01-14-2019 # BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1975-1987

01-14-2019 # BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1975-1987 # Hound Dog Taylor, Luther Allison, Charlie Musselwhite, Eric Clapton, Hip Linkchain, Etta James, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Bloomfield, James Sparky Rucker, Cash McCall, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, American Folk Blues Festival, Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Carl Black and the Mannish Boys

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1975-1987

Alligator Records, Chicago's leading contemporary blues label, might never have been launched at all if not for the crashing, slashing slide guitar antics of Hound Dog Taylor. Bruce Iglauer, then an employee of Delmark Records, couldn't convince his boss, Bob Koester, of Taylor's potential, so Iglauer took matters into his own hands. In 1971, Alligator was born for the express purpose of releasing Hound Dog's debut album. We all know what transpired after that...
Hound Dog Taylor
Wild About You, Baby 3:54
Sen-Sa-Shun (Freddie King / Sonny Thompson) 3:19
What'd I Say? (Ray Charles) 4:08
from Release the Hound / Rec. May 25, 1971 - March, 1975 (2004)
As the debut act on the fledgling Alligator label, Hound Dog Taylor obviously holds a hallowed place in owner Bruce Iglauer's heart. That has resulted in more posthumous albums (three) from the raw boogie-blues man than "official" ones (two) released in his lifetime. And that's not including the Alligator tribute disc. Iglauer has returned to raid what must be some pretty threadbare vaults by now, to cobble together this 70-minute collection of live tracks, outtakes, and general leftovers. Fortunately, this barrel-scraping has turned up some real gems, although they are far rougher than what is already in Taylor's gritty, gutbucket rocking catalog...

Distinctive Chicago blues guitar stylist who expatriated to France in the '70s and returned to great acclaim in the '90s. An American-born guitarist, singer, and songwriter who lived in France since 1980, Luther Allison was the man to book at blues festivals in the mid-'90s. Allison's comeback into the mainstream was ushered in by a recording contract with an American record company, Chicago-based Alligator Records. After he signed with Alligator in 1994, Allison's popularity grew exponentially and he worked steadily until his death in 1997.
Luther Allison
Love Me Papa (Luther Allison) 5:58
Standing at the Crossroad (Robert Johnson) 3:15
Feelin' So Good [Take 2] (Herman Parker) 8:08
from Standing At The Crossroad / Rec. 1977 Barclay Studio, Paris, France (2003)
Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica – Luther Allison, Bass – Jim Campbell, Drums – Donald Robertson, Guitar – Dan Hoeflinger, Piano, Organ – Sid Wingfield

Boogie-blues band originating from England, based in America, built a strong following in the '70s. Foghat specialized in a simple, hard-rocking blues-rock, releasing a series of best-selling albums in the mid-'70s. While never deviating from their basic boogie, they retained a large audience until 1978, selling out concerts across America and earning several gold or platinum albums.
Foghat
Stone Blue (Lonesome Dave Peverett) 5:37
Sweet Home Chicago (Robert Johnson) 4:00
from Stone Blue 1978
After racking up huge sales with Live, Foghat found themselves forced to choose between staying a hard rock cult group or trying to expand their success and become a full-on commercial phenomenon. They decided to experiment with adding a commercial edge to their sound and hired producing wiz Eddie Kramer (knob-twiddler for Jimi Hendrix and Kiss) to help them find the right balance between guitar power and studio gloss...

A Mississippi transplant whose rangy, subtle harp playing made a splash in Chicago blues circles beginning in the 1960s. Harmonica wizard Norton Buffalo can recollect a leaner time when his record collection had been whittled down to only the bare essentials: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's South Side Band...
Charlie Musselwhite
Harpin' on a Riff (Charlie Musselwhite) 3:34
Blues All Night 3:27
Chicago Sunset (Charlie Musselwhite) 3:27
from Harmonica According to Charlie 1979
Ostensibly an instructional blues harp album (with an exhaustive accompanying book penned by Charlie), this is emotional and listenable rather than academic. Charlie covers a wide range of blues styles (and harp positions), and ventures to the outer fringes of the genre for the instrumentals... The English studio band is sympathetic, especially pianist Bob Hall.

A rock guitar legend who, in addition to a distinguished solo career, collaborated with countless artists and played in many classic bands. By the time Eric Clapton launched his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album in mid-1970, he was long established as one of the world's major rock stars due to his group affiliations -- the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, and Blind Faith -- which had demonstrated his claim to being the best rock guitarist of his generation.
Eric Clapton
Before You Accuse Me (Take a Look at Yourself) (Bo Diddley / Ellas McDaniel) 4:39
The Sky Is Crying (Elmore James) 3:58
Blow Wind Blow (Muddy Waters) 2:59
from Eric Clapton Blues / Rec. 1970-1980 (1999)
Eric Clapton earned a reputation as a blues guitarist early in his career, and while he frequently returned to the blues -- usually recording at least one blues tune per album -- he never recorded a full-fledged blues album until 1994's From the Cradle. It became one of the most popular records of his career. Not long afterward, MCA assembled a collection of Jimi Hendrix's blues recordings, and that compilation also proved quite successful. Those two releases provided the blueprint for Blues, Polygram's double-disc collection of blues highlights from Clapton's RSO recordings of the '70s...

Cancer struck guitarist Hip Linkchain down before he could shed his status as a Chicago blues journeyman. With a fine album on the Dutch Black Magic logo, Airbusters, to his credit shortly before he died, Linkchain might have managed to move up a rung or two in the city's blues pecking order had he lived longer.
Hip Linkchain
Cold Chills (Hip Linkchain) 3:07
Shaggy Hound (Hip Linkchain) 5:39
Walking From Door To Door 3:36
from Change My Blues 1981
Vocals, Lead Guitar – Hip Linkchain
Bass – Frank Bandy
Guitar – Rich Kirch
Piano – Pinetop Perkins
Linkchain made inroads on the competitive Chicago circuit during the '50s and '60s, playing with harpists Dusty Brown, Willie Foster, and Lester Davenport. His own band, the Chicago Twisters, was fronted by a very young Tyrone Davis in 1959. Linkchain cut a handful of very obscure 45s for the tiny Lola and Sanns logos prior to the emergence of his debut domestic album for Teardrop Records, Change My Blues, circa 1981.

Californian blues belter whose exquisite recordings have wafted into jazz and soul from the 1950s into the 21st Century. 

Etta James 

Respect Yourself (Luther Ingram / Sir Mack Rice) 4:52

Dust Your Broom (Elmore James) 3:48

Stormy Monday (T-Bone Walker) 5:11

from Etta, Red-Hot & Live 1982

Even the company that released this live recording by Etta James is unclear on the precise date (or even the year) of the performance itself -- late '70s/very early '80s is as far as anyone involved will seemingly commit, which isn't too much of a risk, given that it sounds too good to be any earlier, and that some offhanded phrases made during the show didn't exist too much earlier, and that the first incarnation of this release turned up in 1982. What is clear is that James herself is in absolutely top form through and through, in a killer (and uncensored) performance -- she's like a force of nature when she starts to intone the actual songs, and her introductions are also a marvel of freewheeling spontaneity...

Chicago guitarist Jimmy Johnson didn't release his first full domestic album until he was 50 years old. He's determinedly made up for lost time ever since, establishing himself as one of the Windy City's premier blues artists with a twisting, unpredictable guitar style and a soaring, soul-dripping vocal delivery that stand out from the pack.

Jimmy Johnson 

Chicken Heads (Bobby Rush, Calvin Carter) 4:01

Heap See (Jimmy Johnson) 4:19

Tobacco Road (John D. Loudermilk) 5:26

from Heap See / [Rec. Paris 1983] (1999)

Guitar, Vocals – Jimmy Johnson

Bass – Larry Exum

Drums – Fred Grady

Piano – Jene Pickett

Brilliant 1960s blues-rock guitarist who made history with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Bob Dylan. 

Mike Bloomfield 

Hully Gully (Cliff Goldsmith) 4:01

Walking the Floor over You (Ernest Tubb) 4:22

Women Lovin' Each Other (Michael Bloomfield) 4:43

from American Hero 1984

The celebrated blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield performs a variety of blues, R&B, and ragtime classics... He's accompanied by the pianist Mark Naftalin and a skilful rhythm section, and though singing was never his strong point, his consummate guitar playing carries him through.

James Sparky Rucker  - Walkin' Blues 3:45

Cash McCall - I Can't Quit You Baby 6:21

Eddie Cleanhead Vinson - Hold It Right There 4:51

from American Folk Blues Festival 1985

American Folk Blues Festival

The American Folk Blues Festival was a music festival that toured Europe as an annual event for several years beginning in 1962. It introduced audiences in Europe, including the UK, to leading blues performers of the day such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson, most of whom had never previously performed outside the US. The tours attracted substantial media coverage, including TV shows, and contributed to the growth of the audience for blues music in Europe.

Having forged a unique Louisiana/Chicago blues synthesis unlike anyone else's on the competitive Windy City scene, charismatic guitarist Lonnie Brooks long reigned as one of the town's top bluesmen. A masterful showman, the good-natured Brooks put on a show equal to his recordings (and that's saying a lot, considering there are four-plus decades of wax to choose from).

Lonnie Brooks 

Got Lucky Last Night (Lonnie Brooks) 2:59

Belly Rubbin' Music 4:31

Skid Row 5:25

from Wound Up Tight 1986

More energetic efforts with a decidedly rocked-up edge. Johnny Winter, long an ardent admirer of Brooks back to the Guitar Junior days, drops by with a passel of fiery guitar licks for the title track and "Got Lucky Last Night."

Jimmy Carl Black was an unusual figure in American rock music, as he achieved lasting fame primarily for a single ad-libbed line on the third album by the Mothers of Invention: "Hi boys and girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black and I'm the Indian of the group."

Jimmy Carl Black and the Mannish Boys 

Big Leg Emma (Frank Zappa) 3:25

Cut That Out (Junior Wells) 2:18

Let's Talk about Us (Otis Blackwell)

from A lil' dab'l do ya 1987

Although famous for his avant-garde work with Zappa, he was really more of a roots musician and worked extensively in blues, Tex-Mex, and country-rock. He came from a generation of musicians for whom working in a rock & roll band meant playing for strippers, four or five sets per night with more than one version of "Wooly Bully."