Big Road Blues

Charlie McCoy’s primary output in Chicago was that of a very busy session musician working with the top blues artists of the day. Among those he backed include: Big Bill Broonzy, Bumble Bee Slim, Jimmie Gordon, Frankie Jaxon, Curtis Jones, Memphis Minnie, Monkey Joe, Johnnie Temple, Casey Bill Weldon, Peetie Wheatstraw, Sonny Boy Williamson, Harlem Hamfats and many others. I’m not going to go through all of these sessions but it’s worth spotlighting a few notable ones. Pianist Curtis Jones was well into a successful career when he teamed up with McCoy on sessions in May and June 1938; McCoy’s mandolin is hard to hear on a remake of Jones’ hit “Lonesome Bedroom Blues No. 2″ but heard in fine fashion on “Palace Blues” and the hokum feel of “Who You’re Hunchin’.” Also in June 1938 he played mandolin on on an eight song session with former sister-in-law Memphis Minnie; His mandolin is featured prominently on the pop number “As Long As I Can See You Smile”, “I’ve Been Treated Wrong”, “Keep On Eating” and “I’d Rather See Him Dead.” Monkey Joe (Jesse Coleman) was a Jackson pianist/vocalist who McCoy likely knew prior to these recordings and in fact his pal Walter Vincson plays guitar on Monkey Joe’s first session. McCoy plays guitar and mandolin on his second session from 1938; Joe is an expressive, if not overly original singer and pianist, who benefits from McCoy’s talents particularly on “Some Sweet Day” where he steals the show with some dazzling mandolin work and also shines on “O.K. With Me Baby” and the raucous “Hair Parted In The Middle.” McCoy played on a number of sides between 1935-1937 with another Jackson artist, Johnnie Temple, who moved to Chicago around the same time as McCoy. McCoy plays second guitar behind Temple much in the way he accompanied Tommy Johnson. The two make a good team on numbers like “Lead Pencil Blues (It Just Won’t Write)”, “Louise Louise Blues” and “Snapping Cat.” McCoy shows up on guitar playing on a 1941 session for Sonny Boy Williamson; McCoy is rather subdued on these sides but contributes some imaginative playing to “Black Panther Blues” and “I Have Got To Go.”

Between 1936-1939 McCoy recorded extensively with the Harlem Hamfats appearing on all their records sans the very last session in September 1939. Tony Russell describes the band this way: “The Hamfats can be described as the first group to promote a successful synthesis of jazz and urban blues - if ‘jazz’ is shorthand for the presence of trumpet and clarinet as lead voices, and ‘urban blues’ for the voice/piano/guitar blend pioneered by Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell. Herb Moran’s trumpet is the dominant horn, and the effect is of a youngish Louis Armstrong, flanked, in Odell Rand, by a vaudeville clarinetist of more than average ability, fronting a conventional Chicago blues band the 30’s. The main singer - for the first year of the band’s life virtually the only singer - is the gravelly voiced Joe McCoy.” The band also moonlighted as the Palooka Washboard Band as well as backing Johnnie Temple and Frankie Jaxon. McCoy plays primarily mandolin and is featured prominently on numerous tracks: the bouncy hit “Oh! Red”, “What You Gonna Do?”, “Move Your Hand”, “Sales Tax On It (But It’s the Same Thing)”, “Southern Blues”, “Bad Luck Man”, “My Daddy Was a Lovin’ Man”, “Growling Dog”, “Keep It Swinging Round and Round”, “I Love That”, “What’s On Your Mind?” and “Little Girl” among others.

Charlie McCoy was an exceptionally versatile musician whether playing mandolin, guitar or banjo and sounded at home performing blues, hokum, swing, in a string band setting or just about any other style you could throw at him. His sides under his own name prove he could hold his own as a lead artist but he seemed most at home enhancing other artists’ records - in that he was the perfect session musician making every record he appears on sound that much better. The war cut short McCoy’s career, and he made no more recordings after 1942, dying in Chicago on July 26, 1950. A good chunk of McCoy’s recordings can be found on the following Document CD’s: Charlie McCoy (1928-1932), Mississippi String Band & Associates (1928-1931), The McCoy Brothers - Vol. 1 (1934-1936) and The McCoy Brothers - Vol. 2 (1936-1944).

Monkey Joe - Some Sweet Day (MP3)

Harlem Hamfats - Growling Dog (MP3)

Harlem Hamfats - Bad Luck Man (MP3)

Between 1929-1936 Charlie McCoy cut scattered sides under his own name or as lead in various bands. By the early 1930’s the many of the Jackson musicians began to disperse, either heading to the delta or like Johnnie Temple and Charlie McCoy to Chicago. By 1932 all of McCoy’s recordings were waxed up North. He did cut several sessions between 1929-1930 in Memphis and Jackson. The bulk of the recordings again feature McCoy’s pals Walter Vincson and Bo Carter on material that ranges from hokum, blues and string band. Billed as Charlie McCoy with Chatman’s Mississippi Hot Footers they cut hokum sides in the vein of the immensely popular “It’s Tight Like That” such as “It Ain’t No Good - Part 1 & II” and “It Is So Good - Part 1 & II” the latter sporting prominent mandolin from McCoy. When not sharing the vocals with his partners, McCoy proves himself a fine reedy singer on straight blues numbers such as “You Gonna Need Me” and the superb “Last Time Blues” where he lays down some watery slide playing. With Carter on violin McCoy delivers “Your Valves Need Grinding”managing to sound wistful and racy at the same time, the string band blues of “Blue Heaven Blues” and takes it solo on the low down “Gland Hand Blues” framed by some imaginative guitar figures. The highlight from a December 15, 1930 session is “That Lonesome Train Took My Baby Away” a rippling mandolin showcase based on the theme of “Cow Cow Blues” and wonderfully sung by McCoy. Four days later, on a duet with Bo Carter, he cut a pair of interesting topical numbers; “The Northern Starvers Are Returning Home” and “Mississippi I’m Longing For You” both with a strong country feel.

By the early 1930’s McCoy was in Chicago where he settled in as a much in demand session musician although he managed a few sides under his own name. In February 1930, As Papa Charlie McCoy, he cut the excellent “Times Ain’t What They Used To Be” playing terrific banjo with guitar from either his brother Joe or Tampa Red. The following day, with Georgia Tom on piano, he cut “Too Long” an insinuating, bluesy pop song that proved to be a sizable hit. In 1934 under the pseudonym Mississippi Mudder he waxed the bouncy “Candy Man Blues”, the wonderful hard time blues of “Charity Blues” featuring some strong piano from Chuck Segar, “Baltimore Blues” a variation on the “Sweet Old Kokomo/Sweet Home Chicago” theme with brother Joe on guitar and the moody slide driven “Motherless & Fatherless Blues.” In 1936 he led a group listed as Papa Charlie’s Boys (Papa Charlie); McCoy is in superb form on vocal and jazzy mandolin on a sparkling remake of “Too Long”, “Let My Peaches Be” and “You Can’t Play Me Cheap” laying down some acrobatic mandolin solos, and the heartfelt “Gypsy Woman Blues.”

Joe McCoy was well known for his association with his wife Memphis Minnie where he played the part of Kansas Joe. The two made many popular recordings between 1929-1932 and after they separated he occupied himself in small bands, singing with the Harlem Hamfats, working as a songwriter and working with his brother Charlie. The two recorded, with Joe as lead bill, for Decca in 1934 as The Mississippi Mudder (Mud Dauber Joe) on notable numbers like “Evil Devil Woman Blues” a smoother version of Skip James’ “Devil Got My Woman” with mandolin like guitar from Charlie and “Going Back Home Blues” strongly influenced by Tommy Johnson. Three sessions in 1941-1942 are listed as Big Joe And His Rhythm a group containing, at times, Robert Lee McCoy, Washboard Sam, Ransom Knowling, Alfred Elkins, Amanda Sortier and Harman Ray. The music is hard to define with Tony Russell dubbing it “skiffle Blues” and describing it this way: “the blend of perky harmonica, stolid rhythm guitar and washboard produces an unusual but shallow ensemble sound and, although it is somewhat freshened by the addition of Charlie McCoy’s mandolin…the half dozen examples…may for some listeners be all the late Joe McCoy they need.” Overall the music is entertaining particularity a follow-up to the Hamfat’s popular “Oh! Red” in “Oh Red’s Twin Brother”, the prominent mandolin of “I’ll Get You Off My Mind” and “It Ain’t No Lie” once again featuring the “Cow Cow Blues” motif and “Bessie Lee Blues.”

Papa Charlie’s Boys - Let My Peaches Be (MP3)

Charlie McCoy - That Lonesome Train Took My Baby Away (MP3)

Big Joe And His Rhythm - It Ain’t No Lie (MP3)

Charlie McCoy ranked among the great blues accompanists of his era and his accomplished mandolin and guitar work can be heard on numerous recordings in a wide variety of settings from the late 1920’s through the early 40’s. Jackson, Mississippi in the 1920’s was a city with a vibrant blues scene including artists such as Tommy Johnson, Walter Vincson, Ishman Bracey, Johnnie Temple, The Chatmon Brothers (Bo, Lonnie and Sam were the most prominent) Skip James and Rube Lacey. Lacey recalled McCoy being among the best of this talented group: “But I really believe Charlie got to be a better musician than I was. He was young, but he got to be about the best musician there was in our band, Charlie McCoy. He was wonderful. He could play anything pretty well you sing. …He was good as I ever want to see.”

The years 1927-31 saw the first commercial recordings of many of the Jackson musicians. Most extensively recorded were the Chatmons, Walter Vincson and Joe and Charlie McCoy. McCoy first recorded in 1928, strictly as an accompanist, backing singer Rosie Mae Moore, Tommy Johnson and Ishman Bracey. Moore was a powerful, rough voiced singer who receives excellent guitar support from McCoy who gets to stretch out quite a bit on “School Girl Blues”, “Staggering Blues”and who’s playing owes a strong debt to Rube Lacey. Better yet were the four magnificent songs he backed Tommy Johnson on over a two day period: “Cool Drink of Water Blues”, “Big Road Blues”, “Bye, Bye Blues” and “Maggie Campbell Blues.” McCoy’s second guitar is superb, not only duplicating Johnson’s guitar part but as, David Evans notes, uses “a flat pick and often strums the strings like a mandolin on his bass part, occasionally doing the same on the treble strings as a beautiful contrast.” McCoy also backed Bracey in very similar fashion on his two numbers, “Saturday Blues” and “Left Alone Blues.” Johnson, Bracey and McCoy returned on Friday, August 31, 1928 for another session for Victor. For whatever reason McCoy didn’t back Johnson but did play mandolin on Bracey’s “Trouble Hearted Blues” and “Brown Mama Blues.” McCoy’s playing is subdued on the beautiful, somber “Trouble Hearted Blues” but his bold, rippling mandolin is heard loud and clear on the equally fine “Brown Mama Blues.”

Between 1928-1931 he played on a variety of sides, many string band related, in the company of Walter Vincson and Bo Carter. In November 1928 Carter, McCoy and an unknown pianist backed singer Alec Johnson on four of six sides. Johnson’s music harks back to an earlier pre-blues era. As Tony Russell notes they “form a lively and expressive pit orchestra to accompany a set of antique minstrel songs and a couple of blues.”McCoy’s playing is superb on the blues”Miss Meal Cramp Blues” and older sounding material like “Sister Maud Mule”, and he rather discomforting “Mysterious Coon.” Also in November of the same year Carter, Vincson and McCoy backed singer Mary Butler on four numbers. Butler may in fact be Rosie Mae Moore who McCoy backed in February of the same year. McCoy plays mandolin on three of the four tracks including the tough minded “Electrocuted Blues (Electric Chair Blues)”, “Bungalow Blues” and “Mary Blues.” The session isn’t quite as strong as the earlier session.

With Walter Vincson he cut sides as the Mississippi Mud Steppers, with the addition of guitarist Sam Hill (plus Bo Carter and Sam Chatmon on one track) as the Mississippi Blacksnakes and with Carter and Vincson as the Jackson Blue boys. With the Mississippi Mud Steppers he cut the remarkable instrumental “Jackson Stomp”, based on the seminal “Cow Cow Blues”, (the song was modified as “The Lonesome Train That Took My Baby Away” at a Charlie McCoy session with Bo Carter on guitar). The song is a dazzling, virtuoso mandolin performance. McCoy further showcases his versatility on a trio of waltzes, playing mandolin on “Alma Waltz (Ruby Waltz)” and plays banjo on two numbers. With the Mississippi Blacksnakes his robust mandolin is heard on the bawdy “Grind So Fine” and the country tinged “Blue Sky Blues” both boasting terrific vocals from Vincson. Two days after the first Blacksnakes session the group recorded again with Bo Carter as the vocalist and either McCoy or Sam Hill on guitar. This is a bluesier session with McCoy again on mandolin/banjo with his mandolin heard in fine form on “It Still Ain’t No Good (New It Ain’t No Good)” and “Easy Going Woman Blues.” One more song by the group, “Bye Bye Baby Blues”, was cut the following day featuring fine slide from McCoy. The two tracks cut as the Jackson Blue Boys are interesting for featuring singing from Carter, Vincson and McCoy in unison and taking solo turns with McCoy playing mandolin.

Ishman Bracey - Brown Mama Blues (MP3)

Mississippi Mud Steppers - Jackson Stomp (MP3)

This review kicks off an ongoing spotlight we’ll be doing sporadically on out of print records. With the glut of blues reissues one would think just about everything worthwhile has been reissued but that’s far from the case. There’s many vinyl only treasures to be discovered for those collectors willing to do a little hunting. A case in point is “Blues Southside Chicago” a superb collection of Chicago blues artists recorded by Willie Dixon in 1964 and originally issued on UK Decca and reissued by Flyright in 1976. Additional sides from this session appeared on “Have A Good Time - Chicago Blues” issued in 1970 on the Sunnyland label which is also out of print.

Mike Leadbitter discusses the aim of the record in his liner notes: “This album was recorded In Chicago’s Southside by Willie Dixon with one aim in mind-to provide the English enthusiast with blues played as they are played in the clubs, without gimmicks and without interfering A & R men. This album is not intended to be commercial in any way and by using top artists and top session men an LP has been produced that doesn’t sound as cold as studio recordings usually do.” In a 1977 interview pianist Henry Gray recalled this session: “I remember, in 1964, Willie Dixon was asked by an English company to produce a couple of so-called Southside Chicago sessions. [Dixon was a very close friend of Howlin’ Wolf and they talked together about that;] Wolf was not personally interested but he induced me to go and support some of the artists chosen by Dixon…Poor Bob Woodfork, Robert Nighthawk, Shakey Horton. That was issued on British Decca label. Yeah, I think it was representative of the kind of music we were playing in the Southside clubs at that time.”

Certainly one of the highlights is the two marvelous songs by Robert Nighthawk. Nighthawk influenced a generation of artists including Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Earl Hooker and supposedly Elmore James. In many ways Nighthawk was the archetype of the classic bluesman spending his entire adult life rambling all over the South with frequent trips to the North playing a never ending string of one nighters punctuated by sporadic recording dates. Nighthawk was tragically under recorded which make the two included songs all the more valuable. “Lula Mae” is a cover of the 1944 Tampa Red song and it was Tampa who was Nighthawk’s main influence. This is an exceedingly tough Chicago blues with Nighthawk’s heavy, gloomy vocals hanging over the song punctuated by the waling amplified harp of Walter Horton. “Merry Christmas” (Nighthawk cut another version for Testament the same year) is more of the same again with some extroverted playing by Horton. Nighthawk’s bottleneck playing is exceptional although a bit buried in the mix.

Johnny Young, who plays second guitar on the above sides, was a pal of Nighthawk’s and the two often played together on Maxwell Street. Young was a brilliant mandolin and guitar player who like Nighthawk was sadly under recorded. Backed by the same band as Nighthawk, Young is in fine form on the stripped down, heartfelt “Little Girl” laying down some intricate mandolin work while the shuffling “One More Time” virtually pops out of the speakers again with some dazzling harp from Horton.

Walter Horton always sounded best on other people’s records but comes across magnificently on “Can’t Help Myself” which opens with a lengthy upper register harmonica solo before Horton’s plaintive, impassioned vocals kick in. Horton’s harmonica work is stunning and it’s a shame he gets consistently overshadowed by Little Walter.

Guitarist Poor Bob (Woodfork) worked with Otis Rush, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers and others but despite Leadbitter’s confidence that “he should go a long way after this superb start” this was the only session he ever recorded (two other songs appeared on the above mentioned Sunnyland LP). Backed by Buddy guy and Mighty Joe Young on guitars, Poor Bob delivers a an exciting blast of contemporary blues in “The Sun Is Rising” and the loping mid-tempo “I Won’t Be Happy” both highlighting his powerful, declamatory vocals.

Like Nighthawk, Homesick James was a bottleneck guitarist but with a more rudimentary technique, owing quite a bit to his cousin Elmore James. By the time of these recordings he was relatively under recorded with some scattered singles and one full length album cut for Prestige a few months prior. The combination of Homesick’s ringing bottleneck and emotionally charged vocals make a potent force on “Got To Move” and “Crutch And Cane” a thinly disguised version of “Look On Yonder Wall.”

Leadbitter calls the piano blues a dying art form and these days the tradition is hanging on by a lifeline. Back then there was still numerous fine piano men including Henry Gray (still with us thankfully) and Willie Mabon who back some of the other artists on this collection and Sunnyland Slim and Eddie Boyd who get two sides apiece under their own names. Sunnyland is in commanding form, hollering out the blues with abandon on the shuffling “I Got To Get To My Baby” and the regal “Everytime I Get To Drinking” a number he first waxed back in 1949, both sporting marvelous solos by Buddy Guy. Boyd is in equally strong form on “Losing Hand” and the bouncy “Where You Belong” again with outstanding contributions from Buddy guy.

A real treat is a gospel number by Ronda Mitchell & Mrs. Lovell in remembrance of the late President Kennedy. Kennedy’s assassination had a profound effect on the African-American community and there were many blues and gospel songs written in the wake of his death (1964 saw the release of “Can’t Keep From Crying” on Testament, a moving collection of these songs). “J.F. Kennedy’s Reservation” is a beautiful, moving, bluesy tribute sung in unison. It’s a wonderful track and I have no idea if the duo cut anything else.

Robert Nighthawk - Lula Mae (MP3)

Walter Horton - Can’t Help Myself (MP3)

Show Notes:

Muddy Waters was a larger then life figure who became a star in the late 1940’s and remained a huge presence on the blues landscape until his death in 1983. When Muddy arrived in Chicago from the Delta in 1943 he was just another struggling musician trying to establish himself. Pete Welding described his early years: “After several years of playing to slowly increasing audiences, first at houseparties and later in small taverns dotted throughout Chicago’s huge, sprawling South and West Side black-belt slums, he had begun to record.” In this feature we start by going back to the early years, not only playing Muddy’s early recordings but spotlighting the many recordings that find Muddy backing his friends and contemporaries. The bulk of Muddy’s session work spans from 1946 to the early 1950’s becoming much less frequent as his star rose. Still even in later years Muddy was always willing to back friends and band mates like Otis Spann, Little Walter, Luther Johnson and others.

In the early years he backed some of the city’s finest including Sunnyland Slim, Baby Face Leroy, Jimmy Rogers and Junior Well. Muddy made his first sides under his own name for Columbia as well as backing obscure artists like James “Beale Street” Clark and Homer Harris (the bulk of these sides remained unissued for decades). We begin the show by playing some of these records before moving on to his better known records for Aristocrat (which later became Chess).

In addition to hearing some of Muddy’s early efforts for the label including “I Can’t Be Satisfied” b/w”I Feel Like Going Home” (the latter was his first national R&B hit in 1948) we hear Muddy’s distinctive guitar backing Aristocrat artists such as Sunnyland Slim, Jimmy Rogers, St. Louis Jimmy, Little Johnny Jones and Baby Face Leroy.

Otis Spann helmed the piano chair in Muddy’s band for over fifteen years and Muddy returned the favor backing Spann on the albums “The Blues Never Die!” (as Muddy Rivers), “The Bottom of the Blues” and “The Blues Is Where It’s At.” He also backed Luther Johnson on two late 1960’s records, pops up with his band on “The Bluesmen of the Muddy Waters Chicago Blues Band” (as Main Stream) on the Spivey label and did some all-star group recordings with Howlin’Wolf, Bo Diddley and others on “The Super Super Blues Band” and “Super Blues.”

Wrapping up our look at great 1970’s blues albums we once again head to Chicago to check in with Alex Randle who goes by the handle Easy Baby. Much less well known than Fenton Robinson or Son Seals, Easy Baby nonetheless cut one of the great blues records of the 1970’s. There’s nothing fancy about “Sweet Home Chicago Blues” (1977), just good old fashioned Chicago blues honed to sweet perfection.

Fame and fortune never found Easy Baby who worked as a mechanic by day and the Chicago clubs at nights. “Sweet Home Chicago Blues” was easy to overlook; it was released on the small Barrelhouse imprint (released on CD on the Japanese P-Vine label), the generic title likely didn’t help as did the fact that the set list was standard Chicago favorites.

To say that Easy Baby and his talented cohorts transcended those limitations is an understatement. Easy Baby is a disciple of Little Walter. Like Walter his harmonica playing is unflaggingly inventive, putting forth one of the most gorgeous and commanding tones you’ll ever hear. Easy Baby is a terrific soulful, world weary singer with a conversational manner that’s deeply engaging. A large part of the record’s success goes to the band: Eddie Taylor’s fleet fingered playing is every bit as inventive as his band leader while Kansas City Red’s drumming is so crisp and in-the-pocket it should be used as a clinic for up and coming blues drummers. The music is straight out of 1950’s Chicago starting with the shuffling instrumental “Madison Street Boogie” that displays ensemble work so precise and well integrated it’s a thing of beauty. As befits his name, Easy Baby is magnificent on slow and easy numbers like “So Tired” and the aching “All My Life.” His tasteful harp work gives way to jaw dropping on the nearly minute and a half solo he drops in to close “You Gonna Miss Me.” Even songs that have become clichés like “Sweet Home Chicago” and “Rock Me Baby” receive invigorating treatment.

Easy Baby, is well, taking it easy these days and rarely plays out anymore. He did play the 1998 and 2000 Chicago Blues Festivals and found time to cut “If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another” for Wolf in 2000, an outstanding session that falls just short of his glorious debut.

Madison Street Boogie (MP3)

My last review was of Fenton Robinson’s “Somebody Loan Me A Dime” and keeping in that vein we take a look at another great record from the 1970’s. If subtlety and taste were the hallmarks of Fenton’s style, Seals’ took a more raw, hard hitting approach. His self titled debut was as raw as an open wound while his 1976 follow-up, “Midnight Son”, was considerably more polished and ranks as one of the 1970’s great blues albums.

Seals’ 1973 debut was a rough, tough no-nonsense affair, not far removed from his Arkansas roots. It was an auspicious opening shot, a ferocious blast of raw boned blues featuring some fine originals like “Our Love Is like a Cancer” and “Cotton Picking Blues.” Cut three years later,”Midnight Son” was a powerful leap forward and set the stage for a string of exceptional records.

“Midnight Son” is a more focused, more polished effort that still retains all of Seals’ raw power with the key addition of a terrific horn section. As the notes make clear: “All of the horn arrangements were worked out between Son and the horn players, and were an integral part of Son’s concept for this album, not an overdubbed afterthought.” “I Believe” opens with just Seals’ searing guitar line before the surging horns kick in, ratcheting up Seals’ ominous reading of the Ray Charles number to an incredible intensity. “No, No Baby” is a funky, swaggering plea to his baby with the horns taking a more subdued role. The horns return front and center on the swinging “Four Full Seasons Of Love” that gallops along like a runaway train and displays a healthy dose of Seals’ sweet, stinging guitar work. I alway felt this song should have become a standard but I don’t know of anyone who’s covered it. “Telephone Angel” is a smoldering mid-tempo number once again featuring incredible interplay between guitar and horns while the closer, “Going Back Home”, shows Seals’ at his most soulful and thoughtful.

“Midnight Son” is where Seals really hit his stride and in my opinion was his finest moment. The album set up a superb run of top shelf records including “Live And Burning” (1978), “Chicago Fire” (1980) and “Bad Axe” (1984).

Four Full Seasons of Love (MP3)

I’ve often heard and read that the 1970’s wasn’t a good period for blues; from a popularity standpoint that may have been true but certainly not from a recording standpoint. One of the era’s true masterpieces is Fenton Robinson’s magnificent “Somebody Loan me A Dime” cut for Alligator in 1974. Fenton had been recording sporadically since the late 1950’s, cutting some terrific material, but “Somebody Loan me A Dime” was his pinnacle.

Fenton was the antithesis of Alligator’s Genuine Houserocking Music slogan, playing and singing with a subtlety and imagination far removed from the rest of the label’s roster. Fittingly, his Japanese fans dubbed him “the mellow blues genius.” Fenton’s guitar playing draws deeply from B.B. King and T-Bone Walker but with a strong jazzy inflection and plenty of grit; his guitar darts and weaves in unexpected directions, is full of probing invention and breaks out into some truly stupendous solos. His voice is a thing of beauty, a deep, rich baritone that glides along and is a perfect counterpoint to his elegant guitar work.

The title tracks envelopes the listener, opening with a dramatic drum shuffle before Fenton’s bold guitar intro kicks in with amazing power. There’s a timeless quality to this song that has classic stamped all over it. Another dramatic opening for “Directly From My Heart To You” as Fenton lays down a thick, probing guitar vamp pushed along by some pulsing horns before breaking into a stunning, soaring falsetto vocal that’s enough to set the hairs on your neck on end. The production throughout is a model of perfection and the band impeccable. The funky, minor-key “You Don’t Know What Love Is” throbs along with a subtly and complexity rarely heard in blues circles, “You Say You’re Leaving” is a gentle swinger as Fenton unleashes a draw dropping solo, while the gorgeous “Texas Flood” (Fenton played guitar on Larry Davis’ original) strips the songs to it’s essence. From top to bottom every song is a winner making for an enthralling experience when listening to the album in it’s entirety.

Fenton had cut a number of these songs previously but this is one of the rare cases where the remakes pack even greater power. Fenton never again recorded anything quite as powerful although his Alligator follow-up, “I Hear Some Blues Downstairs” (1977), had many fine moments.

Somebody Loan Me A Dime (MP3)

Show Notes:

What more can be said about Muddy Waters? Not much so we’ll keep this short and sweet. This week’s show was inspired by the new release “Breakin’ It Up, Breakin’ It Down” which contains an hour of music drawn from three different shows from the 1977 tour with Johnny Winter. Muddy was a mesmerizing live performer and always had great bands so I decided to play nothing but live Muddy.

Muddy’s earliest live recordings stem from 1958 with a recording from the Free Trade Hall in Manchester in England. I’m sure I have this somewhere but since I couldn’t find it the earliest recordings begin in 1959 from a date at Carnegie Hall. At Newport is one of Muddy’s most well know live dates but I really like the raw, intimate club feel of “Folk Festival of the Blues” which was recorded at Big Bill’s Copa Cabana Club in 1963. It’s a shame there’s only five cuts by Muddy. Another favorite of mine is an eleven song live session that first turned up on the 2-CD “One More Mile.” These are terrific sides cut in 1972 for a Swiss radio station featuring backing by just Mojo Buford on harmonica and Louis Myers on acoustic guitar.

Check out the complete Muddy Waters Discograpy (pdf).