Showing posts with label delta blues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label delta blues. Show all posts

Try Me One More Time Review

Try Me One More Time
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After a 17 year recoding hiatus, Bromberg is back with this enjoyable set of mostly blues and folk standards. Imagine David Bromberg sitting in your living room singing and picking his Martin M-42 Signature Edition guitar. This album is great fun for Bromberg fans, with the liner notes as entertaining as the music. Ultimately, David does not "make these songs his own" in the way that he has done previously with other blues standards (e.g., "Statesboro Blues," "Dehlia"), but the album as a whole is quite enjoyable. David fingerpicks most of these tunes, breaking out the slide for two of the album's highlights, the title track and Blind Willie McTell's "Love Changing Blues." He also does a nice job with a somber and reflective reading of Elizabeth Cotten's "Shake Sugaree." Notice how the album cover is modeled after David's first solo album? Maybe this release will renew interest in the first album, and maybe someone will put that one back in print. If you're a Bromberg fan, I recommend this album without hesitation. If you're new to Bromberg, check out Midnight on the Water first.

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Three long-awaited words: David Bromberg's back! Roots music fans will rejoice in the release of "Try Me One More Time," thefirst new CD in 17 years byguitarist/vocalist David Bromberg, a master practitioner of folk, blues,bluegrass and other musical genres. This new recording is undiluted David:one man, one acoustic guitar, and a repertoire of mostly traditionalmaterial performed with the intimate, assured touch of a musician who hasnothing to prove.Originally a "must-have" session man for everyone from Bob Dylan to Dionand subsequently a hard-touring bandleader and recording artist with anenthusiastic following, Bromberg gradually phased himself out of thecontinual record-tour-record cycle starting in 1980. "I got burned out," hereflects. "And I didn't want to be one of those musicians who ends up`phoning it in.' Music was too important to me to treat it that way."So he switched his focus from performing to studying, moving to Chicago in1980 to learn violin-making. Based in the Windy City until 2002, when hemoved to Delaware to open a violin shop, Bromberg has continued to tourperiodically, but has mostly stayed away from recording studios, with1990's "Sideman Serenade" his last album until now. On "Try Me One More Time," Bromberg harkens back to the acoustic folk andblues music of his early days on the mid-'60s Greenwich Village folk scene,a period when he guided the blind gospel-blues singer Reverend Gary Davisto concerts and churches in exchange for guitar lessons. Bromberg performstwo of "the Rev's" compositions on his new CD - "I Belong to the Band" and"Trying to Get Home" - as well as songs written by Robert Johnson,Elizabeth Cotton, Tommy Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, sometime Brombergemployer Bob Dylan ("It Takes a Lot to Laugh . . ."), and songs from thetraditional realm, including two exquisitely rendered instrumentals ("BuckDancer's Choice," "Hey Bub"). The title track is Bromberg's first recordingof a song he wrote more than 30 years ago. In liner notes as conversational as his distinctive, low-key vocals,Bromberg maintains that this CD is the first record he's made where he"wasn't trying to impress anybody . . . I'm just doing the tunes."Nonetheless, the outcome can't fail to delight listeners who appreciate anunderstated virtuoso playing and singing the music he loves.

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Blues Legends: Albert King - Live in Sweden Review

Blues Legends: Albert King - Live in Sweden
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Well it is absolutely about darn time a DVD was released dealing exclusively with the single greatest and most influential Blues guitarist of all time. This DVD certainly has its limitations. It was filmed in 1980 and the wonders of technology haven't done much to improve the audio or visual quality. It is also disappointingly skimpy. Just fifty-eight minutes and that includes pieces of an interview. When I saw the track listing, I was thrilled to see "Summertime". I could hear King's haunting guitar on the standard, and my mouth began to water. Unfortunately, Albert sat this one out, and it is just his band doing a nice, but predictable Jazz version.
Imperfections aside, if you know Albert King's work, you are invariably a fan, and so this DVD is an essential buy. There's plenty of good camera work showing King's giant paws working the frets and choking the you know what out of Lucy, the Gibson Flying V guitar that Albert calls, "My honey". We hear his signature tune "Born Under a Bad Sign" (I still haven't heard a version that wasn't just a little better than decent without King's Stax Records compadres Booker T. & the MGs backing him up) and the standard "The Very Thought of You", which shows that the deep voiced Blues giant was also one heck of a soulful singer, and that though Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn could almost match his power, they never came close to his tastefulness and touch.
King definitely provides great highlights, not only with his playing, but with his always perfectly timed "Woooooooos!" and "Yeahhhhs!". Those moments are great examples of Albert King style Blues. Orgasmic bursts of joy that could instantly cure the bluest man's blues.
Usually depicted as a gruff giant, King comes across more as a lovable teddy bear in the snippets of the interview. I found him to be truly endearing as he chuckles at things he just said. The interview, though pretty skimpy as well, and also the closing number make everything worth while. He does a wonderful version of "As the Years Go Passing By". And as they pass on by, the world will never see his equal. Every year I hear of a new guy on the scene who is being hailed as the heir apparent, but there will never be another Albert King.

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Born in Indianola, Mississippi, Albert King remains one of the mostinfluential blues guitarists of all time and enjoyed a successful career that spanned fourdecades, with wide critical and commercial acceptance throughout the world. The left- handed blues giant wrenched stinging solos from his trademark Gibson Flying V,informing the sound and style of such admirers as Eric Clapton, Luther Allison, StevieRay Vaughan, Taj Mahal and Jimi Hendrix. This never before released concert filmpresents King in top form, tearing through his signature songs at the peak of his career.Songs include "Born under a Bad Sign," "The Sky Is Crying," "The Very Thought ofYou," "Cadillac Assembly Line," "Summertime," "Cold Women with Warm Hearts," "Asthe Years Go Passing By."

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The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3 (1969) Review

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3 (1969)
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I have been collecting the audio discs of "The American Folk Blues Festival" for many years with great anticipation that the mythic video documents would someday be released. Happily those and some new performances are included on this DVD output along with the others in the series. The performances are absolute gems. This disc is a mix of studio and live performances that are so great they bring a tear of joy to my eye. Most of the performers were so rarely filmed that it is a real delight to see them perform. The set list is identified above, but it is worthy of note that the musicians backing up the "A" list track artists are a who's who of blues legends.
I can't pick a favorite cut as they are all wonderful, but to see Otis Rush backing Big Joe Turner, or the ultra rare filmed appearance of Little Walter blowing harp for Hound Dog Taylor (four years before Hound Dog's stellar Alligator debut incidentally), or Buddy Guy's super cool reading of "Out Of Site", or the main man, T-Bone Walker, backing Helen Humes, etc. is a treat beyond explanation. The amazing Earl Hooker and Muddy Waters are bonus track features with Paul Oscher making a very cool appearance on "Got My Mojo Working." Run time is about an hour on this disc.
If you are a fan of music, especially blues, then you need this three volume DVD set, now.


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Tracklistings 1. BIG MAMA THORNTON- Hound Dog 2. ROOSEVELT SYKES- Gulfport Boogie 3. BUDDY GUY- Out Of Sight 4. DR. ISAIAH ROSS- Feel So Good 5. JOE TURNER- Flip, Flop & Fly 6. SKIP JAMES- All Night Long 7. SKIP JAMES- Crow Jane 8. BUKKA WHITE Got Sick & Tired 9. SON HOUSE Death Letter Blues 10. HOUND DOG TAYLOR Wild About You 11. KOKO TAYLOR Wang Dang Doodle 12. SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGHEE-Stranger Blues 12. SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGHEE- Burnt Child (Afraid of Fire) 14. SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGHEE-Gonna Move Across The River 15. HELEN HUMES- THe Blues Ain't Nothing' But A Women BONUS TRACKS: 16. EARL HOOKER- Earl's Boogie 17. MUDDY WATERS- Long Distance Call & 16. MUDDY WATERS-I Got My Mojo Working

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