Big Road Blues

Jesse Thomas recorded sporadically from the late 1920’s through the early 1990’s and despite his longevity didn’t achieve much in the way of success or recognition. In 1929, at 18, Thomas cut four excellent sides for Victor showing a prowess beyond his years. Three of the number are strongly indebted to Lonnie Johnson while the session highlight, “Blues Goose Blues”, is clearly inspired by Blind Blake. By the post-war era Thomas had developed a brilliant, highly individual style unlike anyone else. For proof just listen to Document’s “Jesse Thomas 1948-1958″ which collects 28 tracks the enterprising Thomas cut for nine different West Coast labels over the course of a decade (”Gold Mine Blues” cut in 1948 is not included for some reason). For a complete discography click here.

The music ranges from solo down home numbers, rollicking band driven R&B and smoky after hours cuts. Thomas’ guitar playing is dazzling; by this time he had developed a harmonically sophisticated style, playing highly unpredictable, inventive guitar phrases in a manner that incorporated both down home and uptown styles. His guitar playing, while highly individual, still bears a Lonnie Johnson influence but also owes a debt to T-Bone Walker. Thomas developed his sound, as Chris Smith notes, “in part by transferring saxophone solos and his own piano playing to electric guitar.” Thomas’ singing is equally striking, a deep burnished voice that a times sounds like Robert Johnson.

The solo sides, featuring superb integration between guitar and vocal, find him at his best. High points include the catchy “Same Old Stuff”, “Mountain Key Blues” and “Zetter Blues.” All display fine songwriting and characteristic of many of his songs, he inserts long pauses between lyrics that enhance the dramatic effect, punctuated by short, unpredictable guitar runs. The remarkable “Double Due Love You” opens with a tongue twisting run of words that is sort of a vocal equlivalent to his knotty guitar phrases. On the laid back, conversational “Gonna Move to California”, a variation on the classic “Kansas City”, Thomas plays some deft acoustic guitar.

The small group recordings are generally successful backed by a combination of piano, bass drums and saxophone. “Melody in C” is a jazzy instrumental backed by unknown bass and piano that finds Thomas playing in very sophisticated style with a nod to T-Bone Walker. “Let’s Have Some Fun” is a rocking full band number with wailing tenor and baritone featuring some draw dropping electric guitar solos while the shuffling, irresistibly catchy “I Can’t Stay Here” benefits from the rippling piano work of Lloyd Glenn. Glenn pops up to good effect on all four of Thomas’ Swing Time numbers including the bouncy “It’s You I’m Thinking Of.” Backed by an unknown band and booting sax man, Thomas rocks on “Cool Kind Lover” from 1951 that is as close to rock & roll as he ever got. Another highlight is “Another Fool Like Me” a propulsive boogie number with Thomas just accompanied by a unknown but wailing harmonica blower.

Jesse Thomas died in 1995 and continued cutting material intermittently on his own Red River imprint, Ace and Delmark. However, he never quite matched the sheer brilliance of these late 40’s and 50’s sides.

Double Due Love You (MP3)

I Can’t Stay Here (MP3)

Gonna Move To California (MP3)

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)