Willie Buck Is a Rockin Cell Phone Man

There are few singers in Chicago with roots in the classic blues style heard in the Windy City in the 1950s. Vocalist Willie Buck is one and with The Rockin’ Johnny Band has a new album on Delmark, Cell Phone Man. Buck’s sound is heavily shaped by that of Muddy Waters classic fifties band and he is ably supported by the Rockin’ Johnny Band with Johnny’s guitar, the guitar of Rick Kreher, the bass of John Sefner and the drums of Steve Bass. They are augmented by Barrelhouse Chuck on piano and the harmonicas of Martin Lang and Bharath Rjakumar. 

In Scott Dirks liner notes, he observes Muddy Waters influence but also observes Buck has a style that is really more typical of the Chicago style of the fifties. Still when one has a recording that includes a number of songs associated with Waters like Two Trains Running (done acoustically), Going Down Main Street, Streamline Woman, Memphis Minnie’s What’s the Matter With the Mill (Can’t Get No Grinding), My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble, and Blow Wind Blow, the comparison is unavoidable. Willie certainly acquits himself in these performances. 

Buck’s strong rendition of Muddy’s Strange Woman, employs the Help Me bass line and in addition to some outstanding guitar (suggestive of Jimmy Dawkins with Carey Bell), displays the considerable harmonica skills of Bharath Rjakumar’s harmonica playing. While credited to Buck, Two Women Talking, sounds like the song Big Moose John Walker recorded as Baby Talk four decades ago for Bluesway. It is a solid performance which fortunately lacks the amplified wah-wah saxophone which did detract from Big Moose’s earlier recording. The title track is a strong Muddy styled original as he asks his woman to let Willie be her cell phone man, she won’t have to worry about a thing with biting guitar and Bharath acoustic harp standing out.

In addition to the steady rhythm provided by the Rockin’ Johnny Band (and fine guitar work from Johnny and Kreher), Barrelhouse Chuck is consistently outstanding and the harmonica work of both Martin Lang and Bharath Rjakumar also is top notch. Willie Buck is not Muddy’s equal, but who alive is. His vocals exhibit some of the same expressive qualities and with the strong backing here (which at times suggests some of the outstanding Delmark albums of the late sixties and seventies) has produced a strong recording of real-deal Chicago blues. 

Bill I was provided a review copy from Delmark. Here is a video of Willie with Rockin' Johnny doing some Muddy Waters.

Jumpin' With Junior Watson

Among the most respected blues and roots guitarists associated with the West Coast swing and jump blues scene is Junior Watson. Bharath Rajakumar and Wally Herson have produced his most recent recording, Jumpin’ With Junior (Royal Regal Records). Watson is joined by long-time collaborator Fred Kaplan on piano and different rhythm sections. This CD was recorded in Montreal and Pasadena. Bharath plays harmonica on 2 of the 8 Montreal selections, while Gordon Beadle adds sax to two of the 7 Pasadena recordings.

There is plenty of attention to tone and atmosphere on the recordings starting with the hot Butter Top. Watson's affection for the Memphis guitar stylings of Floyd Murphy, Willie Johnson and Pat Hare is evident on his twisting lines on Knee High Boogie. Watson is adequate as a vocalist on Floyd Jones’ Stockyard Blues, as Bharath channels Snooky Pryor and Walter Horton. Watson’s playing here on this in an Eddie Taylor vein. No one is going to purchase this for Watson’s singing, but the vocals do provide a change of pace.

Bo-Nanza is an interpretation of the theme of the classic TV show as if it had been recorded by Bo Diddley. Another take on a TV theme songs is Beverly’s Hillbilly, with a reggae groove. These tracks contrast with the late night, jazzy tinge of Velvet Mood. Happy Hoppy is a bouncy salute to Houston steel guitarist Hop Wilson on which Watson playd some taut steel. Dragnet Blues was originally recoded by Johnny Moore’s Blazers with Frankie Ervin soning on a Charles Brown styled performance. Watson’s vocal is pretty effective on a moody performance.

The title track is a hot instrumental with driving single note runs accented by slashing chords. His slide guitar rendition of One Night With You may conjure up Earl Hooker, while There’ll Be a Day (with nice harmonica added) is a nice cover of a lesser known Jimmy Reed number. Mr. Downtime is an atmospheric late night cocktail blues instrumental while Boppish provides an interesting contrast between Watson’s jazz-accented blues style and Beadle’s tenor sax that channels Illinois Jacquet and Wardell Gray on this while on the closing The Barn Burner, Beadle plays more in the honking style of Big Jay McNeely. 

Junior Watson rarely records under his own name and that is enough reason for many to be interested in this. There is plenty of intriguing and imaginative playing throughout that makes for fun listening.

I purchased this although it may be hard to fine. Here is a video of Junior Watson. 

West Of Memphis Bakes Splendid Musical Honey Pie

Comprised of vocalist-harmonica player Karl Cabbage and guitarist Tom Walpole, and various sidemen, West of Memphis is a blues band hailing from San Diego. The band’s name stems from the fact that when Cabbage was stationed at a Naval base forty miles West of Memphis, he hitchhiked to busk and play harp on Beale Street and catch various blues heroes. The band was formed in 1999 and actual has been holding down a weekend gig at San Diego’s House of Blues since early 2006. Yes, imagine a House of Blues having a regular gig by a blues band.

They have just issued their second cd, Honey Pie, produced in Montreal by one of a superb Canadian harp players Bharath Rajakumar and this recording certainly will please fans of jumping Chicago styled-blues. There is a nice variety of material including solid remakes of songs from Jimmy Rogers (Back Door Friend and That’s All Right), Little Walter (Who and I Got to Go), Muddy Waters (Crosseyed Cat), and Johnny Young (I’m Having a Ball), along with solid idiomatic originals like Canary in Her Cage, the title track and Cell Phone Blues.

One would be hard-pressed to fine any tracks that stand-out as everything is done so nicely.They do a solid straight cover of Willie Dixon’s I’m Ready with I assume Walpole is the one ably handling the vocals while Cabbage takes a solid chromatic solo, while Cabbage handles the vocal mike on the Little Walter interpretations and Johnny Young’s exuberant I’m Having a Ball on which Bharath showcases his formidable harp playing. One of the originals Cell Phone Blues is preceded by a call from the song’s co-writer Geoff Starin, before Cabbage opens the song with some blasting harp as he tells his woman to close her cell phone baby, because “he don’t love you like I do.” Some great guitar from Walpole in a Junior Watson vein while the pianist, M. Gagnon helps supply the bottom with his strong two-handed playing (as he does throughout this disc).

Bharath takes the vocal on That’s Alright, where Cabbage plays some nice harp in the vein of Sonny Boy Williamson II. Miss Sugarpuss Boogie is a crisp feature for Walpole’s guitar that comes across as a fifties’ styled number. The closing shuffle. Chupacabra, is a hot harmonica duet by Bharath and Cabbage that ends a strongly appealing disc.

I likely received my review copy from a publicist for the release. The review originally appeared in the January 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 300).