Eddie 'The Chief' Clearwater Is No Flimdoozie

Eddy ‘The Chief’ Clearwater is a favorite among blues fans. The following review appeared in the DC Blues Calendar in 2001 at the time Rooster Blues reissued one of his 1980’s albums on compact disc. I likely received my review copy from the label.

A reissue on Rooster Blue is Eddy Clearwater’s Flimdoozie, a mid 1980’s session with Sugar Blue on harmonica, Abb Locke on saxophone and Otis Rush sharing guitar leads with Clearwater. Its not a bad album, particularly with the all-star sidemen, and some of the tracks like the rocking Sugar Baby with a great Sugar Blue harp solo and Clearwater belting out the vocal like Carey Bell are pretty good. Some of the material is pretty lightweight including the title track and Do This Town Tonight, but played well.

Clearwater’s mushy diction undercuts the long slow blues, a medley of Black Night with Clearwater’s Fallin’ Down Heavy. Rush is in terrific form on the five tracks on which he is heard, but despite his presence, this is a secondary work in Clearwater’s discography.

Here is Eddy performing at the Chicago Blues Festival in 1991.