had the same thought as Mr. Duvet, probably because that’s my particular shade of blues. John Mayall was only really discussed, totally understandably given time constraints, in relation to Eric and Greeny, with a passing nod to Mick Tayor, but Crusade, Bare Wires and Blues From Laurel Canyon are excellent and very different albums he produced in short order…then he went a bit jazzy and lost me a bit, but he always seemed restless and never took the easy option.
Too much blues boom already, lads!
Here’s the fabulous Brooks Williams – currently touring the UK (I’m seeing him in Stockton ooop nawth on Nov 17) – with a definitive ‘Statesboro Blues’. (Music starts at 1:44)
Was with a mate getting pissed playing pool with Allmans live at the Filmore blaring. Had forgotten just how fluent and consistently excellent that version of Statesboro Blues is.
I knew somebody would mention that Allman version! But forget that – listen to the Brooks version!
It was Taj Mahal’s 1968 recording which inspired the Allman’s 1971 version.
There was only one Allman?
Tough crowd!
How about – the Allmans’ 1971 version
This far down in the thread before a single mention of Taj Mahal – and then only in reference to The Allman Brothers… 🙁
Bah, humbug! 🙂
Just for you @Locust, here’s Taj, with either Ry Cooder or Jesse Ed Davis on slide. In the UK we first became became Taj via The Rock Machine Turns You On, a 1968 CBS sampler LP, featuring this track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQMU1S8FhKg
Thanks – just what I needed after a long day’s hard work!
And that earlier post should read “In the UK we first became aware of Taj”
A whole nation full of Taj Mahal clones would have been too much to ask for, I suppose… 🙂
That’ll teach me to post at 5.30am….
I think I’ll post a gratuitous Taj Mahal clip.
A) Because I can, and also
B) because this is just ace.
(Fishin’ Blues)
If He’d chosen to, judging by this William Bell cover, he could have been a big Memphis-style Soul star.
(You Don’t Miss Your Water)
Jeez, I only today discovered this thread, and what a corker it is. I love the 60s into 70s white boy blooze, sort of anyone in this long since put out to grass, but still available site:
http://www.fridhammar.com/london.html
But has there been any mention of frat boy blooze stateside, anything arising out of the name Bloomfield, Mike and the subsequent sojourns of his fellow bluesonauts? Well worthy of attention. Tends to predate the blue horizon over here, SWIDT, and thus got a tad overlooked, unfairly, I feel.
Mike Bloomfield, good call.
Eric Clapton is on record saying that when Cream first toured the US, there was nothing to beat, with only Bloomfield doing anything worthwhile among white guitarists.
That soon changed of course.
One off-putting thing about Mike was his ‘stance’ – guitar up around his neck and a kind of hunched-over, constipated wrestling with it sort of thing, from the one or two clips I’ve seen. Not a good look.
Yes, Bloomfield did tend to adopt the “Gerry Marsden stance”, didn’t he.
Somebody that was mentioned earlier, Robben Ford, did a couple of really good tribute albums, with his talented family members and some others, to commemorate Michael Bloomfield and also Paul Butterfield.
The Ford Brothers Blues Band. Worth a look.
(Ford Blues Band – Stop)
I don’t normally like White Man Blues these days, but:
That one’s from the Bloomfield album, Can’t find anything from the Butterfield album, which is a doggone shamel, but this sounds pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lebgKIJp9w
(Up From The Streets)
Also features their alternative guitarist Volker Streifer.
The albums he made with his brother Mark are some of the best work he’s done
Paul Butterfield- gun harpist, plus Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield on guitars – what’s not to like?
We don’t hear a lot of talk about Elvin around here. Is no one a fan? Is he not one of the greats?
He was one of the greats, but I don’t have any of his records.
He was always around in the 60s, but was always overshadowed by Mike Bloomfield, that’s for sure.
Mentioning Elvin should also recall that Steve Miller started off as a mainly blues derivateur.
As is the way Elvin did a latter day star studded plus guests, some of whom are mentioned earlier in this strand.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-blues-rolls-on-mw0000796411
It’s OK
Which set me thinking, what about the girls?
Have we had any mention of Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Ellen Foley, Shemekia Copeland, Ruthie Foster and similar?
Joanne Shaw Taylor? 🙂
Jings, SUE Foley, not Ellen. Ellen was the Mick Jones girlfriend who sang with Meatloaf.
If we’re talking female blues singers, it’s hard to go past Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
She looks like somebody’s auntie with that big coat on, but she’s playing the shit out of a white Gibson SG Custom. Go figure.
Filmed at Chorlton Railway Station in Manchester in 1964. It’s a Morrison’s supermarket now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR2gR6SZC2M
I absolutely adore that clip – my favourite footage on the internet bar none. Here’s Muddy at the same unlikely ‘Chorltonville’ concert, filmed for Granada by Johnny Hamp.
https://youtu.be/jeDF1g2cGDI
And here’s some more railway related stuff from Rosetta, with the great Otis Spann
We need to do part 2…
I’m up for it
Well when it comes to female artists Bessie Smith can’t be beat. Trivia – Janis Joplin paid for a headstone for her paupers grave.
Big Mama Thornton was a great blues belter
Ella, Odetta and Billie H could sing it when of a mind but it was Bessie who was totally immersed in it.Her Ma Rainey and Sippie Wallace.
Of the later period Little Esther Philllips is a favourite
Wow! Over 180 comments and climbing. Well done @Twang and the gang. My guess is the Jazzcast will get less than ten!
I know. Bizarre. AW has blues thread and no one claims fretwank.