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A következő címkéjű bejegyzések mutatása: Jimmy Johnson. Összes bejegyzés megjelenítése
A következő címkéjű bejegyzések mutatása: Jimmy Johnson. Összes bejegyzés megjelenítése

2021. augusztus 12., csütörtök

TRY TO REMEMBER BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1995-2004 (2h 36m)


TRY TO REMEMBER BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1995-2004 Thornetta DavisJimmy Johnson, Tommy Castro, Phil Guy & Lurrie Bell, Eric Bibb & Needed Time, Jimmy Johnson, Buddy Guy, Tommy Bankhead, James Blood Ulmer, Rodolphe Burger, Joe Louis Walker


B L U E S    M U S I C (2h 36m)

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.BLUES_circle on deezer

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 

1995-2004




One of the Midwest's leading blues and soul divas; has also worked with Bob Seger, Kid Rock, and Big Chief.
Try to Remember (Mike Danner / Thornetta Davis / Phil Dürr / Matt O'Brien / Al Sutton) 4:13
Cry (Mike Danner / Thornetta Davis / Phil Dürr / Matt O'Brien / Al Sutton) 4:11
The Deal (Mike Danner / Phil Dürr / Matt O'Brien / Eric Oblander) 3:44
Working with her previous employers from Big Chief, specifically bassist Matt O'Brien, guitarist Phil Durr, and drummer Mike Danner, turned out to be the perfect approach for Thornetta Davis' solo debut. It's not quite Big Chief with a different lead singer, happily, with Sunday Morning Music showcasing her affinity for the blues while not losing the powerful punch of that band. Davis' singing is just wonderful -- she's got a rich, warm voice that she doesn't show off with, avoiding pointless vocal high jumps and wails for confident, often soaring delivery... Black Crowes member Eddie Harsch also adds keys and clavinet at various points, easily slotting into the band's smoky sound. Through it all, Davis sounds on top of her game, and the whole album makes for a worthwhile, invigorating listen.



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 
Black and White Wall (Jimmy Johnson) 3:59
My Ring (Jimmy Johnson) 4:19
Jockey (Jimmy Johnson) 5:40
from I'm A Jockey 1995
It shouldn't have taken Johnson a full decade to find his way back into a studio, but such are the injustices of the record business. The wait was worth it, though -- backed by his touring trio of the timeframe, Johnson mixes blues and soul, originals (a heartfelt "Black & White Wall" and the soaring ballad "My Ring") and covers (his takes on McKinley Mitchell's "End of a Rainbow" and Wilson Pickett's "Engine Number 9" hit home), in decidedly solid contemporary form.




Contemporary blues star known for his passionate, fiery guitar playing and powerful vocals.
Tommy Castro 
Can't Keep a Good Man Down (Tommy Castro) 4:00
Suitcase Full of Blues (Steve Schuffert) 4:10
Hycodan (Keith Crossan) 4:31
There's a clean San Francisco sheen to Tommy Castro's second album for Blind Pig, and it's not just the glossy production work of Jim Gaines (Santana, Huey Lewis and Stevie Ray Vaughan) that's responsible for it. Castro and his band have long been local favorites of the Bay area bar crowd, and his blues-rock/soul-pop synthesis with the occasional slow blues thrown in makes him another young contender for the yuppie throne of modern bluesdom.. 


Phil Guy
didn't eclipse his older brother Buddy's status as a blues superstar, and in reality, Phil's funky brand of blues was not captured correctly for posterity. But he remained an active attraction on the Chicago circuit, following in his sibling's footsteps and patiently waiting for his own star to rise up until his death.
What Can a Poor Man Do - Phil Guy feat: Lurrie Bell 4:53
Wine Headed Woman - Phil Guy 4:07
Going Back to Louisiana (Lurrie Bell) - Phil Guy feat: Lurrie Bell 4:38
Lurrie Bell was born on December 13, 1958, in Chicago. His famous father, harpist Carey Bell, had him working out on guitar as a wee lad. By 1977, he was recording with his dad and playing behind a variety of established stars, tabbed by many observers at the time as a sure star on the rise.
Phil Guy and Lurrie Bell



New York singer/songwriter and guitarist at the forefront of the 1990s country-blues revival. Like Josh White, Jr. -- son of folksinger Josh White -- singer, songwriter, and guitarist Eric Bibb was raised in the folk tradition, the son of folksinger Leon Bibb. Bibb's uncle was the world-famous jazz pianist and composer John Lewis, part of the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Eric Bibb & Needed Time
Lonesome Valley (Woody Guthrie / Traditional) 3:55
Needed Time )Traditional) 5:17
Woke Up This Mornin' (B.B. King / Jules Taub / Traditional) 4:22
Braggin' (Eric Bibb / Göran Wennerbrandt) 3:02
Eric Bibb grew up in New York City, surrounded by a plethora of cultural variety from Leadbelly to Villa-Lobos wafting in from the radio and the streets. By the time little Bibb got his first guitar, his father, the eminent Leon Bibb, was making the rounds as a respected folk singer. Leon removed Eric from school in favor of packing him along to rehearsals, where he consorted with the likes of Judy Collins, Odetta, Bob Dylan, Earl Robinson and many others. Spirit and the Blues is a funky folk-blues delight: a bubbling pot of authentic bottleneck spirituals and memorable hum-alongs, especially for hardcore Deacons fans. Bibb blends the muddy-river vocal style of Delta gospel and the drive of white vagabond balladeers like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger... A modern and beautifully mixed record, graced with spirit and a real timelessness factor.


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.
I Used to Be a Millionaire (Jimmy Johnson) 5:38
Livin' the Life (Jimmy Johnson) 4:16
The Sky Is Crying (Elmore James / Morgan Robinson) 5:40
from Livin' The Life 2000


Contender for the title of greatest blues guitarist ever, with a fiery, screechy, super-quick technique that influenced countless followers. Buddy Guy is one of the most celebrated blues guitarists of his generation (arguably the most celebrated), possessing a sound and style that embodies the traditions of classic Chicago blues while also embracing the fire and flash of rock & roll.
Done Got Old (Junior Kimbrough) 3:23
Baby Please Don't Leave Me (Junior Kimbrough) 7:22
Tramp (Lowell Fulson / Jimmy McCracklin9 6:47
She Got the Devil in Her (CeDell Davis) 5:10
from Sweet Tea 2001
...So, after a bit of a break, Guy returned in 2001 with Sweet Tea, an utter anomaly in his catalog. Recorded at the studio of the same name in deep Mississippi, this is a bold attempt to make a raw, pure blues album -- little reliance on familiar covers or bands, no crossover material, lots of extended jamming and spare production. That's not to say that it's without its gimmicks. In a sense, the very idea behind this record is a little gimmicky -- let's get Buddy back to the basics -- even if it's a welcome one, but that's not the problem... This may not showcase the showmanship of the artist live, the way Damn Right did, but it does something equally noteworthy -- it illustrates that the master bluesman still can sound vital and can still surprise.





Before he was old enough to legally take a drink, Tommy Bankhead was playing the blues with a long list of legendary musicians that included Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson, Joe Willie Wilkins, Robert Nighthawk, and Joe Hill Louis.

I'm Not Your Alley Cat (Tommy Bankhead) 4:22
Please Accept My Love (Tommy Bankhead) 4:13
Everything Gonna Be Alright (Little Walter) 4:08
He started in his teens and for half a century remained a high-caliber bluesman. A Mississippi native, he settled in St. Louis at the end of the '40s. Bankhead made a name for himself with his guitar, but he also possessed refined skill on the bass, drums, and harmonica.


Free jazz has not produced many notable guitarists. Experimental musicians drawn to the guitar have had few jazz role models; consequently, they've typically looked to rock-based players for inspiration. James "Blood" Ulmer is one of the few exceptions: an outside guitarist who has forged a style based largely on the traditions of African-American vernacular music.
Rodolphe Burger is a French experimental rock icon whose most notable achievements include a two-decade tenure as the singer/guitarist of Kat Onoma, plus acclaimed solo albums and a wide range of collaborations. Born on November 26, 1957, in Colmar, Haut-Rhin, France, he first garnered musical fame in the experimental rock band Kat Onoma.
House People (James Blood Ulmer) 3:44
Cheering (James Blood Ulmer) 5:29
Are You Glad to Be in America? (James Blood Ulmer) 4:33
Huit Couché (Rodolphe Burger) 4:08
from guitar music 2003
Hendrix meets the Velvet Underground is the best way to describe this amazing release. Blood is of course James Blood Ulmer who had avoided for decades to fulfill the promise to continue where Hendrix has ended it with the Band of Gypsies although many saw him as legitimate heir. Burger is the French singer and guitarist Rodolphe Burger, formerly leader of Kat Onoma and rooted in the Velvet Underground sound of White Light White Heat... 


Award-winning blues singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer who rose to prominence in the 1980s. It took Joe Louis Walker a while to establish himself as a force of his own -- nearly 20 years, to be precise -- but once he released his debut, Cold Is the Night, in 1986, he quickly became a staple in contemporary blues.
Do You Love Me? (Joe Louis Walker) 5:22
New Direction (Joe Louis Walker) 6:43
Messed My Mind Up (Joe Louis Walker) 6:58
from New Direction 2004
Joe Louis Walker is quite the triple threat. Not only is he a superb blues guitarist, with remarkable fluency and imagination, he's also an excellent singer (as you might expect from someone who came up through gospel groups), and an excellent writer with a strong penchant for soul music...  With "Soldier for Jesus" his blues mixes with gospel, and some wonderful guitar work. With a small band -- bass, drums keys -- that truly swings, he keeps center stage, which is what he needs... A superb record from someone who might just be the best contemporary bluesman.











2021. július 11., vasárnap

11-07-2021 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1988-1997


11-07-2021 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1988-1997 Lazy Lester, Tinsley Ellis, Bob Dylan, Champion Jack Dupree, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite, Jimmy Johnson, Thornetta Davis,  Tommy Castro


B L U E S    M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!


.BLUES_circle on deezer

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 

1988-1997

 
Swamp blues vocalist and harp-man of the 1950s and '60s who earned an impressively long revival beginning in the 1980s.
I'm a Man (Bo Diddley) 4:00
Alligator Shuffle(Leslie Johnson) 2:45
from Harp & Soul 1988 
After a lengthy hiatus from the music business, Lester was in the midst of his comeback when he waxed this album for Alligator. The overall sound is redolent of those Louisiana swamp blues classics, but with a cannily updated contemporary edge that works well.



A fiery guitarist and talented songwriter who plays a unique blend of Memphis R&B, southwest blues, and urban funk.
I've Made Nights By Myself (Albert King) 2:36
Lucky Lou (Jody Williams) 3:21
from Georgia Blue 1988
A hard-rocking, high-voltage blues guitarist most often compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tinsley Ellis is hardly one of the legions of imitators that comparison might imply. Schooled in a variety of Southern musical styles as evidenced by his 1988 Alligator debut Georgia Blue (a label he has been signed to three different times) Ellis draws not only from fiery Vaughan-style blues-rock, but also Texas bluesmen like Freddie King and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, the soulful blues of B.B. King, the funky grit of Memphis soul, and numerous other electric bluesmen...

Iconic singer/songwriter and musical wanderer who rose to prominence during the '60s folk revival and changed the world of music.  Bob Dylan's influence on popular music is incalculable. As a songwriter, he pioneered several different schools of pop songwriting, from confessional singer/songwriter to winding, hallucinatory, stream-of-consciousness narratives...
Political World  (Bob Dylan) 3:48
Everything Is Broken (Bob Dylan) 3:13
from Oh Mercy 1989
Oh Mercy was hailed as a comeback, not just because it had songs noticeably more meaningful than anything Bob Dylan had recently released, but because Daniel Lanois' production gave it cohesion. 

2019. február 16., szombat

16-02-2019 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1983-1993




16-02-2019 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1983-1993 # 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, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Tinsley Ellis, The Jeff Healey Band, Johnny Winter, Joanna Connor, Robert Cray


B L U E S   M U S I C


LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM
http://www.deezer.com/playlist/1681171971

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 


1983-1993





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.
Chicken Heads (Bobby Rush, Calvin Carter) 4:01
Heap See (Jimmy Johnson) 4:19
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. 
Hully Gully (Cliff Goldsmith) 4:01
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
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).
Got Lucky Last Night (Lonnie Brooks) 2:59
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."

2019. január 14., hétfő

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


B L U E S   M U S I C


LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM
http://www.deezer.com/playlist/1681171971

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 


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.


2018. augusztus 13., hétfő

13-08-2018 12:06 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues songs from the BLUES circle 1982-1972


Hound Dog Taylor

13-08-2018 12:06 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues songs from the BLUES circle 1982-1972 # Hound Dog Taylor, Robin Trower, Jack Bruce, Bill Lordan, Tom Waits, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmy Johnson, David Wilcox, Otis Rush, Johnny Shines, Junior Wells, Maggie Bell,  The Allman Brothers Band, Albert King


B L U E S   M U S I C


LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM
http://www.deezer.com/playlist/1681171971

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 


1982-1972


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
Crossroads (Traditional) 2:22
Blue Guitar (Hound Dog Taylor) 3:38
from Genuine Houserocking Music 1982
With Alligator label prexy Bruce Iglauer recording some 20 or 30 tracks over two nights everytime the band went into the studio, there were bound to be some really great tracks lurking in the vaults and these are it. Noteworthy for the great performance of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads," (previously only available as a Japanese 45) but also for the "rock & roll" inclusion of "What'd I Say" and Brewer Phillips' take on "Kansas City." No bottom of the barrel scrapings here.


One of rock's prime guitarists, due to his uncanny ability to channel Jimi Hendrix's blues-psych, Fender Strat-fueled playing style. Throughout his long and winding solo career, guitarist Robin Trower has had to endure countless comparisons to Jimi Hendrix due to his uncanny ability to channel Hendrix's bluesy/psychedelic, Fender Strat-fueled playing style.
Robin Trower
Jack Bruce, Bill Lordan
Into Money (Robin Trower) 2:56
End Game (Bill Berry / Peter Buck / Mike Mills / Keith Reid / Michael Stipe / Robin Trower) 5:11
from B.L.T. 1981
It wasn't until the 1980 Victims of the Fury album, seven years into his solo career, that Robin Trower would employ former Procul Harum bandmate Keith Reid to provide lyrics (with Reid probably the only lyricist in history to get band status). Though this is officially a Robin Trower release entitled B.L.T., the marquee giving Jack Bruce and Bill Lordan equal heading above the double-sized name of Robin Trower, the project is shouldered by all talents involved and inhibited by a dreadful cover photo of a white bread sandwich: bacon, lettuce and tomato with -- if you look closely -- raw bacon. All concerned would have been better off titling this a Jack Bruce/Robin Trower project with drummer Bill Lordan...
Robin Trower


A neo-beatnik songwriter who grew weirder and wilder in the '80s, earning a cult following that only grew larger as the years passed.  In the work of American songwriter Tom Waits, swampy blues, Beat poetry, West Coast jazz, Tin Pan Alley, country, 1930s-era cabaret, and post-Civil War parlor songs meet neon-lit carnival music, and the wheezing, clattering, experimental rhythms (often played by makeshift musical instruments from car radios to metal pipes and tin cans -- hence his love of Edgard Varese and Harry Partch) form a keenly individual musical universe.
Tom Waits
Heartattack and Vine (Tom Waits) 4:50
Downtown (Tony Hatch / Tom Waits) 4:44
'Til the Money Runs Out 8Tom Waits) 4:25
from Heartattack and Vine 1980
Heartattack and Vine is Tom Waits' seventh and final album for Asylum. As such, it's transitional. As demonstrated by its immediate predecessors, 1978's excellent Blue Valentine and 1977's Foreign Affairs, he was already messing with off-kilter rhythms even in the most conventionally structured blues and jazz songs, with nastier-sounding guitars -- he plays a particularly gnarly style of rhythm on this entire album. Five of these nine tracks are rooted in gutbucket blues with rock edges and primal R&B beats. By this time, his singing voice had deteriorated to a gasping-for-breath whiskey-and-cigarettes growl that could make words indecipherable from one another, but his jazzman-inspired phrasing more than compensated... In sum, Heartattack and Vine reveals just how much Waits had grown during his tenure with Asylum. Though not perfect in sequencing -- the alternating juxtaposition of rowdy blues and heartworn ballads gets old -- almost every song stands on its own as a dusty gem.