Big Jack Reynolds That's a Good Way To Get To Heaven

Big Jack Reynolds
That's a Good Way To Get To Heaven
Third Street Cigar Records

"That's a Good Way To Get To Heaven" is a CD/DVD dedicated to the music of Big Jack Reynolds, who passed away a little over twenty-five years ago. The CD provides twenty songs displaying Big Jack Reynold's deep down-home blues style, while the DVD has a documentary about him as seen by the musicians who played with him or were his contemporaries. It also has as extras, his only television performances, and an interview with him.

This CD/DVD set is a wonderful labor of love for one Marshall "Big Jack" Reynolds. The details of his life are provided in the booklet that accompanies this release (including a moving poem from Joel Lipman that was written when he passed away). Reynolds was born in Albany, Georgia, in 1921, who grew up surrounded by country blues. Having relatives in Ohio and Michigan, he often visited them with his family. Johnson eventually moved north, becoming part of the vibrant Detroit blues scene that produced the likes of John Lee Hooker, Eddie Burns, Eddie Kirkland, Washboard Willie, Calvin Frazier, and others and recorded for Fortune and other labels including Hi-Q and Mah's. By the late 1960s, he was spending increasing time in Toledo and by the 1970s made Toledo his permanent home. In Toledo, he played with other groups, including playing drums with the Griswolds. Reynolds, in fact, recorded with the Griswolds for the Blue Suit. In the mid-eighties, he hooked up with the band, the Haircuts that included guitarist Larry Gold who produced the CD, John Newmark on bass, John Rockwood on harmonica, and Marc Cary on drums. With the Haircuts, Big Jack recorded some 45s that are included on the CD.

But also around this time, his health began to decline with diabetic and liver issues, leading him to need dialysis with friends like John Rockwood, taking him to get his dialysis treatments. Another friend was John Henry, a financial services company CEO, owner of Third Street Cigar, and a die-hard blues fan who championed Big Jack's music and when Big Jack passed away December 29, 1993, and no next of kin could be located. John Henry and another fan Paul Croy paid for Big Jack's funeral service and cremation, and when Third Street Cigar opened, John Henry placed the urn with Reynolds' remains a Rockwood photograph, and a guitar in a dedicated memorial spot. It was at this store where the plans that led to this memorial began.

If I could find any fault with the documentary, it might be the shortness of actual performance clips incorporated in it; the two songs are included as extras on the DVD. His life, his music, his influences (a prime dose of Jimmy Reed) and what he meant to those who knew him are given life through the recollections of photographer Rockwood, Gold, Newmark and the other members of the Haircuts, as well as other members of the Detroit and Toledo blues scenes who knew him. He could be a rascal and a hard band leader (telling the drummer he was messing up), but he wanted his music played right, And when he got the blues played right, it could be quite moving and real.

By itself, the DVD would be worth the price, but the CD with 20 solid down-home blues performances from various sources. There are solid covers of Jimmy Reed's "Honest I Do," "Go On To School," and "Shame, Shame, Shame" along with the swamp blues of Slim Harpo's "Scratch My Back." Even when the backing gets the tempo a tad too brisk as on the cover of "Help Me," or "Walk On Up (But Keep That Red Dress On)" (set to the melody of "Fannie Mae"), or the shuffle "Poor Boy," Reynolds sings authoritatively while his harp playing goes far beyond being merely a Jimmy Reed copy. On "Poor Boy," Larry Gold plays some excellent guitar.

On "Mean Old People," he sings about going back South with his country blues guitar adding to the flavor of the performance. "Hot Potato" is a hardy, funky instrumental with him on guitar, while "Gonna Love Somebody" is his heartfelt reworking of a Muddy Waters number with just his harmonica. "Going Down Slow" was recorded in 1963 for Fortune Records and shows what a robust singer he was then. "Made It Up In Your Mind," with the drummer laying down a mambo groove, finds Big Jack's vocal suggesting New Orleans Snooks Eaglin. It is followed by the shuffle "I Had a Little Dog," with some greasy organ in the backing as he sings about pitching a boogie-woogie. There is also a vibrant rendition of Muddy Waters' "She Moves Me" with just vocal and harmonica.

One won't claim Big Jack Reynolds was one the iconic blues giants, but this reissue establishes that he was a more than capable with his robust, deep singing and excellent, idiomatic harmonica and guitar. The result is a highly recommended blues reissue that, with the documentary, provides a marvelous memorial to this Big blues artist who was a mainstay of the Toledo blue scene.

I am not sure where I got this but likely from Third Cigar Store Records. Here is a video that was associated with the premiere of the documentary about Big Jack Reynolds.

John Lee Hooker Everybody’s Blues

John Lee Hooker
Everybody’s Blues
Specialty

Fantasy has issued the second of its Specialty John Lee Hooker reissues, Everybody’s Blues. It contains twenty more choice early examples of the King of The Boogie. The first eight recordings were made by Bernie Besman and involve Hooker’s own reworking of traditional blues themes. 

Hooker’s driving boogie accompaniment, with his calculated extension beyond the 12-bar form, makes Do My Baby Think of Me sound completely different from Little Brother Montgomery’s Special Rider Blues. In contrast, the following Three Long Years Today is a brooding Hooker slow blues. Another similarly styled blues, Walkin’ This Highway, is marked by Hooker’s somewhat violent sounding guitar playing. Four Women in My Life (also issued on Modern) is a stunning, relatively straight rendition of a delta blues theme which sounds like someone is playing rhythm with Hooker, although not credited. 

Eight of the performances were recorded with a small jump combo who bring a certain amount of chaos to the talking blues I‘m Mad, where Hooker complains menacingly about working hard to take care of his woman while his woman plays around, Boogie Rambler, derived from Gatemouth Brown’s recordings, the jaunty version of Rosco Gordon’s No More Doggin’, and the title cut which is a recast version of Eddie Boyd’s Five Long Years. 

The final four tracks find Hooker solo again and the version of Percy Mayfield’s I Need Love So Bad illustrates how Hooker can take straight blues lyrics and through his guitar embellishments, his extending a verse past 12 bars, and through deliberately not rhyming lines, makes a familiar song into what clearly becomes his own slow blues. One would never have guessed its source.The liner notes on this set of vintage Hooker are the same as on Graveyard Blues, the earlier Specialty reissue of Hooker. The two Specialty albums are the two best collections of John Lee Hooker’s early recordings currently available in the United States. 

The English Ace Records has issued The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948-1954 which may be found at better stores carrying imports. This contains most of Hooker’s most commercially successful recordings including Boogie Chillen and the original I’m in the Mood, and one can only hope that Virgin Records’ Flair subsidiary will make this available in the US soon. Other recommended early Hooker includes the Krazy Kat collection of Joe Van battle recordings of Hooker along with some real obscurities, Boogie Awhile, and Do You Remember Me, Hooker’s explosive Federal recordings which are some of the most intense post war country blues recordings made. 

This is available as a download and used. I likely received a review copy from the record company. This review originally appeared in the May 1994  Jazz & Blues Report (issue 191). Here is an early John Lee Hooker rendition of Worried Life Blues.

Thornetta Davis Honest Woman

Thornetta Davis
Honest Woman
Sweet Mama Music

The opening track to Thornetta Davis' "Honest Woman" is a recitation from her sister on how her sister makes her feel "When My Sister Sings the Blues." Listening to "I Gotta Sing the Blues," one easily appreciates why this powerhouse vocalist is Detroit's Queen of the Blues. It certainly does not hurt that she has a fine band that includes on many tracks guitarist Brett Lucas, bassist James Simonson, keyboardist Philip J. Hale and drummer Todd Glass or that Kim Wilson adds harmonica who also shares the vocal.

Then she rocks things a bit as she tells her man that the things he does to make up for his cheating ways, as she tells him "That Don't Appease Me," as she sings that his sorry does not work and get on out of here. The music on this incorporates a riff from "You Don't Love Me," that complements her sassy, take no nonsense vocal.

Guitarist Larry McCray, brother Steve on drums and Kerry Clark along with the keyboards of Chris Codfish back her soulful singing on the gospel blues "Set Me Free," which is followed by a strong soulful ballad "Am I Just A Shadow." After the rollicking New Orleans groove of "I Need A Whole Lotta Lovin' (To Satisfy Me)," she takes her down in the alley with a superb slow blues "I'd Rather Be Alone," with a vocal that builds in intensity until it explodes.

Other tracks include uptempo rocker about recovering after her lying ex, "I Believe (Everything Gonna Be Alright)," while on "Get Up And Dance Away Your Blues" she shouts with joy for the listener to get up on this jump blues swinger. Then there is another terrific slow blues "Can We Do It Again," with the backing (including the marvelous horn arrangement) evokes some of the classic blues-funk of Johnny 'Guitar' Watson from the seventies. Like "I'd Rather Be Alone," this track stands out among a very impressive recording with a choice Lucas guitar solo in addition to Davis' compelling vocal.

The title track is a wonderful soul number followed by another rocking gospel blues "Feels Like Religion," that closes this recording. It is an impressive recording with Thornetta Davis' impressive singing and  fine backing and production.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review appeared in the March-April 2017 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 371). Here is Thornetta in performance.

John Lee Hooker The Modern, Chess & Veejay Singles Collection 1949-1962

John Lee Hooker
The Modern, Chess & Veejay Singles Collection 1949-1962
Acrobat

 There have been so many reissues of John Lee Hooker's amazingly prolific recording career, especially those of his early recording career, to which a four-disc set from Acrobat is another addition. The title of this collection, "The Modern, Chess & Veejay Singles Collection 1949-1962," fairly describes its contents. It is not an exhaustive reissue of Hooker's early recordings, but one simply organized around those commercially issued 78s and 45 of Hooker's music that was released on the Bihari Brothers Modern label, recordings issued on Chess, and then a good selection of Hooker' s Vee-Jay recordings ending in 1962. That date likely reflects that those recordings were not affected by European copyright law changes that extended the period for copyright of recordings for recordings issued in 1963 and after, so that they were not in the public domain in Europe. 

This is one of a number of recent public domain reissues that have compiled complete A and B sides of various musical performers. In the case of performers like Eddie Boyd who have not exactly been over-represented by reissues, this has been very valuable and hopefully made more folks aware of the artist's importance. In Hooker's case where so much has been reissued, and whose importance is undeniable, perhaps there is less value, but one cannot dismiss having such a nice chunk of his early, pre-Endless Boogie recordings available. The value of this release is such even if some of Hooker's most gripping recorded performances are excluded because they were issued on other labels like Specialty, King, Sensation, and other small labels, some of which might have been unavailable for copyright or contractual reasons per the liner notes from Paul Watts.

So we get to hear the original classic Hooker recordings including "Boogie Chillun," "Hobo Blues," "Crawlin' King Snake," "Drifting From Door To Door," "Women in My Life," "I'm in the Mood," "It's My Own Fault," "Dimples," and "Boom Boom," some heard in several versions. The chronological presentation of the material allows one to hear the evolution of Hooker's recordings, including the increasing presence of small groups backing him, along with a few recordings from performances he made originally for the folk market that Vee-Jay released. Generally the sound is quite acceptable although a couple of the tracks apparently came from worn originals. It is also fascinating to listen to the early Vee-Jay recordings where the group and Hooker sometimes seemed not totally together. There is simply too much music here to go into depth about specific performances but it does provide a generous sampling of his music directed towards the commercial record buying public.

Full discographical information is provided and Paul Watts provides an nice overview of Hooker's biography and the recordings on this which as he observes provides a substantial chunk of the recordings during the period he established his reputation and made some of his most influential recordings. If one wanted a collection of early John Lee Hooker, one could do far worse this convenient set.

I received from a publicist. This review appeared in the November-December 2016 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 369) although on the initial posting of the issue was labelled a DVD. Here is the King of the Boogie from the sixties doing one of his more famous numbers.

Calvin Frazier This Old World’s In A Tangle

Calvin Frazier
This Old World’s In A Tangle
Laurie

This disc is is Laurie Records’ second reissue of Library of Congress field recordings that Alan Lomax recorded in Detroit in the late thirties. Containing all of the blues Calvin Frazier recorded that are still extant on fragile acetate discs, it does not include his religious songs, upon the producer’s belief that they would not appeal to blues fans. This may be a miscalculation, given this disc’s unavoidable rough sound and the short playing time.

Frazier was a cousin of the late Johnny Shines, and was associated with Robert Johnson. Johnson’s influence pervades a good portion of the music here. The title track (heard in a fragment and a full version); I’m in the Highway, Man; She’s a Double Crossing Woman, and Highway 51 Blues, echo Johnson’s Kind Hearted Women, Terraplane Blues, and Dust My Broom. Frazier also sings with a Johnson-like falsetto. Other tracks include Frazier’s Lily Mae, that he later recorded commercially, and versions of The Dirty Dozens and Pinetop Smith’s Boogie Woogie. There are two short interview fragments included as well. Calvin Frazier would be a part of the post-war Detroit blues scene, although his recordings in a combo setting are far different from these country blues recordings.

Like the previous Laurie reissue of Sampson Pittman’s Library of Congress recordings, this is accompanied by a wonderful 40 page booklet with extensive information on Frazier, and full lyric transcriptions. The sound may deter casual listeners, and the playing time is somewhat scanty. Despite these shortcomings, this will be an essential purchase for country blues devotees.

This review originally appeared in the March 1994 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 189) and I likely received my review copy from the record company. This is out-of-print but well worth checking for used copies of it. Here is Frazier's rendition of "Double Crossing Woman."

Eddie Burns Remembered With Snake Eyes

Word arrived by vocalist and harmonica player, Eddie Burns one of the centerpieces of the downhome post-war Detroit Blues Scene, passed away Wednesday, December 12, 2002. Burns was perhaps best known for being part of John Lee Hooker's Band for part of the fifties. The Mississippi native was influenced by John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson and also Big Bill Broonzy. He was an adept harmonica player who was heard on Hooker's brilliant early recording of Burnin' Hell, on Sensation, along with the Chess album, The Real Folk Blues. He recorded a number of singles and some albums over the years for labels that included Harvey, Von, Checker, Blue Suit and Delmark. In 2002 I reviewed his Delmark album, Snake Eyes in the September/October Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 259) which follows.

Delmark has recently issued this latest album, Snake Eyes, by another under recorded blues veteran, Eddie Burns. Burns is a veteran of the Detroit blues scene, including playing with John Lee Hooker on a number of Hooker’s finest band recordings. He shares some influences with Hooker including Tommy McLennan, but in addition to being a fine rhythmic guitarist he is a capable harmonica player indebted to John Lee ‘Sonny Boy' Williamson. 

Delmark, which has issued a couple of albums by his younger brother Jimmy. On Snake Eyes, Eddie Burns is joined by brother Jimmy on guitar along with pianist Roosevelt Purifoy, bassist Nick Charles (brother of Magic Slim) and drummer Larry Taylor in an album of postwar ensemble blues. Playing both acoustic guitar as well as electric guitar and harmonica, Burns’ simple, effective playing and his straightforward plaintive singing result in delightful traditionally oriented blues. 

There are echoes of classic Muddy Waters’ stop-time grooves on Night Shift, while the rollicking Papa Likes to Boogie evidences the influence of Williamson. A spirited remake of the Drifters’ Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But Trash, is joined by a tasteful cover of Memphis Slim’s Lend Me Your Love. wile Going to New Orleans is similar to recordings by Otis Spann and Lonnie Johnson. The two Burns play acoustic guitars on the shuffle Treat Me Like I Treat You. 

The backing band is wonderful, and with Burns’ honest and heartfelt performances, Snake Eyes is a gem.

I probably received a review copy from Delmark and I have made some minor stylistic edits. Nick Charles is not Nick Holt, who was Magic Slim's brother, but a different person. Thanks to the members of the Facebook group, The Real Blues Forum, for pointing this error. Also on that forum was a suggestion that Burns harmonica with John Lee Hooker in 1949 (the Burnin' Hell session) may have been the first recording of amplified harmonica on record.

Joe Weaver's Baby I Love You So

This image is a customer upload on Amazon and is the picture of Joe on the CD cover.

The recent passing of Johnnie Bassett is the latest of veterans of the pre-Motown Detroit music scene. Another person who passed some years ago was Joe Weaver. I wrote the following review for the DC Blues Calendar and it appeared in the June 2000 issue. I had the privilege of seeing Joe at the Pocono Blues Festival as part of a review at the 2000 Pocono Blues Festival with Bassett and the wonderful Alberta Adams. I have edited out a reference to that appearance that was in the original review and have made some stylistic and other corrections that I missed when this appeared originally. It is still available from Black Magic although some sources may be out of stock.

Joe Weaver is a veteran Detroit musician and songwriter whose group Joe Weaver & the Blue Notes served as house band for Fortune Records. Later Weaver was in the house band at the fledging Motown operation, even touring with the Four Tops. He eventually joined the Ford workforce in secure of a more secure financial footing.

As Johnnie Bassett was able to revive his career, he started introducing audiences to some of his friends including Weaver and Weaver joined Bassett at the 1998 Blues Estaffe in the Netherlands. In Spring 1999, with Johnnie Bassett and company in the studio, Joe Weaver & His New Blue Note Orchestra recorded Baby I Love You So for Black Magic. With Bassett leading the way with his swinging guitar, Weaver gets to sing in a most ingratiating manner with Keith Kaminski’s saxophone, Bill Heid’s piano, Bob Connor’s bass and R.J. Spangler’s drums.

Most of the songs here are Weaver originals from the rocking Do You Want To Work, and Soft Pillow, which comes off like Charles Brown in a jump blues vein. Other songs recall the glory days of 50’s R&B such as Looka Here Pretty Baby, and the nice personalized version of Chuck Willis’ What Am I Living For. Weaver may not be able to match the heights Wilson Pickett of the falcons attained on I Found a Love, but in invests plenty of soul in his performance.

There is plenty of wailing and swinging, jumping and jiving to be heard on this blues recording that also shows what swing is all about.

Alberta Adams - Say Baby Say

While we are still recovering from the news Johnnie Bassett just passed away at the age of 76, the remarkable Alberta Adams wis turning 95 and will be celebrated by the folks in Detroit. The following review is of her second album for the Cannonball label. This review appeared in July/August 2000 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 246), and her performance at the Pocono Blues Festival, referenced in this review was outstanding. I received a review copy from Cannonball or a publicist. This may be harder to find but her recent recordings are available on Eastlawn Records. Happy Birthday, Alberta Adams. Cannonball has just issued a second album, Say Baby Say, by Alberta Adams, Detroit’s Queen of the Blues. Adams who had a brief recording career a half century ago (she recorded for Chess), shows little sign of slowing down. She’s heard with a tough studio band that includes guitarist Johnnie Bassett, saxophonist Keith Kaminski and drummer R.J. Spangler from Bassett’s band, keyboard whiz Bill Heid, bassist Pat Prouty, alto saxophonist Russ Miller and trumpeter Dwight Adams for a set that is subtitled Life’s Trials and Tribulations According to Miss Alberta Adams. This writer continues to marvel at Bassett and his colleagues’ superb playing, and with the spirited Ms. Adams they have a wonderful personality to support. The music swings hard, and while Adams may lack a bit of the range she likely had a few decades ago, she still has a way of delivering a lyric. Her vocal approach is not that far removed from her contemporary, Ruth Brown – and this writer would point to We Ain’t Makin’ Honey as an example of this, with her rap towards the song’s end about not having enough money being not too far removed from a recording by Brown. This is one of her albums on the Detroit Eastlawn label. The cover photo was taken by me at the 2000 Pocono Blues Festival. Keith Kaminski gets featured as Adams exhorts him to “play me some blues, not so slow, please mr. sax man, blow man blow …” on the jump number Sax Man. She takes things down in the alley on I Cried My Last Tear, while Bassett kicks off Don’t Worry Me in a T-Bone Walker vein on a track that also lets Bill Heid showcase his blues playing. Heid and Adams contributed Everybody Got Their Hand Out, an Adams rap about everybody wanting something from her. With support from a slow, funky groove, some boppish horn parts and jazzy playing from Bassett, Nothing More to Stay, is a vocal duet with Bassett on a Heid written blues ballad with Kaminski featured again on sax. On Say Baby Say, Alberta Adams sings with authority and believability, and is backed by as good a band as one will find anywhere, resulting in another superb album for Miss Adams. Alberta Adams will be appearing with Johnny Bassett and Joe Weaver at this year’s Poconos Blues Festival, and is one of those acts that are not to be missed. Here is a video of Alberta in performance.

Johnnie Bassett Had The Cadillac Blues

As I write this, word was received that Johnnie Bassett, a gentleman as well as a superb bluesman has passed away. The Detroit News has an obituary as does the Detroit Free Press. Here is a review of his CD for the now defunct Cannonball label that appeared in the April 1998 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 230). I likely received a review copy from the label or a publicist. 

Johnnie Bassett’s emergence from obscurity in Detroit continues with Cadillac Blues (Cannonball), the third album by the very talented singer-guitarist to hit the racks in a very short time. This album is similar to his Black Magic album, I Gave My Life to the Blues, with Bassett backed by the Blues Insurgents of Chris Codfish on the Hammond B-3 and organ bass; R.J. Spangler on drums; Keith Kaminski on alto and tenor saxophone; and Dwight Adams on trumpet and flugelhorn.

Johnnie Bassett at the 2010 Pocono Blues Festival. It was the last time I saw him perform. Photo © Ron Weinstock What is remarkable is not just how good Bassett is, or what a good band he has, but how consistent his recordings are. He has had three first-rate albums made available in such a short time. Perhaps having waited four decades to take the spotlight, he doesn’t waste any opportunity to showcase himself. It certainly does not hurt that he has good material, or that the Blues Insurgents are such a fine band. Codfish and Spangler provide a swinging rhythmic foundation, while Adams and Kaminski play punchy head arrangements and take some terrific solos. With a hint of world weariness in his voice, Bassett effectively communicates the ironies in the lyrics, like on his own That’s Fair Play, where he notes how a former lover is suffering with her new man. Perhaps its because Bassett has been in the motor city for so long, but cars are a frequent theme in the songs. Not only are there two songs devoted to the Cadillac, the title track and Cadillac Baby, but on That’s Fair Play Bassett also notes that a former lover won’t leave him alone now that he has a Mercedes. A bit of Memphis funk on Get Over Here Baby is tempered by the Blues Insurgents’ jazz sensibilities. Kaminski and Adams both take solos that go beyond simple blues band conventions and complement Bassett’s own fine playing. Much is made of T-Bone Walker’s influence on Bassett, although one should not minimize the clear influence of B.B. King’s guitar playing of the mid-sixties. Bassett might be compared to the late Fenton Robinson, although Robinson’s music does not swing quite as hard as Bassett’s does, like on the hot jump blues Raise the Roof, Raise the Rent. Produced by Ron Levy at Willie Mitchell’s Memphis Studio, Cadillac Blues, is another release that will help establish Johnnie Bassett as one of the brightest new names in the galaxy of blues stars. Here is a video of Johnnie Bassett performing Cadillac Blues.

Johnnie Bassett Can Make It Happen

A couple years after his acclaimed The Gentleman Is Back, recording, that gentleman of the Detroit Blues, Johnnie Bassett, is back with a new release on Sly Dog Records, I Can Make That Happen. This new release on the Mack Avenue subsidiary label brings the veteran singer and guitarist produced by keyboardist Chris Codish and saxophonist Keith Kaminski, both of whom have long tenures playing with Bassett. The program of eleven songs display Bassett's genial vocal style and jazz-inflected guitar that evokes some of B.B. King's recordings from the mid-1960's. I am particularly thinking of the live Blues Is King album although Bassett is a little bit lighter in his attack. In any event, the performances here are rendered with a relaxed soulfulness and a definite panache starting from the opening moments of his salute to his home city Proud To Be From Detroit, to the closing moments of Let's Get Hammered.

Proud To Be From Detroit is a mix of travelogue (going from Greek Town to Belle Isles), a salute to the city's sports teams, ladies, music and other matters ("if you come to visit, you may never leave") set to a nice funky groove (James Simonson's bass merits note) with Bassett taking a fleet, skittering solo. Its followed by some risqué blues including Bob Codish’s Love Lessons, where Johnnie will take this lady to school, taking care of her in home room and helping her with her homework. Spike Boy has strong guitar in addition to intriguing railroad imagery, as Johnny boasts of being a natural born driving and is better than any machine. Horns help frame the performance. The title track, by Chris Codish and Nashville songwriter Jim ‘Moose’ Brown, has a nice groove as Johnnie tells this lady that if she wants to get out of her rut, come to him and he can make it happen, and if she needs some satisfaction, well Johnnie can make it happen.

A fairly straight cover of Solomon Burke’s Cry For Me follows and is a pleasant performance, although Johnnie’s vocal does not carry the weight that Burke does. My own favorite rendition of this song is the deep southern soul reading that Bobby Powell gave it. Bob Codish’s Teach Me To Love, is a classic R&B ballad with Detroit blues diva Thornetta Davis sharing the vocals and Keith Kaminski taking a booting tenor sax solo. Kaminski contributed the swinging instrumental Dawging Around, which is a tribute to the late Scott “E. Dawg” Petersen, who was a member of Bassett’s Blues Insurgents. This finds the leader in more of jazzy guitar vein, Kaminski is clean and solid and Codfish gets gritty on the organ. More funk follows on Cha’mon as Bassett urges everyone to get grooving while on Motor City Blues he sings about some of the harder times in Detroit while expressing an optimism that the Motor City will be coming back. The closing Lets Get Hammered is an ebullient shuffle with Codfish rocking the 88s where Johnny says to bring him some alcohol.

Included on my advance copy is a nice understated cover of Jimi Hendrix’s The Wind Cries Mary, but which has been replaced on the issued CD by a cover of Reconsider Baby, apparently at the request of the Hendrix estate. I cannot comment on that latter performance, but even if were a lesser performance this would not change the opinion that this is another well produced and enjoyable recording. Johnnie Bassett is still making it happen with his soulful and sophisticated blues.

A publicist provided me with a review copy. Here is Johnnie doing a selection from his prior album.

John Lee Hooker's Everybody's Blues

John Lee Hooker was an American icon when he passed away a few years ago. The first albums I purchased by him were on the ABC-Bluesway label and the first one was recorded Live at the Cafe Au Go Go in new York with Muddy Waters Band backing him. I still remember when Barrett Hansen (better known today as Dr. Demento) helped compile some blues reissues for the Specialty label. One of these were early, often solo recordings, that were hauntingly powerful. Like reissues of his contemporaneous recordings for Modern (on Kent or UNited) and his Federal 78s (on King), they are amongst his finest works. The CD era saw Hooker reissues thrive in the 1990s, and Specialty issued Graveyard Blues in 1992 and Everybody’s Blues in 1993. My review of the latter appeared in the May 1994 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 191) and reproduced below with minor changes. Both Specialty reissues show as being available. The Modern Recordings I briefly discuss towards the end may be available as a used or collectible.

Fantasy has issued the second of its Specialty John Lee Hooker reissues, Everybody’s Blues. It contains twenty more choice early examples of the King of The Boogie. The first eight recordings are made by Bernie Besman and involve Hooker’s own reworking of traditional blues themes. Hooker’s driving boogie accompaniment, with his calculated extension beyond the 12-bar form, makes Do My Baby Think of Me sound completely different from Little Brother Montgomery’s Special Rider Blues. In contrast, the following Three Long Years Today is a brooding Hooker slow blues. Another similarly styled blues, Walkin’ This Highway, is marked by Hooker’s somewhat violent sounding guitar playing. Four Women in My Life (also issued on Modern) is a stunning, relatively straight rendition of a delta blues theme which sounds like someone is playing rhythm with Hooker, although not credited. Eight of the performances were recorded with a small jump combo who bring a certain amount of chaos to the talking blues I‘m Mad, where Hooker complains menacingly about working hard to take care of his woman while his woman plays around, Boogie Rambler, derived from Gatemouth Brown’s recordings, the jaunty version of Rosco Gordon’s No More Doggin’, and the title cut which is a recast version of Eddie Boyd’s Five Long Years. The final four tracks find Hooker solo again and the version of Percy Mayfield’s I Need Love So Bad illustrates how Hooker can take straight blues lyrics and through his guitar embellishments, his extending a verse past 12 bars, and deliberately not rhyming lines, make a familiar song into what clearly becomes his own slow blues. One would never have guessed its source. The liner notes on this set of vintage Hooker are the same as on Graveyard Blues, the earlier Specialty reissue of Hooker. The two Specialty albums are the two best collections of John Lee Hooker’s early recordings currently available in the United States. The English Ace Records has issued The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948-1954 which may be found at better stores carrying imports. This contains most of Hooker’s most commercially successful recordings including Boogie Chillen and the original I’m in the Mood, and one can only hope that Virgin Records’ Flair subsidiary will make this available in the US soon. Other recommended early Hooker includes the Krazy Kat collection of Joe Van battle recordings of Hooker along with some real obscurities, Boogie Awhile, as well as Do You Remember Me, Hooker’s explosive Federal recordings which are some of the most intense post World War II down home blues recordings made.

Intriguing Blues Diva from Detroit

“Sweet Claudette” Harrell has been a mainstay of the Detroit music scene as a singer and songwriter. She gets to display her multi-faceted skills backed by her solid band on her new recording for Blue Skunk Records “That Man’s Got to Go.” The band includes the guitarists, Dan DeKuyper and Howard Glazer, the bass of Todd MacIntosh, the trumpet of Al ‘Big Al’ Haralson, the saxophone of Marty Montgomery, and the drums of Greg Manning.

The afore-mentioned band is a solid grouping that serves its accompanying role well and its members take some concise and thoughtful solos. The band arrangements are decent but the horn riffs are somewhat generic, while the solos show more imagination and flair. Sweet Claudette is a singer with a deep, understated delivery. Although she is not a shouter, she can belt a lyric out. There is a nice variation of material sung and played consistently at relaxed tempos. She can celebrate her man in the opening Best Damn Loving, while complain about her man who has Too Many Irons, in the pot and can’t stay true.

Glazer adds slide guitar to help give atmosphere to her lyric directed against a cheating man who she tells “honey hush, honey hush, honey hush” and Don’t Talk That Yak To Me, with Montgomery ripping off some tough tenor sax. This is followed by Love I See in Your Eyes, with a different lyrical sentiment and plenty of solo space for her band members. The CD cover notes that this was recorded “Live in the Studio,” which perhaps explains the length of some of the tracks. Despite the very nice playing (trumpeter Haralson is wonderful on Love I See in Your Eyes), a string of solos still diminishes the impact of a vocal when one is listening to a performance at home as opposed to seeing a group live. Shortening a couple of the lengthier performances would have provided the performances with more focus and a stronger impression. Its not that the performances are lacking, but as a recording they would have been stronger with some editing.

A couple of interpretations of well known blues conclude this recording. Ain’t Nobody’s Business, based on Albert King’s rendition, opens with some hot guitar before Sweet Claudette delivers her “Detroit Blues Power.” Meet Me is her reworking of the Cheatham’s Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On, with Glazer adding nice guitar. It ends an intriguing hour of blues with a slight touch of funk seasoning added.


My review copy was provided by the record label.