Luther Allison fixed your soul, by crikey he is missed, and Hubert Sumlin cut some sides on his first European tour as bandleader just weeks before his boss Howlin’ Wolf died. They should have been together, Hubert did the tour with Lonnie Brooks on second guitar, Dave Myers and Willie Big Eyes Smith.
You’d be forgiven if you got confused last night with the bard from Stratford, I reckon we did Wills Shakespeare proud:- Henry I was played by Mr. Oden with nifty titfer and beautiful guitar, can’t think why he’s not better known. Henry II followed at the start of hour number two in the shape of Henry Townsend from some sessions on a Swingmaster disc; the two more Henrys did splendid piano duties, Gray earned his stripes for Howlin’ Wolf and Butler is a wild exuberant spirit from New Orleans. Mr. Butler in particular has that wonderful child-like sense of unfailing invincibility no matter what the challenge. Genius. The Heritage Blues Orchestra covered Eric Bibb’s “Don’t Let Nobody Drag” to complete our homage to the eighth letter of the alphabet.
Similarly on Swingmaster, James ‘Son’ Thomas helped out a bit in the gospel spot with ‘Take A Little Walk’ though the main man was John Lee Hooker with ‘Ezekial saw The Wheel’ from an album of rarities he cut in 1949 for the cartoonist Gene Deitch (not released for 60 years). Further mastery from a very cool blues legend ensued with one of the last things Albert Collins ever did, strangely the project owed its life in a roundabout way to Richard Branson’s Virgin label. Billie Holiday’s 1936 recording of George & Ira Gershwin’s “Summertime” was our 1001 Blues, perhaps in relief that the endlessly persistent rain has gone away for awhile. Two new albums on Alligator (lil Ed and Rick Estrin) and a very tasty morsel from Chris O’Leary kept the new release flag flying.
The small plastic duck with eyes like Ernest Borgine who sat on the third stair last week has made a break for it by moving closer to the big one that looks like Mrs Doubtfire. There are two factions of ducks now - I am expecting a skirmish between now and the next blog. You’ll read it here first. Until then take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you
Soul Fixin Man | Luther Allison | 10 | Bad Love | Luther Allison | Ruf |
My Guitar And Me | Hubert Sumlin | 1 | My Guitar And Me (1975) | Hubert Sumlin | |
Your Time Is Gonna Come | Henry Oden | 8 | You're Wrong For That ! | Henry Oden | |
My Bleeding Heart | Lil Ed WilliamsWillie Kent | 5 | Who's Been Talking | Lil Ed WilliamsWillie Kent | EARWIG |
Wynonie's Boogie | Wynonie Harris | 3 | Mr. Blues Is Coming To Town | Wynonie Harris | MR. R&B |
Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down | Heritage Blues Orchestra | 7 | And Still I Rise | Heritage Blues Orchestra | MRI |
Summertime | Billie Holiday | 6 | The Roots Of The Doors | Various Artists | SNAPPER MUSIC |
Movin' To The Country | Melvin 'Lil Son' Jackson | 3 | Story Of The Blues | Various Artists | SUNDAY TIMES NEWSPAPER |
Take A Chance On Me Baby | Jackson Sloan | 2 | Saturday Clothes | Jackson Sloan | SHELLAC |
Everything's Gonna Be Alright | Butterfield Blues Band, The | 7 | Lost Sessions | Butterfield Blues Band, The | ELEKTRA |
Loving Cup | Butterfield Blues Band, The | 8 | Lost Sessions | Butterfield Blues Band, The | ELEKTRA |
Built For Comfort | RoXi And The Blue Cats | 3 | RoXi And The Blue Cats | RoXi And The Blue Cats | |
Travellin' South | Albert Collins | 4 | Iceman | Albert Collins | POINTBLANK |
Jump Right In | Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials | 7 | Jump Start | Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials | Alligator |
Movin' Slow | Rick Estrin And The Nightcats | 5 | One Wrong Turn | Rick Estrin And The Nightcats | Alligator Records Inc |
Dirty Trick Blues | Henry Townsend | 3 | St. Louis Blues Ace | Henry Townsend | IODA |
Evil Woman | Lonnie Johnson | 12 | The Bluesville Years. Vol 11: Blues Is A Heart's Sorrow | Various Artists | PRESTIGE |
Cold Chills | Henry Gray | 2 | Lucky Lucky Man | Henry Gray | Blind Pig |
I've Got My Eyes On You | Henry Butler | 1 | Blues After Sunset | Henry Butler | BLACK TOP / C.R.S |
X-Temporaneous Boogie | Camille Howard | 13 | Specialty Story | Various Artists | Specialty |
You've Got To Reap What You Sow | Walter Davis | 16 | The Bullet Records Story - The First Americana Label | Various Artists | SPV |
Ezekiel Saw The Wheel | John Lee Hooker | 7 | Jack O' Diamonds | John Lee Hooker | EAGLE |
Take a little walk | James "Son" Thomas | 5 | Mississippi Delta Blues Man | James "Son" Thomas | IODA |
Jump Little Children, Jump | Brownie McGhee | 2 | The Last Great Blues Hero | Brownie McGhee | WESTSIDE |
Without You | Chris O'leary Band | 2 | waiting for the phone to ring | Chris O'leary Band | VIZZTONE |