Dust My Rhythm & Blues: The Flair Records Story

Dust My Rhythm & Blues: The Flair Records Story
Ace (UK)

A compilation "Dust My Rhythm & Blues: The Flair Records Story" is one of a series of double CD reissues that the English Ace Records label has issued that survey the Bihari Brothers legendary Modern Records label and its subsidiary labels that include Flair, RPM and Kent. Flair was the third subsidiary and in its three years of existence issued some terrific music although it never had a national hit. Originally intended to be the Bihari's country label, the label shifted direction with Elmore James being the first R&B artist assigned to Flair. This reissue has a number of choice recordings from the likes of Elmore James (seven sides including "Standing at the Crossroads"); his pianist Little Johnny Jones (with the classic "Dirty By the Dozen (Sweet Little Woman)"; Mercy Dee; pioneering electric blues guitarist Saunders King; Richard Berry (famous for "Louie Louie" (not included here) represented by several tracks including "The Big Break"); the doomy West Coast downhome blues of Johnny Fuller, the vocal group The Flairs (whose Cornell Gunter would enjoy fame with The Coasters); Shirley Gunter; Ike Turner (a couple instrumentals including "Cuban Get Away"); and Clarence 'Bonton' Garlow doing the rollicking "Route 90." The 50 tracks include some alternate takes and some selections that had not previously been issued on CD. If not having complete session information, the wonderfully illustrated booklet accompanying these 50 tracks includes Tony Rounce's essay with history of the label as well as his discussion of the artists and the recordings.

I purchased this CD. This is one of a number of short reviews I have written for the 2015 Holiday Gift Guide edition of Jazz & Blues Report. Here is Clarence Garlow's recording of "Route 90."

The Legendary Ike Turner: The Kat Sure Could Play!

Ike Turner's life may have been a controversial one, but their can be little doubt of his significant contribution to the blues, rhythm & blues and rock musical worlds. A four CD box, "The Legendary Ike Turner: The Kat Sure Could Play! (Secret Records) presents 118 songs (and over 5 hours of music) from singles Turner played on between 1951 to 1957. Some of these recordings include famous recording like "Rocket 88" by Turner and his own band The Kings of Rhythm, and others are backings to recordings by the likes of Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Johnny Ace, Bobby Bland and Elmore James.

There are so many historic recordings here starting with Rocket 88, but also including King's 3 O'Clock Blues, Wolf's How Many More Years, Boyd Gilmore's raucous Rambling On My Mind, and Rosco Gordon's No More Doggin'. The is a terrific delta juke joint band session that produced Drifting Slim's Muddy Waters pastiche Good Morning Baby, and Sunny Blair's house rocket, Step Back Baby. Junior Brooks terrific Gonna Let You Go is a reworking of a Muddy Waters recording with Ike on piano as he is on Elmore's frantic broom dusting on Please Find My Baby. Ike is present on Little Milton's early If You Love Me Baby as well.

Ike also had his own coterie of musicians including Eugene Fox whose Sinner's Dream and the two-part The Dream, are interesting bits of story-telling with Ike's evocative use of tremolo in his guitar noticeable. As The Sly Fox, Eugene Fox had a couple of other gems with his extroverted vocals; Hoo-doo Say (with a solo from Ike) and I'm Tired of Beggin'. Lonnie the Cat's I Ain't Drunk is a choice cover of a Jimmy Liggins tune that Albert Collins made famous. Johnny Wright's The World Is Yours is one of several times Ike adapted lyrics to Guitar Slim's The Things I Used To Do with Wright shouting with considerable vigor as Ike makes effective use of his Fender's whammy bar during his solo. 

Some of the latter recordings come from when Turner recorded for Federal and include such gems as Billy Gayles I'm Tore Up, Just One More Time, and Let's Call It A Day; Jackie Brenston's Gonna Wait For My Chance and Clayton Love's She Made My Blood Run Cold and Do You Mean It. Also heard are instrumentals including Cubano Bop and Trail Blazer.

Not every track is a classic, but throughout one can discern Ike Turner's ear and ability to craft the sound of the recordings with some nice piano on his earlier recordings and distinctive guitar in the later recordings. Included is a booklet with a lengthy overview of the recordings and Ike's contributions by Fred Rothwell as well as another booklet with discographical details on the selections included. The Kat Sure Could Play! is an impressive compilation of Ike Turner before Tina. Folks might check better mail order outfits like bluebeatmusic.com to purchase this.

I purchased my copy. Here is Clayton Love singing She Made My Blood Run Cold.

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. 

Modern Records Classic Delta Downhome Sessions

The Modern Record labels are perhaps best known for classic blues and R&B recordings by the likes of Hadda Brooks, The Cadets, Etta James and B.B. King, but the Bihari Brothers (the principals behind the group of labels) also recorded some tuff downhome jukejoint blues in the deep south area around Memphis and Jackson, Mississippi. The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Arkansas & Mississippi 1951-1952 Volume 1 (UK Ace) collects a number of recordings at sessions organized by Joe Bihari and Ike Turner. 

These are mostly tough small group blues groups which opens up with Elmon Mickles aka Drifting Slim reworking a couple of John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson songs. He was part of a group that also included harmonica player Sunny Blair and Junior Brooks whose rendition of Muddy Waters’ Appealing Blues, She’s the Little Girl For Me has Brooks doing a remarkable job of evoking Waters’ distinctive slide style. 

Other sides represent Charlie Booker and Houston Boines, the latter who was a member of Eddie Cusic’s group that the young Little Milton was a member of. Boines’ Relation Blues makes effective use of the Dust My Broom riff, likely played by Ike Turner on piano. Turner’s piano also is present on Charlie Booker’s fine Rabbit Blues. Boyd Gilmore, supposedly a cousin of Elmore James is heard on nine tracks, which does include some alternate takes, including three of his rendition of Ramblin’ on My Mind with fine piano from Turner.

There are two Elmore James tracks included Hand in Hand and Please Find My Baby that illustrate why he was among the favorite singers of Jules Bihari and the latter includes some slashing, distorted slide guitar to compliment the intense singing. There are also two sides from pianist Ernest Lane who is still active and playing, before the closing instrumental from Red Boyd’s Big Band, which is a bit out of character from the rest of the music here. 

There are extensive liner notes from Living Blues founding editor Jim O’Neal that go into depth on the artist and the recordings. I first got exposed to a number of these recordings on vinyl reissues on the Blues Classics label 35 years ago, and these recordings still hold up. With advances in technology, they sound better than ever. This is a must for fans of down-home, juke-joint blues. 

This review originally appeared in the July-August 2003 DC Blues Calendar, then the newsletter for the DC Blues Society. I purchased this CD.

Pinetop Perkins Led A Rich Life & Enriched Us With His Music

Joe Willie ‘Pinetop’ Perkins led a full and rewarding life. The iconic blues pianist passed away on March 21 at the age of 97. An important part of the post-war Delta blues scene of the forties through the sixties, he may have been best known as the pianist who succeeded Otis Spann in Muddy Waters Band. Later a member of the Legendary Blues Band, Pinetop, went on as a solo artist for the last 30 odd years of his life, receiving numerous awards and becoming one of the most beloved performers in the blues, always with a twinkle in his eye. With his passing one of the last links to the classic period of the Delta Blues has passed.

Pinetop started as a guitarist but after his arm was cut by a knife in a barroom fight, he took to the piano and became one of the top players in the post-war Delta scene. The name Pinetop derived from the fact that the Clarence ‘Pinetop’ Smith tune, “Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie,” became a signature number for Perkins. He was a King Biscuit Boy, one of the members of Sonny Boy Williamson’s Band that played daily on KFKA from Helena, Arkansas and toured Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas. He taught a young Ike Turner how to play piano and later did sessions for Sam Phillips backing up Earl Hooker, Walter Horton and others as well as made his first recordings under his name (although these would not be issued until a  couple decades later).

He was associated with guitarist Earl Hooker for a substantial time, and Bobby Bland on a Blues Cruise, called out to Pinetop, after seeing him on his scooter in front of the stage, if he remembered playing east St. Louis with bobby and Earl Hooker. PInetop’s music became known to blues fans when he was on Earl Hooker’s Arhoolie album, “Two Bugs and a Roach.” It was within a couple years after that that Pinetop joined Muddy Waters Band with whom he stayed until not that long before Muddy’s death. Lovie Lee was Muddy’s pianist when Muddy passed away.  During this period he did a fair amount of recording sessions with Muddy and others. For example he appeared on Carey Bell’s excellent “Last Night” album on ABC-Bluesway. 

Over the next three decades Pinetop started releasing albums under his own name. He was an affable singer, but his piano playing was consistently strong. He perhaps had a limited repertoire as reflected by his recording some songs repeatedly, but he had a delightful personality. He mentored countless other musicians (not simply pianists) and charmed fans worldwide with his music. 

The Blues Side of Ike and Tina

 When I was in college back in the latter part of the sixties, I purchased a copy of the album, “Outta Season” by Ike and Tina Turner on Blue Thumb. It has a gatefold cover showing the two in whiteface eating watermelons which may have been controversial back then. It was a collection of mostly blues including a terrific rendition of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.” I had known of Ike and Tina from Murray the K playing the heck outta of the Phil Spector produced single “River Deep, Mountain High,” but getting this album was a revelation since at that time I was unaware of Ike’s legendary role in the post-war Delta blues scene as well as is the St. Louis music scene of the late fifties and sixties.

My musical education continued when the succeeding album, “The Hunter” came out a year or so later, with some really superb guitar by Albert Collins on many of the tracks. Of course after some major crossover hits, the relationship between Ike & Tina turned very sour and Tina became perhaps an even bigger star than in earlier years. Ike himself produced and played on a number of blues recordings that displayed he was still quite the musician.

Several years ago, the Spanish Blue Moon label reissued the Blue Thump albums on CD, “The Hunter and Outta Season,” which was, and is, available as an import. More recently, the American Acrobat Music label, issued an abridged reissue of the two albums that I reviewed in the November 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 310-with my photo of McCoy Tyner on the cover) which can be downloaded at jazz-blues.com. Here is that review of the American Acrobat reissue. Both reissues are still available, with the import being a bit more expensive.

Among its initial releases, the American Acrobat Music has issued Ike & Tina Turner “ Sings the Blues.” This album is compiled from the two albums that they had issued on Blue Thump, “Outta Season,” and “The Hunter” but unlike a Spanish reissue of the two albums of a few years back, this release only makes available 11 of the 13 songs on the first album and 7 of the 9 on the second release, which is unfortunately, since the full contents of both do fit on a single CD. One other serious shortcoming is the liner notes make no mention that Albert Collins, not Turner, was guitarist on much of “The Hunter,” which is not to say that Turner’s own guitar work is not worthy of praise as he was a first-rate and distinctive string bender as well as bandleader and Svengali. That all said, the music still resonates as fresh as it was four decades ago (I still have my vinyl LPs).

Tina was, and remains, a superb singer, able to touch one’s gut with her expressiveness whether its her nailing Otis Redding’s “I've Been Loving You Too Long,” or her take of “Three O'clock in the Morning Blues,” taken from B.B. King’s recording with some terrific guitar around her vocal from Ike, or her down-in-the-alley take of “Five Long Years.” “Grumbling” is an instrumental where Ike evokes Freddy King’s “The Stumble.”

Tina’s vocal shines even more brightly on the spiritual “ I Am a Motherless Child,” with its spare backing. Albert Collins’ stinging guitar should be immediately recognizable on her strong take of the Albert King blues, “The Hunter,” and it certainly sounds like Collins, although somewhat restrained in the solo, on the Jimmy Reed Classic “Baby What You Want Me to Do,” titled here as “You Got Me Running.” Ike is on guitar on the funky “Bold Soul Sister,” but Collins is laying it down on his Telecaster for the Bobby Bland classic, I Smell Trouble,” and also on “Early in the Morning,” a version of Junior Parker’s “Mother-in-Law Blues.”

I already mentioned the two main flaws in this reissue, its omission of songs and inaccuracies in its annotation. The music that is made available on this is compelling and highly recommended.

For FTC purposes, I received a review copy from a publicist for this issue.

Nick Curran's Lowlifes Are Musical Hi-Lights

Nick Curran may be best known as a guitarist with The Fabulous Thunderbirds between 2004-2007. Prior to that the Maine native left his hone state to tour with rockabilly musician Ronnie Dawson who taught him not to get pigeonholed. Eventually moving to Austin and then recorded “Dr. Velvet” which won a W.C. Handy Award for Best New Albert debut. After leaving the Thunderbirds, he formed his new band, The Lowlifes, a roots rock’n’roll band. And now Delta Groove’s Electro Groove subsidiary has issued there explosive album “Reform School Girl.”

The is a hard rock’n’roll album, not a hard rock album. It will evoke classic wild rock and roll records from the fifties by the likes of Little Richard, Larry Williams, Screaming Jay Hawkins, and Esquerita, with instrumental touches suggesting Ike Turner, T-Bone Walker, and musical accents suggestive of The Ronettes, and Lazy Lester as Curran and his band have a take no prisoners approach to reviving 50s wild, raucous rock and roll on a collection of originals modeled on the wilder side of the fifties from such labels as Federal and Specialty. The tone is set with the wild little Richard style performance of a lesser know Etta James song, “Tough Lover." Take a song like “Dream Girl,” where opening it Curran’s vocal takes a nod to Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson before it sounds like someone put some benzedrine in Nick’s Ovaltine (to steal a line from Harry ‘The Hipster’ Benzedrine) as he sounds like his soul was possessed by Screaming Jay while his wild guitar makes some of Ike Turner’s wilder solos using his whammy bar sound fairly tame. “Flyin’ Blind,” is a rocking duet with Blaster Phil Alvin, where Curran’s wild singing makes Alvin come off as teen crooner. On “Lusty L’il Lucy” Curran comes off as a cross between Little Richard and Larry Williams with the saxophones recreating that old Specialty sound before yet another guitar solo rockets off into the stratosphere.

The manic wildness of “Reform School Girl,” does not mask the fact that Curran is one mother of a performer. Rock and Roll still lives on this, a magic carpet ride of classic rocking sounds, that fans of the wilder side of the fifties music scene will want to take for a spin. Incidentally, Nick was recently diagnosed with tongue cancer and we can only hope the treatment is successful so he can get on to road to promote this release.

For purposes of FTC regulations, I received this from Delta Groove’s publicity firm. The review was written for publication Jazz & Blues Report, but yet to have appeared in print.

Wax Poetics Rocks

Just a heads up that issue 30 of the genre-spanning hip hop journal, waxpoetics is out and it is titled The Rock Issue. The two covers are of the Bad Brains and Elvis and there are stories on both (Elvis in Memphis is the subject of that article. There is a rediscovery of the Johnny Jenkins album, Ton-Ton Macoute!, obits for Jimmy McGriff, Buddy Miles, Bo Diddley and Ike Turner, and other articles on Dave Bartholomew (by Andra Lisle who also contributed the Ike Turner obituary, the Black Rock Coalition, The Rascals, and Ernie Isley (the article is titled "Guitar Hero"recalling Hendrix among other things). Some good writers here including John Kruth who authored the fine Roland Kirk Biography, Bright Moments and Jon Kirby, who penned the Bad Brains story. I picked this up at the magazine section of Barnes & Noble, and the website is www.webpoetics.com. I mentioned this publication before and bring this to your attention once more.

An interesting take on Ike Turner

I've know Gaye Adegbalola for about two decades now, when I saw Saffire - the Uppity Blues Women performing at venues in the Washington DC area. With them and on her own she has produced some wonderful music and recordings as well as mentors and teaches singing and songwriting to up and coming performers.

I came across a article on Ike Turner that I think more folk need to now about. Ike was no angel and was a drug-addict and wife-beater, but he has served his time. he was a monster yet still was a musical innovator and appears to have turned his life around. Gaye's article on Ike certainly is thought provoking.

What's Love Got To Do With It 

Big Pete's Big New Blues

Big Pete Pearson
While the back of the CD cover for I’m Here Baby (Blue Witch) calls Phoenix based Big Pete Pearson a shouter, he comes across more like James Cotton crossed with a bit of Lonnie Brooks to give a sense what he sounds like.. Produced by Bob Corritore and joined by the likes of Ike Turner, Johnny Dyer, Joey Francesco, Leon Blue, Kid Ramos and W.C.Clark. The opening Too Many Drivers is a rocking shuffle in the vein Cotton excelled at with Matt Bishop providing the rollicking piano as Chris James and Johnny Rapp on guitar help push the groove while producer Corritore wails on harp. Its a good indication of what’s to come on this set of straight, no chaser blues. Leon Blue handles the ivories and Corritore is on chromatic harp on a nice version of Tin Pan Alley with a nice gritty vocal. A good song writer, his original The Way I See It, has him reaching down on his vocal, while Worried About My Baby is an easy rocking number with Johnny Dyer contributing a nice harp break on a recording that would have been at home on a vintage Chicago blues collection. I’m Here Baby, is a slow-drag bump and grind number that Pearson just pours his heart into. Ike Turner and Joey DeFrancesco are present for Big Legged Woman, a number that brings Lonnie Brooks to mind while a more West Coast flavor is on the evocative rendition of Percy Mayfield’s The Highway Is Like a Woman. Cousin W.C. Clark join on a spirited blues medley, trading verses and songs as well as the closing Texas Blues Memories. Possum Up the Tree, with Kid Ramos on guitar evokes vintage Muddy Waters while there is a down home flavor added to Natural Ball. While Texas born, Big Pete’s music sounds like he was in Chicago, not Phoenix, the past fifty years. This is an exhilarating blues disc that certainly should make him a singer in demand on the hopefully reviving blues circuit. This is a good one. Check out www.bluewitchrecords.com or www.bigpetepearson.net for more information.