Eddie Burns - Snake Eyes

Eddie Burns - Snake Eyes - Delmark

Delmark has also issued Snake Eyes, the latest album 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, who has issued a couple of albums by his younger brother Jimmy, has just issued Eddie's Snake Eyes. On it, Burns is joined by brother Jimmy on guitar along with pianist Roosevelt Purifoy, bassist Nick Charles (brother of Magic Slim), and drummer Larry Taylor (one of the legendary Eddie Taylor's sons), in an album of postwar ensemble blues. 

Playing both acoustic as well as electric guitar and harmonica, Burns' simple, effective playing and his straightforward plaintive singing result in some 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, while 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 received my review copy from Delmark. This review originally appeared in the June 2002 DC Blues Calendar although I have made some minor edits to the original review. Here is "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash" from this recording.

JAMES HARMAN Mo’ Napkins Please: ...Strictly the Blues... Vol.2

Sad to hear about James Harman's passing. Here is a review from 2000 that I have not previously posted.

JAMES HARMAN

Mo’ Napkins Please: ...Strictly the Blues... Vol.2 

CANNONBALL (2000)

James Harman has built a well-deserved following with his strong blues vocals, harp playing, and songwriting. Cannonball has just issued this new album of recordings from the 80s, that come from the same 1984-1987 sessions that produced Strictly the Blues...Extra Napkins: Vol. 1. These sessions reunited him with some alumni of his band as well as other top-rated West Coast performers including guitarists Hollywood Fats, Junior Watson, and Kid Ramos; pianists Gene Taylor and Fred Kaplan; bassists Willie J. Campbell and Larry Taylor; and drummer Jimi Bott. 

The tunes are a collection of classics and originals that are modeled on classic blues recordings. The title track is a hot shuffle with some Little Walter-styled harp as Junior Watson rips off a Willie Johnson-inspired solo as the tune evokes Howlin’ Wolf’s Memphis recordings. "Annalee", dedicated to Tommy Johnson and Robert Nighthawk, is a Harman original lyric with Kid Ramos’ guitar adding some Texas flavor to the number. "Too Much Family," a rocking lament about his in-laws overcrowding the house features some terrific Hollywood Fats guitar, also in a Willie Johnson mode, who trades eights with drummer Stephen Taylor Hodges. "Icepick’s Pawnshop Blues," based on the "Forty Four Blues," has Harman lay down harp and his vocal is accompanied only by Fred Kaplan’s piano and Hodges on drums. Mix in these distinctive Harman originals with first-rate covers of The Five Royales’ "(Feel Like) Messin’ Up," Champion Jack Dupree’s "Shim Sham Shimmy," Gatemouth Brown’s "Dirty Work at the Crossroads," and Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Jake-Head Boogie." The latter tune finds him backed only by Kid Ramos’ guitar evoking the King of Dowling Street’s memory quite effectively. Gene Taylor has a boogie-woogie feature, "The Falcon’s Nest," that showcases his ability to tickle the ivories.

By the time the album closes with an acoustic reprisal of the title track, one is satiated with the musical delights here.

This review is from the May-June 2000 Jazz & Blues Report. I likely received a review copy from Cannonball Records or a publicist. I have made minor grammatical edits to the original review. Here he performs "Extra Napkins."

Kim Wilson Blues and Boogie Vol. 1

Kim Wilson
Blues and Boogie Vol. 1
Severn Records

This latest album from Kim Wilson finds him in somewhat of what some might describe as a retro-blues vein. Recorded at a number of sessions, it was mostly recorded and mixed by guitarist Nathan James at Sacred Cat Studios, Oceanside, California; except fora couple tracks recorded and mixed by Big Jon Atkinson at Big Tone Recording Studios, Hayward, California. Among those playing the late pianist Barrelhouse Chuck and drummer Ricard Innes. Others heard backing Wilson include Billy Flynn, Atkinson, Marty Dodson, James, Larry Taylor, and Malachi Johnson.

This consists mostly of songs that Kim states he "always wanted to do. However, I have to put my own twist on everything.” The focus on the his is Chicago blues and the harmonica masters such as Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and 'especially' James Cotton to whom this recording is dedicated to. Even Wilson penned originals like the opening harmonica romp "Bonus Boogie," are styled in the manner of Little Walter instrumentals. Then there are solid interpretations of songs previously recorded by Elmore James ("No Love in My Heart", "Sho Nuff I Do"), Little Walter ("Teenage Beat", "Blue and Lonesome" and "Mean Old Frisco"), Sonny Boy Williamson ("Ninety Nine"), Little Milton (Same Old Blues"), and Jimmy Rogers "(You're the One") with solid backing in the style of the fifties and sixties originals. The recording of the songs adds to this retro-blues flavor.

Wilson has always been a terrific harmonica player as well as a natural, assured vocalist and the performances here certainly showcase his considerable talents along with the tight, idiomatic backing. Kim has recorded several similar albums previously and this is certainly one that fans will appreciate, although it would hard to call this very entertaining set, primarily of covers, essential.

I received from my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the November-December 2017 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 375), although I made a few edits to correct typos and clarify some points. Here is Kim Wilson performing with Kirk Fletcher and the late Barrelhouse Chuck.

 

Hank Mowery Has Excuses Plenty

About Hank Mowery's 2013 recording "Account To Me" (Old Pal) I observed that Mowery was a strong blues voice that is showcased on a most entertaining recording. It is a description equally applicable to his latest recording "Excuses Plenty" (Blue Bella Records). Backed by his band "The Hawktones" with Mowery on harp and vocals; Troy Amaro on guitar; Chris Corey on keyboards; Patrick Recob on bass and backing vocals and John Large on drums and percussion. Also are a number of guest appearances including guitarists Mike Morgan and Doug Deming; bassist Larry Taylor; and harmonica wizard Dennis Gruenling, providing extra musical depth to the solid playing here.

Mowery kicks off this album with an original "Anna Lee" that is a nice dose of bluesy rock and roll (think Chuck Berry meets Kid Thomas). His sharp-toned harp mixed with his straight-forward vocals delivered with conviction is backed by rollicking piano and some kick-ass guitar. It is followed by the sober "I Don't Want to Know" with a restrained, thoughtfully played guitar solo by Claude Nine. The title track has effective trebly guitar from Amaro and some soulful harp playing from the leader followed by "Walk With Me," a Blasters styled rocker with terrific harp. "One and Only" is a terrific Jimmy Rogers' styled shuffle with more Mowery harp as he trades licks with guitarist Mike Morgan. "Cry For Me" is not the soul classic but an original with a swampy rock accents and greasy fafisa sounding organ from Corey. "Would You Still Love Me on a Rainy Day" is played with considerable restraint including Mowery's softly delivered vocal with Dennis Gruenling taking the superb harp solo here with Deming soloing on guitar. A cover of William Clarke's "Telephone Is Ringing" opens with some explosive Deming guitar and has explosive harp playing by Gruenling and Mowery as well as a tough vocal (sounding like he is singing through his harp mike).

Its another strong set of performances by Mowery who sands out as a songwriter, singer and instrumentalist backed by a tight band and some superb guests. The marvelous music on "Excuses Plenty" certainly should appeal to fans of traditional post-war blues as well as roots rock enthusiasts.



I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Hank Mowery and the Hawktones in performance.

Barrelhouse Chuck Driftin' From Town To Town

Barrelhouse Chuck Goering is one of the most accomplished traditionally oriented blues pianists (and organists), having been mentored by Little Brother Montgomery and Sunnyland Slim, amongst others. Last year I was delighted to discover his 2006 recording with harmonica ace Kim Wilson and others, My Eyes on You (The Sirens). He has been touring with Kim Wilson the past few years and now Barrelhouse Chuck & Kim Wilson's Blues All Stars has a follow-up recording on The Sirens Driftin' From Town To Town.

Chuck and Wilson both handle the vocals and are supported by guitarists Billy Flynn and Jeremy Johnson; bassist Larry 'The Mole" Taylor; drummer Richard Inness; and Sax Gordon on Baritone and tenor saxophones.The band is as solid as the personnel would indicate for a stunning recording of straight-ahead, Chicago blues. Chuck handles most of the vocals on this starting with the title track, a wonderful original by him that showcases his wonderful piano playing and vocals as well as Wilson's harmonica mastery. He also revives a couple of Floyd Jones numbers, including the terrific Stockyard Blues, and a fine cover of Sunnyland Slim's She's Got a Thing Going On. 

Wilson has wonderful vocals on Howlin' Wolf's I'm Leaving, with a terrific guitar solo and Goering pounding the ivories, and Chuck Berry's Thirty Days. Goering channels Johnnie Johnson on this rollicking piece of rock and roll. Billy Flynn does a nice salute to Jody Williams on his rendition of Williams' Lucky Lou, while Johnson takes the first guitar solo on Stockyard Blues, and is featured on the opening instrumental, Cal Green's The Big Push. Wilson evokes Little Walter on a terrific instrumental K&C Boogie, with Chuck's piano helping propel the performance on, while Chuck on organ does a nice take on Booker T & the MGs Time Is Tight.

Throughout, Taylor and Inness provide a firm, supple foundation, whether the performance is an easy rocking shuffle groove or a moody, slow blues, like Floyd Jones You Can't Live Long. In addition to the superb traditionally oriented Chicago blues here, this benefits from the mining of lesser known blues recordings that stand out compared to much of what passes for blues today. Hopefully it will not be another six or so years before Barrelhouse Chuck and Kim Wilson return to the studio.

I purchased this release. Here is Barrelhouse Chuck with Billy Flynn and Catherine Davis.

Tail Dragger - Stop Lyin'

A surprising new release on Delmark makes available the first recordings byJames Yancy Jones, better known as Tail Dragger, Stop Lyin’. It was recorded at the time Tail Dragger had been been performing with various bands, but had yet to make to make music his career. He had been working as a truck mechanic and a log distance hauler (including traveling down south to haul back catfish from Mississippi for the Delta Fish market) On Stop Lyin’, he was backed by a band that included Johnny B Moore and Jesse Lee Williams on guitar, Eddie ‘Jewtown’ Burks or Little Mac Simmons on harmonica, Willie Kent on bass and Larry Taylor on drums with Lafayette Leake

adding piano on two selections. 

Tail Dragger’s music is very much in the vein of Howlin’ Wolf that Justin O’Brien, in the liner notes, observes was an “over-the-top take on Wolf’s delivery.” Two of the nine songs here So Ezee and My Head Is Bald were issued on Jimmy Dawkins’ Leric label and the others appear on a recording for the first time. Tail Dragger’s songs here are all originals although some modeled on Wolf’s recordings so the groove of Where Did You Go might evoke Smokestack Lightnin’ or Commit a Crime, whereas the use of the Dust My Broom riff on Alabama Bound similarly suggests Wolf’s Highway 61. Their is some nice slide guitar on the latter number. Tail Dragger was, and is, an appealing singing although his vocals lack the articulation of the Wolf's singing.

In addition to the blues performances, this cd is filled out by the lengthy spoken Tail’s Tale, a fascinating and frank bit of oral history that provides some sense of the time and place of this recording. The songs are nicely played and performed and this will appeal to fans of old school Chicago blues.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a video of Tail Dragger with Rockin' Johnny doing My Head Is Bald.

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.

Hollywood Fats Legacy Burns Brightly Today

Decades after his death, the legacy of Michael “Hollywood Fats” Mann and the Hollywood Fats Band looms large. The members of the Hollywood Fats Band, Al Blake, vocals and harmonica; Fred Kaplan, piano; Larry Taylor, bass; and Richard Innes, drums, are still active and with guitarists Junior Watson, one of the more significant guitarists to model his own playing after that of Fats as well as Kirk Fletcher who was mentored by Watson form the Hollywood Blue Flames that plays in the same approach as Fats. Fats embraced the post-war blues guitar tradition and excelled in the post B.B. King style of playing but his ears made him so skilled that Muddy Waters recruited him after he had toured with the likes of J.B. Hutto, Jimmy Witherspoon and Albert King (the latter allegedly firing Fats because he was jealous of the attention Fats was receiving). The Hollywood Fats band recorded only one album which became a cult release in its initial vinyl release before Black Top issued it on CD.

Delta Groove issued a double CD a few years back, pairing new recordings by The Hollywood Blue Flames with previously unissued locations recordings by Fats. It has just issued a second double CD collection featuring the Hollywood Blue Flames “Deep in America" and more location recordings by the Fats Band “Larger Than Life Volume 2.” Vocalist Blake has become the dominant person in this and, handling all the vocals and on several tracks, he is heard solo playing guitar as well as harmonica) or primarily backed by Kaplan’s piano. Guitarist Watson or Fletcher are heard on 9 of the 14 selections on “Deep in America,” both contributing strong, swing straight-ahead contemporary blues guitar that shows no hard rock influences.

Most of the tunes on “Deep in America,” are Blake penned originals, but it opens with a nice take on L.C. McKinley’s “Nit Wit,” followed by a nice slow blues “Rambler and a Rollin’ Stone,” with some Sweet Charles Brown influenced piano, sizzling Watson guitar and great harp from Blake. Fletcher’s fretwork is spotlighted along with rollicking piano on “Crescent City Rock,” while Blake amuses with “My National Enquirer Baby,” about a lady who has low down ways and treats poor Al so mean which Watson guitar capturing the lyrics sting. Blake plays acoustic guitar and harp on “Music Man,” on of a couple performances that shows him a more than credible Delta Blues guitar stylist (the other being “Hip-Hoppin’ Toad”), as he employs the “Forty four Blues” riff. He is joined by Kaplan for “Leavin’ California, a nice duet as he sings about this rat race and tomorrow morning being south of the border bound. “

“Jalopy to Drive” is a nice rendition of a Sonny Boy Williamson that others would handle in a frenzied fashion, while “Bad Boy Blues,” is a nice classic Chicago Blues styled performance while Blake with Kaplan and Innes does a suitably morose rendition of Jimmy McCracklin’s “I Don’t Care.” Fletcher lends his fretwork to the rocking “Rocky mountain Blues,” with Kaplan’s boogie inflected piano standing out again. Among the other enjoyable performances is Kaplan’s piano feature, “Hushpuppy.”

It would be easy to recommend the new recordings based on their own merits. But as good as these get, but even better twelve live recordings from 1979 and 1980 by the Hollywood Fats Band for “Larger Than Life, Volume 2,” make this package extremely valuable. These are location recordings and the sound occasionally isn’t as vibrant on the more contemporary studio recordings. Tampa red’s “She’s Dynamite,’ is a strong feature for Blake and Kaplan (pounding on the ivories) before Fats takes his strong rocking solo during the second break in the song as the rhythm section (Taylor and Innes) cook. Listening to his playing here, one can understand why Muddy Waters invited Fats to join Muddy’s Band. “Blue and Lonesome” is the Memphis Slim number, again with some really terrific piano from Blake. Fats is featured on a nice “Hideaway,” and is prominent on the jaunty version of “Kansas City,” before turning it up a notch on a set closing jazzy instrumental, “Half Steppin’,” one of several extended guitar improvisations that never are lacking in drive or imagination. Perhaps the high point of these performances are three from Palo Alto’s Keystone from 1979. “Read About My Baby,” sounds like the model for “My National Enquirer Baby,’ with Fats evoking magic Sam with his driving, slashing attack. Its followed by an incendiary rendition of “Nit Wit,” that is taken at a somewhat frenetic tempo, but the band’s hard rocking groove never comes across as frenzied with some more blistering guitar. The last of this trio of selections is a marvelous “Blues After Hours, with a Blake vocal in addition to more dazzling guitar from Fats. One other instrumental, “Jumpin’ With Duncan,” is a tour de force for Fats with Al Duncan (the legendary Chicago drummer I believe) taking over the drum chair for this selection. With the close of the rock until the dawn’s light rendition of “Baby, Let’s Play House,” one simply wants to hear more of what was a great band.

The latest Hollywood Blue Flames release thus helps keep the torch alive for this legendary band, but also makes available more previously unissued and compelling sides that helps one understand the band’s reputation. Thanks to Delta Groove for this release.

For purposes of FTC regulations, I received the review copy from the folks doing publicity for the label. My review originally appeared in Jazz & Blues Report #324 (March 1-April 15, 2010).