The 44's Twist the Knife

The 44's
Twist the Knife
Ripcat Records

This is the first recording from The Forty Fours in seven years. Bandleader-Guitarist-vocalist Johnny Main spent the past few years rebuilding the 44's. This all-new lineup includes Eric Von Herzen on harmonica, Mike Hightower on bass, and Gary Ferguson on drums. Junior Watson plays guitar on seven of these eight songs that mostly straight, no-nonsense Chicago blues.

Main is a solid guitarist and robust singer, who sometimes sounds like a Howlin' Wolf imitator as on Wolf's "Howlin' For My Darling," and part of Muddy Waters' "Champagne and Reefer." They turn the old Dirty Red classic "Too Many Drivers" into a relaxed, rocking Chicago shuffle. Von Herzen is outstanding on harmonica while Hightower and Ferguson propel this nicely paced performances. The opening instrumental "Cuttin' Up" showcases Main displaying Albert Collins' influence in his tone here. They convert T-Bone Walker's "T-Bone Shuffle" into a nifty Chicago styled blues, "44's Shuffle."

There is a bit of a psychedelic freakout on the rendition of Doyle Bramhall II's "Rosie," which is the only bum selection to these ears. Also, the playing time is only 33 minutes. These points aside, this is still primarily an entertaining collection of straight-forward Chicago-styled blues.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the January-February 2020 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 388). Here is a recent performance by The 44s.