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.

Taking the Blues Time Machine Back to June 1977

This is my blues column from the June 1977 Buffalo Jazz Report which had Dizzy Gillespie on the cover. I have noted the first 58 issues of Buffalo Jazz Report (now Jazz & Blues Report) have been digitized and can be downloaded from the University of Buffalo Library system. The website for these archived issues is: http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/BuffJazz. This column is devoted to live performances as well as reviews of reissues by John Lee Hooker and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. These albums were reissued by Fantasy I believe and may be available today.

The Belle Starr out in Colden, NY continued to bring blues acts to the Buffalo area. Early May saw Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. I caught their opening act and wasn’tt oo impressed with their new back-up band. When both Philip Guy and Buddy started to take the spotlight things got better and things were going well till Buddy broke a string during Junior Wells stint. Buddy wasn't able to get back in tune and it was a little disappointing. Others told me that other nights went much better.
 

Son Seals' debut at the Belle Starr, and first Buffalo area appearance in a couple years, was one of the finest blues acts I've seen in awhile. Son is an acidic singer and fiery guitarist and accompanied by a tough and tight band, including the aptly named Harry 'Snapper' Mitchum on bass, Pete Allen on guitar and Tony Gooden on drums, that provided quite a full sound. Son played quite a varied set doing hot versions of I Wonder Why, Sweet Angel Child, Why I Sing the Blues as well as tunes from his two Alligator albums such as Ray Charles' I Believe, Junior Parker's Telephone Angel and his own No, No Baby and Down on My Knees. Your Love is Like a Cancer is my own favorite taken at a rocking tempo with its stinging lyrics and guitar work. Son, on the basis of his records and his live performances deserves to be better known. If you are near where he is playing, do check him out.

As far as records go Fantasy has a twofer series of blues reissues. John Lee Hooker's Black Snake (F-24722) is reissued from two sets on Riverside. Hooker is solo on one record and on the other side bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes accompany on most of the material. There is better John Lee Hooker available, but their is also a lot worse stuff to listen to by him.

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee are one of the blues most celebrated duos delighting audiences for many years. Midnight Special (Fantasy F-24721) captures Sonny's exuberant harp playing and Brownie's fluid guitar. While this isn't down home country music but rather music for a white folk audience these 960 sides show that their professional approach doesn't mean the music lacks warmth or spirit. There mastery of the rural blues tradition shines and this set provides ample testimony to their contribution to American music.

Finally the Belle Starr continues to bring blues acts to the area. June 23-26 blues singer and guitarist Mighty Joe Young will be out at Holland-Glenwood Road. Mighty Joe Young is one of Chicago's finest musicians, a fact readily seen by his being in demand as a session man. He has recorded behind the late Magic Sam, Jimmy Dawkins, Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Fenton Robinson, Tyrone Davis among others. He has four albums out including the fine Blues With a Touch of Soul on Delmark, an album on GNP-Crescendo and two sets on Ovation. Joe is a mellow singer with a clean fluid guitar attack. This will be my first chance to see him in about six years. Hope to see you there.
 

A Good But Not Great Mighty Joe Young Reissue

Back three decades ago, Samuel Charters produced a series of blues lps for the Swedish Sonet label, The Legacy of the Blues, along with some other blues recordings. Charters is known as both a blues author (The Country Blues, The Poetry of the Blues, Bluesmen) as well as a producer of blues recordings, including the classic Chicago, The Blues Today! and albums by Junior Wells and Buddy Guy to name a few of the artists he recorded. Universal Music, through its Verve imprint issued several years ago seven of the Sonet lps for reissue in a series, The Sonet Blues Story. Six of these were from The Legacy of the Blues series. This is the first in several postings of reviews from that series that originally appeared in the June 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 283).

The late Chicago singer-guitarist, Mighty Joe Young was a fine purveyor of soul-laced blues in a mellow mode like his good friend Fenton Robinson. This writer had the pleasure to see Young while a senior at Case Western Reserve University and in fact he came on my WRUW blues show while playing The Kove in Kent, Ohio. He was promoting his Delmark album, Blues With a Touch of Soul at the time and was accompanied on the trip by a Delmark employee, Bruce Iglauer, who was a year or so from issuing the first album on Alligator Records. The Delmark album is my favorite of the various discs Young recorded with band with horns providing a tight backing for his extended blues performances. Young explained to me several years later that he dropped the horns because as he got booked increasingly on the then college market, horns were not viewed as blues instruments. Sonet has released a session with his then working band that included horns with a few overly familiar songs like Rock Me as well as then not overly recorded numbers like Percy Mayfield’s Baby Please and an original, Early in the Morning, which is an original that seems inspired by the Louis Jordan classic but with different lyrics. There is a nice mix of soul into his blues stew, but despite the fine piano of Bob Riedy and bassist Sylvester Boines, the session doesn’t fully jell and while Young sings and plays well, it is overshadowed by the earlier Delmark release.


It should be noted that on the Sonet reissues (including the Mighty Joe Young), the playing time is somewhat short. Even those with extra tracks, do not exceed 45 minutes. Still there is some really good music to be heard on these and if not essential releases, these are welcome additions to available blues.

This CD may be out-of-print but is available from various sellers and is available as mp3 files. Blues With a Touch of Soul is still in print. I received my review copy from the publication.

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.