Gerald McClendon
Can't Nobody Stop Me Now
Delta Roots Records
This writer first became aware of Chicago-born singer/songwriter/performer Gerald McClendon from a memorable performance on the anthology "Battle Of The Blues: Chicago vs. Oakland." Drummer-songwriter-producer Twist Turner produced that recording. Turner has returned with this full album of deep soul by McClendon, a performer who has become known as "The Soul Keeper." McClendon's vocals are backed by Turner on drums and some stellar studio players. These include Art Love on bass, three great guitar players, Herb Walker, Joe Burba, and Mike Wydra, and three keyboardists, Roosevelt Purifoy, Sumito Ariyoshi, and Brian James, along with Skinny Williams on saxophone and John "Boom" Brumbach on trumpet. Turner wrote all twelve songs here.
A strong, expressive singer, McClendon will evoke some of the classic soul singers of the past such as Sam Cooke, Tyrone Davis, Otis Redding, and others as he sings about being caught in the act by his woman who tells him she does not want to stay on the break-up song, "Where Do We Go From Here." His phrasing and clean delivery of the lyrics underlying a compelling vocal. The breaking up of relationships is also a theme of several other selections, including "She Don't Love Me No More," which features Skinny Williams' burly tenor sax. Then there is the blue ballad, 'i," with some bluesy guitar fills. Of course, other themes include the title song opens this set with a surging groove as he sings about nothing can stop him as he takes control. Another standout song is the slow groover "Groove on Tonight' where he sings about going out and party all night as he needs to find someone to love him right.
Whatever the song or mood, McClendon's command and conviction stands out, along with the first-rate backing provided. Still, the highlight of this recording might be the soul-ballad, "You Can't Take My Love." On this track, Williams again plays a choice sax break in the middle of McClendon's soulful vocal where he tells his woman she can scandalize his name, but she can't take away his love for her. This performance notably displays why Gerald McClendon is "The Soul Keeper." "Can't Nobody Stop Me Now" is an extraordinary deep soul recording that hopefully will bring him the recognition his talent deserves. Also, kudos to Twist Turner for the terrific songs and production.
I received my review copy from a publicist. This will be released on June 12. Here is a promotional video for this recording.
Various
Battle of the Blues: Chicago vs Oakland
Delta Roots Records
Twist Turner is a multi-talented drummer, songwriter, and producer who spent several decades in Chicago playing with a who's who of Chicago blues artists. In a book, "Blues With a Twist" he has chronicled his life in the blues starting from growing up in the Pacific Northwest to his time hustling and surviving in Chicago. In recent years Turner moved to Oakland, and while suffering severe health issues, he began starting to record some of the under-recorded blues artists in the Oakland area. Returning to Chicago, he found artists similarly needing exposure resulting in this release. This recording is not Turner's first efforts at producing blues albums. He produced the harmonica blues recordings of the "Chicago Blues Harmonica Project" that were issued on Severn Records.
Concerning "Battle of the Blues," Twist plays drums on all tracks, wrote 12 of the 13 selections, made all of the horn arrangements and plays others instruments on various tracks and wrote the liner notes including short artist biographies. There are numerous sidemen throughout this collection including guitarists Rusty Zinn, Maurice John Vaughan, and Dave Workman; saxophonist Skinny Williams; keyboardists Chris Burns, Roosevelt Purifoy, and Allen Batts; and bassists Art and EG McDaniel. Despite the wonderful musicianship heard in the backing, the focus (with one exception is on the singers heard here.
In the booklet, Turner quotes trumpeter Nicholas Payton "Just because its a twelve-bar form with some variation of I-IV-V chords, don't think your laying "the Blues" … it has no particular form. Relegating "the blues" to a form refutes its function. It can be found in many shapes and sizes." Payton's quote leads to Twist's discussion of the evolution of the blues, especially in the black community. He tells a story about how listening to a Syl Johnson record at Hip Lankchan's apartment, he initially responded it wasn't blues. Hip responded, "Its the blues, just a different kind of blues." The music on this recording is this different kind of blues, what some might call soul-blues. It is in the vein of Bobby Bland, Z.Z. Hill, Artie 'Blues Boy' White, Charles Wilson and Barbara Carr.
This collection opens with, Mz. Sumac, the only female, represented. The daughter of bluesman Craig Horton, Mz. Sumac displays the sass and fire of Barbara Carr as she sings about wanting a man who will give her what she needs. Skinny Williams provides a booting tenor sax solo. Aldwin London plays bass on several tracks including his vocal feature reviving Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away." It is a fine vocal that is pretty close to Joe Hinton's hit although London is not quite up to Hinton as a singer.
The remarkable Freddie Roulette is represented by two instrumentals "Take It Easy," and "Red Tide" that display his spine-tingling lap steel playing. He is also heard behind Country Pete McGill's "Hootchie Coochie Mama," a blues that musically descends from "Hootchie Cootchie Man." McGill is the most down-home blues performer here, while Roulette's accompaniment and Roulette's solo is scintillating, Chris Burns piano on this track merits mention. It is hard to believe that Nat Bolden is 91 from his robust vocal on "Good Morning Mister Blues." This selection has the flavor of the uptown Chicago blues of Fenton Robinson and Andrew Brown with superb Rusty Zinn guitar set against a tight horn section.
Chicago singer James Newman impresses with his understated soulful singing on "Hit and Run Lover," and "Me and My Guitar." Maurice John Vaughan is the guitarist on the former song, Mark Wydra is listed for the latter tune. Emery Williams Jr passed away in 1996, and his two songs may be the earliest selections here. Maurice John Vaughan is the guitarist behind Williams on "Hurtin' On You," where he tells what he will do if he catches this person with his wife. On "Mama Don't Weep" Williams' gospel roots are evident, as he tells a former lover that he is sorry things did not work out as Bernard Anderson wails on tenor sax.
Turner observes that Gerald McClendon is known in Chicago as the Soulkeeper. He lives up to that moniker in"Cold on the Streets" with his passionate vocal about a cold-hearted woman but who is "hot in the sheets" giving good loving all night long." The other performer is "Mr. Excitement" Del Brown, a second cousin of James Brown, who is heard on his first recordings as a frontman. "Now That I Am Gone" is a terrifically sung deep soul ballad with some breathtaking vocal leaps. "Time Slippin' Away" is a heartfelt vocal about getting older and his hair turning grey as he struggles to pay his bills and survive with biting guitar fills.
"Battle of the Blues" is an excellent set of blues with a variety of marvelous blues singers handling some fascinating original material, solidly backed and well recorded. Kudos to Twist Turner for making these terrific performances available.
I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a demo of Gerald McClendon singing. This song is not on the CD and again this is a song demo but it gives you an idea about how good a singer McClendon is.
Mississippi native Arthur Duncan has been up in Chicago since the 1950s when he came north with Earl Hooker. Mentored by the legendary Little Walter, he has been part of the blues scene for most of the intervening five decades as a performer and as a club owner while working as a construction worker. Delmark previously issued his disc, Singing With the Sun, and now has a live performance on CD as well as on DVD (with a couple of extra songs included), Live at Rosa’s Blues Lounge. This is an unpretentious set of somewhat raw, downhome flavored Chicago harp blues as Duncan mixes some originals with interesting covers. Duncan’s enthusiasm for performing is evident as he opens with an original Leaving Mississippi, before reworking Eugene Church’s Pretty Girl’s Everywhere, employing Slim Harpo’s Scratch My Back groove (and he also is seen/heard on that tune here). Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Slim Harpo and Howling Wolf covers mix in with Duncan’s Bad Reputation and Blues I Got to Leave You. As entertaining as Duncan comes off, his harp playing is not on the level of a Little Walter or Carey Bell, and his earnest vocals perhaps lack the charisma of his influences, but still the performances are engaging aided by the solid backing of guitarists Rick Kreher and Illinois Slim, bassist Michael Azzi and drummer Twist Turner, who provide steady backing behind Duncan. Guest Little Al Thomas handles the vocal on Dr. Clayton’s I Got to Find My Baby. The video on the DVD is really well done, keeping its focus on Duncan and his band as he sits and belts out his vocals and lays down his harp as well as captures his forays into the audience, encouraging the dancers and leading everybody on what was clearly a good time. Delmark continues to build its impressive catalog of live DVDs with this entertaining disc. This review appeared originally in the February 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 301). I received a review copy from Delmark Records. Here is a video trailer for this DVD.
Severn Records has just issued Diamonds in the Rough a collection of lesser known blues harp players from Chicago called the Chicago Blues Harmonica Project with the intent of showing that down home classic style Chicago blues harp can still be heard today. Of the six harp players, Dusty Brown, Omar Coleman, Russ Green, Larry Cox, Harmonica Khan #1 and Little Addison, only Brown and Cox had been recorded previously. Brown in fact recorded a classic He Don’t Love You for the Parrot label 50 years ago which he reprised here while Cox recorded with Phil Guy on an lp. The six mostly show traditional blues roots including the influences of Little Walter, Big Walter and the two Sonny Boy Williamsons although Russ Green was influenced by the innovative modern blues harp wiz, Sugar Blue.
The backing band of guitarists Rick Kreher & Little Frank, pianist Mark Brumbach, bassist Pat McKeever and drummer Twist Turner provide the solid backing that allows the performers to shine without drawing attention to themselves. Nothing fancy or original as they are generally blues traditionalists. Dusty Brown does a solid take at Little Walter’s I Got to Go along with his own number while Larry Cox handles Walter’s Mean Old World although playing in the style of Sonny Boy Williamson II. Harmonica Khan had recently returned to the blues scene when he recorded Jimmy Reed’s Baby What You Want Me to Do and Junior Parker’s Next Time You See Me backed solely by his harp and bones playing, whooping and hollering on these very enjoyable performances. Unfortunately he passed away shortly thereafter.
Little Addison updates Look on Yonder’s Wall with a pleading vocal and some chromatic harp while Omar Coleman takes a more modern blues theme on Jody’s Got You Gal and Gone as well as doing a nice take on Little Walter’s Everything’s Gonna Be Alright with a strong soulful vocal and some real fine playing, and Larry Cox handles Jimmy Reed’s Going to New York. This is a really nicely put together cd that displays some real enjoyable blues artists that may not be major names but certainly bring plenty of heart to their recordings.
This review was written back in 2005 and published in the May-June 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 282). I received my review copy from Severn Records. I have reviewed the second volume of this series, More Rare Gems and posted it on September 28, 2009 which I have linked. I received my review copy from Severn records.
This review appeared in Jazz & Blues Report (July 2009, Issue 318). I have made a few minor wording changes.
Severn Records has followed up its prior release of lesser known Chicago Blues Harmonica Players, Chicago Blues Harmonica Project: Diamonds in the Rough with "More Rare Gems.” Its another collection of lively performances by a variety of lesser known harp players who continue to ply their trade in the clubs and bars of the Windy City. Once again the backing band is The Chicago Blues Masters: guitarists Rick Kreher and Illinois Slim; pianist Mark Brumbach; bassist E.G.McDaniel and drummer Twist Turner who provide solid idiomatic traditionally oriented backing throughout.
Seven performers are heard on this collection, some who come off stronger than others but all are entertaining. Reginald Cooper opens with a strong vocal on his rendition of a Z.Z. Hill recording, “Shade Tree Mechanic,” with a simple harp solo that rides the disc out. His other performance reworks Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Give Me Back That Wig,” with the band giving the song a Muddy Waters styled flavor with more harp.He is a particularly expressive vocalist and his harp adds solid flavoring to these performances. Charlie Love really tears into his harp at the beginning of the extroverted and rollicking shuffle rendition of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Ooh Baby, Hold Me.” His vocal perhaps is a bit melodramatic on the cover of Elmore James’ “Twelve Year Old Boy,” although the track sports more fine harp. What is interesting is that Love is known as a guitarist so he likely could put together an interesting album.
Harmonica Hinds has recorded with Koko Taylor several years and has several self-produced albums. His harp playing is his strength as displayed on his original, “Kill That Mouse,” but his gruff vocals suffers from a somewhat stiff delivery despite his obvious enthusiasm, The instrumental shuffle, “Sunday Morning Blues,” displays his musical strengths. The recordings by the late Little Arthur Duncan, perhaps the best known of those heard here, were his last and he turns in capable performances of “Can’t Stand It No More,” derived from Little Walter’s “Hate to See You Go,” and Muddy Waters’ “Gone to Main Street.”
Jeff Taylor handles the vocal on “Gangster of Love,” derived from a funkier uptempo spin that Johnny Guitar Watson gave the number from the seventies on. Russ Green’s superb harp accompaniment helps make this performance one of the top ones here. Taylor takes up the harp for his rendition of Jimmy Reed’s “Honest I Do,” with his effective playing evoking Reed’s simple harp style and kudos for whichever guitarist is adding the nice fills. Big D is in his 20s, but his rendition of Slim Harpo’s “I’ve Got to Be With You Tonight,” shows a maturity in his relaxed vocal and smooth playing. It rounds a generally second sampling of lesser known Chicago harp players who have plenty to offer fans of Chicago and harmonica blues.
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