Magic Sam - Black Magic

While usually overshadowed by many writers in comparison to the earlier studio album, "West Side Soul," Magic Sam's "Black Magic" is in the opinion of some, including this writer, a better recording. Recorded in Fall 1968, with a superb band including Mighty Joe Young rhythm guitar, Lafayette Leake on piano, Eddie Shaw on tenor sax, Mac Thompson (brother of Jimmy and Syl Johnson) and Odie Payne, Jr. on drums, "Black Magic" is full of Sam's soulful vocals and wonderful guitar playing without any harried frenzied moments (for example the rendition of "Mama Talk to Your Daughter") or sometimes shrill, overwrought vocals ("My Love Will Never Die") that marred the earlier recording.

It is a pleasure to listen again to "Black Magic," in Delmark's new deluxe reissue with new, previously unissued alternate takes included. This release contains the ten selections that were on the original vinyl LP and 1994 CD reissue, six selections that were included on "The Magic Sam Legacy" and two previously unissued alternates. The additional eight tracks include three songs not on the original and alternate takes of four songs ("What Have I Done Wrong" is heard in two alternates).

There are so many pleasures listening to the flow of the music, the relaxed soulful intensity of Sam's vocals and the terrific backing with some solo space for Shaw and Young. Leake was a superb band pianist and Thompson and Payne made a superb rhythm foundation. The album opens with a marvelous take on "Just a Little Bit," the classic Little Willie John number that became a blues standard. He takes us back to his Cobra recordings, reworking "Easy Baby" as well as a take on Lowell Fulson's "It's All Your Fault," that he adapted for many recordings Then there is his wonderful rendition of Willie Cobb's "You Don't Love Me, Baby," followed by a terrific rendition of Freddie King's classic instrumental, "San-Ho-Zay," that is so wonderfully paced as well as played. The standout track remains for this listener Andrew Brown's "You Better Stop," where he tells Leake to "play those ticklish blues for me."

Of the songs not issued on the original album, Sam's reworking of his Cobra single "Everything's Gonna Be All Right, a musical sibling to the Fulson number, stands out along with a slow instrumental "Blues For Odie Payne." The alternate takes are pretty solid in their own respect, although with minor differences in the groove, Sam's vocal or perhaps a sudden end. The accompanying booklet reproduces Jim O'Neal's liner notes from the original release and the 1994 CD reissue, along with liner notes from The Magic Sam legacy" and updated with Bob Koester's own recollections of Sam and the music. This is a most welcome new Deluxe Edition of Delmark's classic blues albums, of which it is one of the finest.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is "Just a Little Bit," from Black Magic.

Otis Rush's Classic Cobra Recordings.

A new reissue of Otis Rush s classic Cobra recordings has been released by Fuel 2000 who  licensed the material fromJewel/Paula. The Essential Otis Rush, The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958 includes all eight singles that Rush recorded  (and all produced  Willie Dixon) along with eight alternate takes. Not every Cobra recording was memorable and little that even Rush’s fervent singing could salvage such as Violent Love, but on smoldering slow blues like I Can’t Quit You Baby, My Love Will Never Die, Groaning the Blues and Double Trouble, as well as uptempo numbers Three Times a Fool and All My Loving (I Miss Loving) (the Mayall version with Clapton on guitar pales in comparison). 

Rush sang here with an intensity matched by few in blues history and complemented that with some stinging guitar (although Ike Turner may be the lead guitarist on Double Trouble). In addition to Willie Dixon, others on the original sessions included guitarists Turner, Wayne Bennett and Louis Myers, Little Walter and Walter Horton on harp; saxophonists Harold Ashby, Red Holloway and Jackie Brenston, pianists Lafayette Leake and Little Brother Montgomery, and drummers Odie Payne and Al Duncan.

Rush's Cobra recordings produced some of the most intense examples of the West Side Chicago Blues style that developed in the fifties and remain classic almost 60 years later.

This review was written in late 2000 and this review likely originally appeared in the DC Blues Calendar around that time, although I have made some stylistic changes from what I originally wrote for clarity purposes. This particular reissue is out-of-print but might be found used. There are other CDs that also reissue Rush's Cobra recordings if not all of the alternate takes. 

Magic Sam Had The Magic Touch

One of the blues artists I discovered when I first started listening to blues was Samuel Maghett, better known as Magic Sam. The release of West Side Soul on Delmark was quite an important album and highly acclaimed. Alas Sam died only a few years after despite the promise of a career that might have taken off. The following review of some club recordings appeared in the April, 1993 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 180) and I have made minor stylistic revisions. I likely received a review copy from the label. It is out-of-print but is available used. It should be noted that this was released originally on vinyl on the Dutch Black Magic label around 1984 and they likely issued it on CD as well. Black Top’s release of Magic Touch makes available a live club recording by the legendary Magic Sam that was originally on the Black Magic label. Recorded at Sylvio’s (Howlin’ Wolf’s home base and it is Wolf that introduces Sam and Shakey Jake) by the Belgium blues and jazz collector George Adins, it complements the recordings from the Alex Club that Delmark issued on Magic Sam Live and is valuable as additional documentation of him. Magic Sam was joined by Shakey Jake Harris on harp and vocals on six of the fourteen selections, the bass of Mack Thompson, and the drums of Odie Payne. These are location recordings, and not hi-fi. The sound on this is better than on the Delmark, Adins source recordings likely being better. However, the editing is not as clean as the Delmark, so instead of the banter with the audience between songs on the Delmark, tracks get cut off abruptly as the song ends and the applause begins. The music is extraordinary, and there are some songs that Sam didn’t record elsewhere including Just Like a Fish, Dirty Work Going On, and I Just Can’t Please You. Shakey Jake sounds as good as he ever did on record on She’s Nineteen Years Old, and Juke. Thompson and Payne would play on Sam’s Delmark studio recordings, and add a tight, bottom to the music. Sam’s studio albums, West Side Soul, and Black Magic, are the logical places for persons unfamiliar with Magic Sam. Those hooked on his music will certainly want this and the Delmark live recordings. This is great stuff that shows why forty odd years later he is still revered by the musicians he worked with and blues enthusiasts everywhere. Here is the cover of the original Black Magic release of this material.

The Amazing Secret History of Elmore James

Among the greatest of all Blues artists, Elmore James’ influence is heard in the music of countless musicians today, whether his cousin Homesick James Williamson, Chicago slide guitar boogie master, Lil Ed Williams, New Orleans slide master Deacon John, Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green or George Thorogood’s blues-rock. James’ recording of Dust My Broom is among the seminal blues recordings and covered or adapted by countless artists. Even forty years after his death, the passion and urgency in his music is evident to anyone who spends anytime listening to his recordings. Elmore’s music was so powerful that Steve Franz did his Masters research on Elmore. Several years ago, Franz published a discography of Elmore’s music.Adding additional research, he has completed the first full-length biography of James, The Amazing Secret History of Elmore James (BlueSource Publishing).

James died of a heart attack in 1963 right around the time interest in Chicago blues was growing outside the African-American community. He was only subject to cursory interviews by several Europeans, such as photographer George Adins who saw him performing in various Chicago night clubs. As a result, much of what we know about his life derives from interviews from those who played with him or knew him including his cousin, “Homesick” James Williamson, harmonica player and vocalist Sam Myers, the late drummer Odie Payne, James’ Atlanta manager Otis Ealey, and record producer Bobby Robinson.

There is also an account of Elmore in performance in a southern juke joint excerpted from civil rights pioneer James Meredith’s autobiography. Other information is gathered from various public and quasi-public records including those of the Chicago Musicians Union local. Included also are brief discussions of some of the myths about Elmore, his influence and biographies of the musicians who played with Elmore and some of the artists who were directly affected by Elmore including Homesick James, J.B. Hutto, Joe Carter and Hound Dog Taylor.

There is also an extensive discography of Elmore’s recordings including listings of various album reissues. This is copiously illustrated with pictures of Elmore and his musical associates. There are a few minor typos but this is an impressive contribution to the literature on the blues. This can be obtained from amazon or bluebeatmusic.com.

This review was written after I purchased this book. The review originally appeared in the April 2003 DC Blues Calendar, then the newsletter of the DC Blues Society. I have made minor stylistic revisions and updated the purchase information from the original review.

Wonderful New Rerelease of Magic Sam's Classic "West Side Soul"

Magic Sam lived a relatively brief life, yet his influence on blues since can be heard in the music played today. Samuel Maghett had recorded for Cobra and other labels before Delmark got him in the studio to record his first album “West Side Soul.” That recording was one of the Top Ten Blues Desert Island Discs when I compiled the list in “Living Blues.” Delmark has rereleased this classic album, going back to the original analog mix from Stu Black, who engineered the original session. The present release is in a digipak case and reproduces the original liner notes as well as adds Don Wilcock’s appreciation and photographs of Sam from Bill Lindemann.

For this album, Sam was backed by a band that included Mighty Joe Young on rhythm guitar, Per Notini (Stockholm Slim) on piano, Earnest Johnson on bass and Odie Payne on drums (Mack Thompson and Odie Payne III appear on three of the selections). There are terrific renditions of Sam’s “All Your Love” and Jimmy McCracklin’s “Every Day and Every Night,” one of the songs that influenced Sam and some of his songs such as “All Your Love”; along with “Feeling Good,” a remake of the Junior Parker Sun classic and Sam’s instrumental “Lookin’ Good.” Both of these latter tunes demonstrate how it is possible to build a hot boogie blues with a rhythmically oriented attack without endless single note runs.

There are moments such as during Little Milton’s “I Found a New Love” and Sam’s flawed cover of the Otis Rush recording (which Willie Dixon wrote), “My Love Will Never Die” where Sam singing employes a bit too much vibrato and sometimes comes off as too high-strung. There is plenty of strong guitar on these tracks, and the latter number is followed by the vigorous rendition of J.B. Lenoir’s “Mama Talk To You Daughter.” It is Sam’s rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago” from this album that likely led to this becoming a staple of the Chicago blues scene. Sam’s recording is one of the two or three indispensable contemporary renditions of this song.

I have been listening to this since purchasing the original vinyl album when it was originally released. I find this new release sounds better than I remember prior digital or analog versions. “West Side Soul” is among the classic contemporary Chicago blues albums, and this new release of it is most welcome.


My review copy was provided by Delmark Records.

Sleepy John's Electric Chicago Blues

Sleepy John Estes was one of the great blues poets and vocalists whose prewar recordings were highly influential on the likes of John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson and others. A creative lyricist who often spun songs from his own experiences, his crying vocals (and rudimentary guitar playing) backed by the vocalised harmonica of Hammie Nixon and the mandolin of Yank Rachell produced numerous classic songs that became part of the blues repertoire, such Diving Duck Blues, Drop Down Mama, and Everybody Oughta Make a Change. Rediscovered in the sixties, Estes had a revived career recording and performing world wide, producing several excellent albums for Delmark. Delmark’s reissue, On the Chicago Blues Scene, makes available for the first time on CD an album originally released as Electric Sleep, a play on the psychedelic recordings of Muddy and Howling Wolf, although this was simply presenting Estes in a Chicago blues setting with a backing band that included Sunnyland Slim on piano, Jimmy Dawkins on guitar, Carey Bell on harp, Odie Payne on drums and various bassist including Earl Hooker. Koester recalls seeing Estes participate in a jam in Europe with Hubert Sumlin, Rice ‘Sonny Boy Williamson’ Miller, Sunnyland Slim and others and able to sing with such modernists and a few years later cut an album in that vein and with the sympathetic backing by a band that does a fine job in backing Estes who could sometimes not be easy to follow. The vocals are marvelous as can be expected and its a joy to hear familiar Estes songs take on a fresh sound and here the music played with such joy and soulfulness. Recommended.