Wynonie Harris Don’t You Want To Rock? The King & Deluxe Acetate series Ace Records 2-CD set UK Import
Wynonie Harris, the great blue shouter known as “Mr. Blues,” is the subject of a superb double-CD reissue on the English Ace label which the label describes on its website as “23 of the R&B superstar’s seminal King sides in best-ever sound, plus an entire CD of alternates, all mastered from fresh transfers from the original acetates.” These are Harris’ first recordings for the Cincinnati based King Records label and find him backed by Dexter Gordon, Hot Lips Page, Tom Archia and many others with songs that would become classics, including his cover of Roy Brown’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” heard with an alternate take and a breakdown take. There are the big band renditions of Louis Prima’s “Oh Babe!” and the Ruth Brown hit “Teardrops From My Eyes,” bawdy numbers like “She Just Won’t Sell No More,” and “I Like My Baby’s Pudding,” and the humor of “Grandma Plays the Numbers.” There is a lavish booklet with session-by-session annotation that comes with this. It is probably this writer’s favorite blues reissue of 2015.
I purchased this and it was published the the 2015 Jazz & Blues Report Gift Guide (downloadable from jazz-blues.com website as a pdf file that includes 2016 Gift Guide and Gift Guides from prior years). Here is the Wynonie Harris recording of "Grandma Plays the Numbers."
Ace Records in the UK recently reissued a number of recordings that came out on Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman and related labels. Included in these are albums that came out on the BluesTime subsidiary that included albums by T-Bone Walker, Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson and Big Joe Turner, along with otis Spann. Thiele had recorded Spann when he was at ABC-Paramount, producing for both Impulse and Bluesway. Both of the Bluesway albums had Spann backed by the Muddy Waters band. For BluesTime, Spann recorded "Sweet Giant of the Blues," which had Spann backed by Max Bennett on bass, Tom Scott on sax, Paul Humphrey on drums and Louie Shelton on guitar.
With this backing group, Thiele took Spann outside the straight Chicago blues setting of his previous recordings and tried to mix in some Latin and funk grooves of the time in an attempt perhaps to reach different audiences. Spann is in fine form, both on piano and singing. Bennett and Humphrey are solid backing him. Scott plays well, although at times his playing comes across as busy. Shelton is a good guitarist and his crisp playing on "Sellin' My Thing," a song in the hokum tradition, stands out but at other places his use of fuzz-tone, (perhaps a production decision ) is misplaced and is a distraction on otherwise fine performances like "Moon Blues." This latter title refers to the moon landing but Spann sings about having all that bread to send folks into space, but the cupboard is bare for us and baby we ain't going anyplace. Scott has a terrific flute solo on this with Spann adding splendid accompaniment under it.
"I Wonder Why" and the instrumental "Bird In a Cage" are other songs on which one wishes Shelton had put the fuzzbox away. Spann is terrific, and if not totally enamored with Scott's sax on the former number, I wish Shelton was absent on both. Thankfully he plays without effects on the slow blues "Hey Baby," and on Spann's gospel number "Make a Way," that closes this album. It is unfortunate that these flaws detract from an otherwise fine recording. Spann would have one other recording on BluesTime, the super-session, "Super Black Blues" with T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner and a terrific band that included George 'Harmonica Smith that Ace has also reissued and which I unequivocally recommend.
This Flair release is most welcome reissue of vintage 1950s recordings by the Beale Street Blues Boy that originally appeared on the English Ace label. It includes a number of his original chart-making hits such as the originals of Sweet Little Angel, Crying Won’t Help You Now (done at a nice loping tempo), Worry Worry and Clarence Garlow’s Please Accept My Love. There are some alternate takes, a solid instrumental version of Louis Jordan’s Ain’t That Just Like a Woman, along with the previously unissued String Bean, with his picking style almost like Gatemouth Brown.
These twenty-one titles come from a variety of sessions, some with his road band, others with Los Angeles studio bands. All represent prime B.B. King who was touring the chitlin circuit over 300 nights a year while squeezing in recording sessions, and creating a body of recordings that, along with those by T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters, defined modern blues. But these are more than historic recordings. B.B. was after all a great singer, not simply a great guitarist. If he hadn’t been as great a singer, he wouldn’t have had the extensive popularity nor recorded as frequently, both of which facilitated his influence on other performers.
While it would have been nice to have discographical information, the music is what ultimately matters, and this is a vintage collection that may be the best available reissue of King’s recordings of this period. Essential.
This review appeared in the November 1993 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 186) and I likely received my review copy from either the record copy or Jazz & Blues Report. You may still be able to find copies of the US release of this as well as the UK Ace Records edition. Here is B.B. King performing "Sweet Little Angel."
B.B. King's recording career extended about 65 years and it was his association with the Bihari Brothers that his career first blossomed and music matured. Roger Armstrong and Dick Shurman collaborated to compile a collection B.B. King rarities, "Here's One You Didn't Know About: From the RPM & Kent Vaults." With the exception of two selections taken from a RPM records compilation, the 25 tracks present the King that became a major rhythm and blues artist who as Shurman notes in his essay in the liner booklet shaped countless blues musical identities. Included are mostly alternate takes of issued recordings although a few songs appear to issued here for the first time.
The album title comes from a comment King made before launching into "Catfish Blues aka Fishing After Me." Joe Bihari, who supervised many of these sessions, called Maxwell Davis a genius which could be reflected in the big band arrangements Davis provided King such as on the previously unissued "Be Careful Baby," or the superb swinging "Gotta Find My Baby." Then there is the terrific "Loving You in Vain," with a stunning vocal and terrific guitar. King may have perfected his guitar tone (although I am not sure I agree with Dick Shurman on this) after he signed with ABC-Paramount in 1962, but the quality of King's singing along with the fire and fluidity in his guitar playing on the music is as good as it gets.
Two different takes of "Sweet Little Angel" are presented, one from a recording at a Little Rock radio station and one later at a Maxwell Davis arranged session. "Talkin' the Blues" is one of two instrumentals included here, while the rendition of "Be Careful With A Fool," is a hard swinger with a blazing solo from King along with a booting tenor sax solo from Davis and followed by the stunning "My Heart Beats Like a Hammer." "Don't You Want A Man Like Me" has a similar Latin-tinged groove and is related to "Woke Up This Morning,"with Bump Myers on the sax solo. "Early in the Morning aka Early Early Blues" sports some of King's jazziest playing here which, Shurman observes, incorporated lyrics from a couple of T-Bone Walker recordings.
The album closes with a terrific alternate take of "Going Down Slow," to which is appended snippets from a radio interview and plug for a radio station. This closes nearly 80 minutes of prime B.B. King and with the excellent booklet containing Dick Shurman's excellent overview of the music, one has a reminder of why this gentleman was the King of the Blues.
Dust My Rhythm & Blues: The Flair Records Story
Ace (UK)
A compilation "Dust My Rhythm & Blues: The Flair Records Story" is one of a series of double CD reissues that the English Ace Records label has issued that survey the Bihari Brothers legendary Modern Records label and its subsidiary labels that include Flair, RPM and Kent. Flair was the third subsidiary and in its three years of existence issued some terrific music although it never had a national hit. Originally intended to be the Bihari's country label, the label shifted direction with Elmore James being the first R&B artist assigned to Flair. This reissue has a number of choice recordings from the likes of Elmore James (seven sides including "Standing at the Crossroads"); his pianist Little Johnny Jones (with the classic "Dirty By the Dozen (Sweet Little Woman)"; Mercy Dee; pioneering electric blues guitarist Saunders King; Richard Berry (famous for "Louie Louie" (not included here) represented by several tracks including "The Big Break"); the doomy West Coast downhome blues of Johnny Fuller, the vocal group The Flairs (whose Cornell Gunter would enjoy fame with The Coasters); Shirley Gunter; Ike Turner (a couple instrumentals including "Cuban Get Away"); and Clarence 'Bonton' Garlow doing the rollicking "Route 90." The 50 tracks include some alternate takes and some selections that had not previously been issued on CD. If not having complete session information, the wonderfully illustrated booklet accompanying these 50 tracks includes Tony Rounce's essay with history of the label as well as his discussion of the artists and the recordings.
I purchased this CD. This is one of a number of short reviews I have written for the 2015 Holiday Gift Guide edition of Jazz & Blues Report. Here is Clarence Garlow's recording of "Route 90."
Wynonie Harris Don't You Want To Rock - The King & DeLuxe Acetate Series
Ace Records (UK)
Wynonie Harris, the great blue shouter known a "Mr. Blues," is the subject of a superb double-CD reissue on the English Ace label which the label describes on its website as "23 of the R&B superstar’s seminal King sides in best-ever sound, plus an entire CD of alternates, all mastered from fresh transfers from the original acetates." These are Harris' first recordings for the Cincinnati based King Records label and find him backed by Dexter Gordon, Hot Lips Page, Tom Archia and many others with songs that would become classic, including his cover of Roy Brown's "Good Rockin' Tonight," heard with an alternate take and a breakdown take. There are the big band renditions of Louis Prima's "Oh Babe!" and the Ruth Brown hit "Teardrops From My Eyes," bawdy numbers like "She Just Won't Sell No More," and "I Like My Baby's Pudding," and the humor of "Grandma Plays the Numbers." There is a lavish booklet with session-by-session annotation that comes with this. It is probably this writer's favorite blues reissue of 2015.
I purchased this CD. This is one of a number of short reviews I have written for the 2015 Holiday Gift Guide edition of Jazz & Blues Report. Here is one of the songs on this reissue, although not as mastered here.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
The British Ace Records label has been reissuing numbers reissues from the catalogues and archives of Modern Records and its affiliates. Among its recent reissues is Beating the Petrillo Ban: The Late December 1947 Modern Sessions, a two-CD compilation with 49 selections that were recorded in late December 1947 as part of the label’s efforts to stock up on recordings in anticipation of the Recording Ban that the American Federation of Musicians were going to start at the start of the 1948 New Year. Like other labels, the Bihari Brothers' Modern Records engaged in a flurry of recording sessions. Between November and December, Modern recorded almost 130 masters by 16 different artists.
The two discs of Beating The Petrillo Ban contain 49 performances from between December 17 and New Year’s Eve of 1947, and while some of the recordings were issued, many were not at the time, nor have they been reissued in prior Ace releases. Tony Rounce, in his liner notes in the accompanying booklet, notes that 80% of the selections have previously never been issued previously (some are alternate takes of recordings that were issued on 78 or on various LP or CD reissues.
The opening performances are by an early vocal group, The Ebonaires. One of Modern’s biggest stars in its early days was Hadda Brookes and there are three sessions (12 selections) by her including instrumentals and vocals (There is a nice The Best Things In Life Are Free) in a Nat King Cole Trio vein with sophisticated piano and deft guitar accompaniment along with her vocals. This serves as a nice introduction to Brookes for whom Ace has several reissues of.
Drummer Al ‘Cake’ Wichard is heard on two sessions (12 selections) of jump blues that showcase shouters Duke Henderson and Jimmy Witherspoon who are both in fine form. Henderson’s “Gravels in My Pillow” and Witherspoon’s T.B. Blues are terrific examples of their music here along with a hot instrumental Cake Jumps. Spoon is also heard on a nice interpretation of That’s Your Little Red Wagon Ace also has a reissue of titles recorded under Wichard’s name with more Henderson and Witherspoon. There may be duplication of songs, but as noted, most of the selections here are unissued or alternate takes.
Another jump blues artist was Guitarist Gene Phillips heard with his Rhythm Aces as he tells his “Snuff Dipping Mama” to stop snuffing and button up her bottom lip. Its a nice band and Phillips clean single note picking is featured on “Gene’s Guitar Blues,” a reworking of “Floyd’s Guitar Blues.” Another session in this vein was with saxophonist Little Willie Jackson. Jackson was part of Joe Liggins Band and Modern signed Jackson who recorded with The Honeydrippers minus Liggins. The four numbers range from a jumping “Little Willie’s Boogie”, the sweet instrumental “Shasta” (similar in tone to Liggins’ “Tanya”) and the swinging sweet ballad “Baby.”
The Art Shackelford Sextette is led by a guitarist about which Tony Rounce advises little is known. His guitar leads the pleasant swing-based instrumentals that includes a rendition of the early New Orleans standard Jazz Me Blues and an untitled blues instrumental that Ace titled Beatin’ The Ban for its release here. Butch Stone was vocalist with Les Browns’ Band of Renown and heard on songs in the vein of Louis Jordan, Fats Waller and others including Baby Face and Waller’s Your Feets Too Big retitled as My Feets Too Big). As Rounce observes, Stone wisecracks and ad-libs his way on these performances in the zany manner of Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson.
The final performances on this compilation are the gospel songs from Ida Mae Littlejohn. Rounce observes her music was informed by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Arizona Dranes, "Who both employed the same animated vocal style." Her fervent renditions of Lonesome Road Blues (which you have to walk all alone’), He’ll Make The Way (I know the Lord will make a way”); and the rollicking Go Devil Go (with a vocal chorus) have piano and guitar as accompaniment.
Beating the Petrillo Ban: The Late December 1947 Modern Sessions is another outstanding Ace compilation from the Modern Archives. It is a varied collection of a diverse group of performers and music. Presentation is up to Ace’s usual high standards with Tony Rounce’s liner notes in the accompanying booklet providing background on the second Petrillo band and the recordings contained here which are presented here in the order of recording.
I purchased this. Here is a video of Hadda Brookes (or Brooks).
The English Ace label has just issued one of a series of anthologies of recordings from legendary Louisiana record producers J.D. Miller and Eddie Shuler, Bluesin' By The Bayou. Half of the 28 selections previously were not released and the remainder were issued on small Louisiana labels like Rocko, Zynn, and Folk Star as well as Flyright LPs from the 1970s.
There is a fair amount of what is now known as "Swamp Blues" along with several selections of zydeco. The performers range from the more famous swamp blues performers such as Slim Harpo, Lightnin' Slim, Lazy Lester, Lonesome Sundown, Silas Hogan and Whispering Smith as well as zydeco legends Clifton Chenier and Boozoo Chavis to obscure artists such as lies Boy Dorsey, Thaddeus Declouret, Talbot Miller and Joe Rich.
There are some exception blues here including Lightnin' Slim's doomy, Stranger In Your Town, Lazy Lester's moody Late in The Evening, Silas Hogan's Sitting Here Wondering Jimmy Anderson's channelling of Jimmy Reed on I Want You, I Need You. There is an alternate of Slim Harpo's Excello recording That's Alright, as well as Clifton Chenier's Worried Life Blues, with somewhat chaotic backing.
As usual with Ace reissues there are copious liner notes in the wonderfully illustrated accompanying booklet, with an overview and comments on the various performances by Ian Saddler. It does have one incredible gaffe in the comments. He mentions that he thought that Big Fat Woman was previously unissued gem by Lightnin' Slim, but in fact had been issued on a Flyright vinyl LP as I'm Him. One minor point is that the vocal is clearly not that of Lightnin' Slim as it bears no relate ship to the voice on the two other tracks credited to him. Probably the singer on this tracks was Schoolboy Cleve.
The music on Bluesin' By The Bayou is at never less entertaining and there are, as indicated above, a number of exceptional examples of swamp blues that is readily recommended to anyone who loves fifties and sixties, southern down-home blues.
The Modern Record labels are perhaps best known for classic blues and R&B recordings by the likes of Hadda Brooks, The Cadets, Etta James and B.B. King, but the Bihari Brothers (the principals behind the group of labels) also recorded some tuff downhome jukejoint blues in the deep south area around Memphis and Jackson, Mississippi. The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Arkansas & Mississippi 1951-1952 Volume 1 (UK Ace) collects a number of recordings at sessions organized by Joe Bihari and Ike Turner. These are mostly tough small group blues groups which opens up with Elmon Mickles aka Drifting Slim reworking a couple of John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson songs. He was part of a group that also included harmonica player Sunny Blair and Junior Brooks whose rendition of Muddy Waters’ Appealing Blues, She’s the Little Girl For Me has Brooks doing a remarkable job of evoking Waters’ distinctive slide style. Other sides represent Charlie Booker and Houston Boines, the latter who was a member of Eddie Cusic’s group that
the young Little Milton was a member of.
Boines’ Relation Blues makes effective use
of the Dust My Broom riff, likely played by
Ike Turner on piano. Turner’s piano also is
present on Charlie Booker’s fine Rabbit
Blues. Boyd Gilmore, supposedly a cousin
of Elmore James is heard on nine tracks,
which does include some alternate takes,
including three of his rendition of Ramblin’
on My Mind with fine piano from Turner. There are two Elmore James tracks included Hand in Hand and Please Find My Baby
that illustrate why he was among the favorite singers of Jules Bihari and the latter includes some slashing, distorted slide guitar
to compliment the intense singing. There are
also two sides from pianist Ernest Lane who
is still active and playing, before the closing
instrumental from Red Boyd’s Big Band, which is a bit out of character from the rest
of the music here. There are extensive liner
notes from Living Blues founding editor Jim
O’Neal that go into depth on the artist and
the recordings. I first got exposed to a number of these recordings on vinyl reissues on the Blues Classics label 35 years ago, and these recordings
still hold up. With advances in technology, they sound better than ever. This is a must for fans of down-home, juke-joint blues. This review originally appeared in the July-August 2003 DC Blues Calendar, then the newsletter for the DC Blues Society. I purchased this CD.
Ace (UK)’s new anthology of rocking females blues and R&B from the forties and fifties, “Blue Belles With Attitude,” makes available 28 choice recordings (23 never previously on CD and a number previously unissued selections or alternate takes by such artists as Esther Phillips, Effie Smith and Helen Humes. While the album opens with Cordella De Milo’s “Ain’t Gonna Hush,” most of the songs are more standard blues. Some may not of De Milo’s song from Saffire’s interpretation, but her original with a great studio band under Maxwell Davis’ name kicks butt with some explosive, slashing guitar from Johnny 'Guitar' Watson that should put Joe Turner in his place. Watson also plays some great guitar on De Milo’s “Lonely Girl.”
Effie Smith sets the pace on a fast, previously unissued, “Be Bop Boogie,” with some really hot tenor sax to go with her strongly delivered vocal, while there is some really nice guitar on Edna Broughton’s rendition of a Percy Mayfield classic “Two Days of Torture.” “Hey Hey Baby” is a lively exuberant jump blues delivered by Helen Humes, while Edna Broughton’s “Hambone Blues” is a nice slow blues as she tells her man how he has been been mistreating. Mari Jones accompanied by Johnny Moore’s 3 Blazers (augmented by a solid saxophonist) is a nice Dinah Washington styled vocal with deft accompaniment. Some strong trumpet by Howard McGhee embellishes the shouting of Pearl Traylor on “Gee I’m Lonesome,” and “Play Boy Blues.” While the backing may not be as consistently strong (the tenor saxophonist has too much vibrato) on her “Daddy, Somebody’s Got to Go,” she sings quite forcefully. Besides the opening selection there are several other answer songs. Del Graham sings “Mr T 99,” a response to Jimmy Nelson’s “T-99 Blues,” while Helen Humes, with someone playing slide, tells John Lee Hooker, that “I Ain’t in the Mood” for love.
Among others who can be heard on this are Mickey Champion (fortunately still with us as I write this) both with the Nic Nacs and under her own name and a fabulous scorching piano instrumental by Vivianne Green. There is also a nice rendition of “24 Hours A Day,” by a singer whose identity the compilers can only speculate about. There is an interesting range of performances that include some good as well as terrific vocals and generally strong idiomatic R&B accompaniments typical of the period. Ace Records continues to issue some of the finest reissues of blues and related music in the world and this release is another example to demonstrate that.
If anyone from The Blues Foundation is reading this blog entry, I suggest they be considered for Keeping the Blues Alive Award. They certainly would be a worthy selection. Bluebeat Music has this.
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