Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials Go Full Tilt

One of the most popular blues bands anywhere is Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials who will be appearing at two of this summer’s top blues festivals this summer, the Pennsylvania Blues Festival and the North Atlantic Blues Festival (my previews of the festivals are linked). The review of the band’s Full Tilt appeared in the September 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 308). This is the last Alligator album they have released.


Blues fans should have no trouble enjoying the latest Alligator disk, Full Tilt, by Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials. The album, their eighth for Alligator is another hard-driving, rocking set of slide-guitar blues in the vein of Ed’s uncle J.B. Hutto and Hound Dog Taylor. Ed and The Blues Imperials—guitarist Mike Garrett, bassist James “Pookie” Young, drummer Kelly Littleton—are celebrating 20 amazing years together.

Full Tilt certainly describes how the band plays, starting from the driving Hold That Train that kicks this off. They hold nothing back on this collection of 11 originals from Ed, another by his bassist James Young, and interpretations of songs by Hound Dog Taylor and Smokey Robinson. Housekeeping Job is a nice funky tune with some saxophones added to the recording, while some rollicking piano can be heard on the hard rocking Don’t Call Me. Check My Baby’s Oil, is a slow blues reminiscent of some of J.B. Hutto’s tune with imaginative automotive-based double entendres, while Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, is a jaunty blues with a melody that evokes High Heel Sneakers.

Another striking original is Dying to Live, with some nice organ from Johnny Iguana behind Ed and his forceful vocals. Open Invitation is another easy rocking slide guitar blues, while the closing rendition of Hound Dog’s interpretation of Take Five, is a blistering close to another disc that can be easily be recommended to both Lil’ Ed’s many fans and anyone who likes solid slide guitar blues.

I received my review copy from Alligator Records.

North Atlantic Blues Festival Has Stellar Line Up

While I will not be attending it, this year’s North Atlantic Blues Festival has among the finest line-ups of blues festivals I have seen. Like the Pennsylvania Blues Festival, the focus of who is booked is on “blues,” not on blues rockers than might be at some over-hyped festival that books a few real deal blues acts. In any event, the 18th edition of the Festival takes place in Rockland, Maine on July 16 and July 17.


Saturday, July 16 the line-up include the soul-blues of Nellie Tiger Travis and then some of the leading names of Chicago blues today. Eddy “the Chief” Clearwater; Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials; Billy Branch & the Sons of the Blues; Magic Slim and the Teardrops and the Brooks Family Reunion with Lonnie, Ronnie and Wayne Baker. I wonder when a non-Chicago based festival had all these acts on the same day. This is a fairly heavyweight day of blues.


Sunday, July 17 has the family band Trampled Under Foot followed by James Armstrong,Tony Lynn Washington, Eric Bibb and Robert Cray. There will be performances by Gina Sicilia & Dave Gross between sets and they have a Saturday Night Pub Crawl that has become a tradition at this festival.

James Armstrong

The Festival is located at Rockland’s Public Landing, so you sit in a City Park with a terrific view of the harbor as your listen to blues from this truly sterling line-up. Paul Benjamin and company may have out-done themselves with this year’s Festival. Particularly to folks from New York up through New England, this is a must see Festival.  


The festivals' website is http://www.northatlanticbluesfestival.com/ and their facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Atlantic-Blues-Festival/182157101315.

Little Milton - The Last Concert

I was at the North Atlantic Blues Festival on the dreary, rainy Saturday when Little Milton closed the day's performances with a solid performance opening with him taking the mike and belting out a few songs before picking up his guitar for the last two-thirds of the set. Milton was in wonderful form including My Dog and Me, Still Some Meat on These Bones, a marvelous medley of Anna Mae’s Cafe, Catch You on Your Way Down, and Walking the Backstreets Crying, and a rousing The Blues is All Right, that closes the performance. Fortunately, this performance was captured on a marvelous DVD, Little Milton - The Last Concert (Juke Joint Media). The video captures the performance in a simple straightforward fashion, focusing on Milton and his band with the cameras occasionally surveying the audience, but never straying from its focus on Little Milton. Looking at how vigorous Little Milton was that afternoon, you may understand my shock when I heard about his stroke-heart attack a few days later and his death less than a month after this wonderful performance. I was fortunate to be there but wish it had not been his Last Concert. This DVD (a CD is also available) is obtainable from amazon.com and from North Atlantic Blues Records. The CD is available from various sources including The Little Milton Store.

2021 note - I am not sure about the availability or if the links above still work.