Floyd McDaniel Plays The Classic Blues on "West Side Baby"

The blues. I have them. The times are right for them. They've been with me since I was a kid and I always return to them to refresh my soul. Floyd McDaniel may not be a name everybody knows but he embodies the blues. He died at age 80 in 1995 after a long career as another of the many notable Chicago bluesmen. If you've lived on the South Side of Chicago you know that the blues never needed reviving there. It's been a constant in the fabric of life since the urban blues revolution hit, when guitarists plugged in and let it ride, baby.

Floyd was recorded in concert in Germany in his last days. West Side Baby (Delmark DE-706) is the new re-release of that gig, and it shows you that age is no factor when the blues are real. There he was, 79 years old, singing and wailing on lead guitar, backed by a very hip band, affirming to everyone that blues with a feeling has no mandatory retirement age. The album was out-of-print for a while but it's here again and it's worth checking out.

Mr. McDaniel gives us some of his own special versions of some of the all-time classics--Handy's "St. Louis Blues," T-Bone's "Mean Old World," "Route 66," "Evening," which Jimmy Rushing made his own, "Sweet Home Chicago" and Floyd's own signature "West Side Baby," among others. He digs in and makes them Floyd McDaniel songs, absolutely.

It's prime, vibrantly alive music. Floyd plays a very soulful lead and his vocals are right there too. It's some stunning music if you dig the real blues. It's the way I'm sure he would want to be remembered. Click on the Delmark link below for more info and/or to order a copy.

Roy Gaines and his "Tuxedo Blues"

The blues are not dead! They continue to thrive in the hands of the best of those practicing today. One of them is Roy Gaines, whose Tuxedo Blues (Black Gold 001237) gives you the best of the urban blues right now. A swinging big band, Roy's warmly soulful voice and his compelling blues-meets-jazz guitar solo style are out front and on it. He came out of Texas, dug T-Bone Walker, played in the bands of Bobby "Blue" Bland and Junior Parker. . . all that should give you an idea where he is coming from.

He embodies the heritage of the soul-bluesman and he puts in something that is his. The blues feeling is there, solid, right down to the to the lyrics. (He wants to take his baby for a walk but those mosquitoes are too mean!)

Roy Gaines needs to be heard. He needs to be recognized as a happening cat. Buy this CD and you'll keep him out there doing it!

Gary Lucas & Dean Bowman Do Blues, Gospel, Spirituals and More

One thing about Gary Lucas that I admire is that he is unpredictable. Chinese pop, Beefheart, movie music, world music collaborations, one can never be sure what will be next. What is a constant is his consummate artistry.

And so with his latest, Chase the Devil (Knitting Factory Records), a series of duets with vocalist Dean Bowman. It's a moving collection of roots music of a gospel-blues sort. There are traditional spirituals, classic Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Gary Davis, Blind Willie Johnson, a Judaic hymn, and some rooted originals, among other surprises.

What makes it here is the convincing blend of soulful vocals, classic material and Gary Lucas's wide-ranging acoustic and electric guitar artistry. Gary's wonderful fingerpicking is on display but so is his blazing electric work. Superficially one might think this is leagues away from his work with Captain Beefheart in the years past. But no, the Captain was in most respects an avant blues artist and this album carries on the idea that the blues is what you can imagine it to be. Gary and Dean imagine a different spin on it all. They succeed superbly.

Little Axe: Change in Continuity

January 28, 2009—Little Axe is singer-guitarist Skip McDonald and selected friends. The music combines dobro and electric guitar, contemporary rhythms and old-time stomps, pre-urban and folk sensibilities in the Afro-American tradition with the forms of contemporary r & b and rock.

Blues-based yet with a foot in the present, the 2004 release Champagne and Grits (Ryko) gives you a take on the roots that ends up with a music for today. That to me is a most welcome turn of events and I found myself responding to it with pleasant surprise. It’s good music and a good bet if you value change in continuity.

B B King and Carlos Santana: Guitar Legends

Originally posted on October 2, 2008

When you see a two-CD set called Guitar Legends that’s going for peanuts and has no real information about it on the jewel case, it’s a crap shoot. And if you’re buying it on an overstock bargain website, you know even less. That was the scene for me last year with a set of BB King and Santana sides (St. Clair).

The Santana CD was a demo, apparently, before the band cut their first record for Columbia. It has a few moments and holds interest from a historic point of view, but musically they just did not have the groove yet. It isn’t quite worth the peanuts.

The BB King disk has various levels of sound quality and was obviously recorded at vastly different points in his career. I am hard pressed to think of any BB that isn’t at least solid, and these cuts are no exception. It’s not necessarily the first CD by BB for anybody to get. It is certainly worth the peanuts regardless. And there is enough good-to-great guitar work to justify the title of the set. He’s been THE MAN for many years.

John Lee Hooker On Vee Jay II: Travelin', 1960

Originally posted on September 3, 2008

One more for John Lee Hooker. What was true of yesterday’s disk—that it contained many of his more familiar tunes, is not especially true of Travelin’ (Vee Jay), a 1960 release that also clocks in at 30 minutes.

Many of the songs are a bit more obscure and have to do loosely with traveling—getting there, being there, wanting to go there. As with yesterday’s release, it consists of very solid electric Hooker without the frills. His guitar on “Solid Sender” gives you the paired-down-to-the-bone blues, a perfect response to his irreplaceable vocals. Another great one. Tomorrow we venture into less charted areas. Until then.

John Lee Hooker On Vee Jay: I'm John Lee Hooker, 1959

Originally posted on September 2, 2008

John Lee Hooker was a real presence on Vee Jay records during the ’50s-’60s. Some albums released cuts already on LP, some overdubbed female backup vocalists to try to capitalize on the popularity of soul. He was never less than himself, no matter what they did with his tracks.

The 1959 I’m John Lee Hooker had some of his best, unadulterated with overdubs. “Boogie Chillun,” “Crawlin’ King Snake. . . ,” these were timeless blues classics. Sometimes he made the blues chord changes; other times he stayed with the root and droned hypnotically. Despite the 32 minute time length, there is much great music on this release, available on Collectibles. Tomorrow, one more by John Lee and then we move on. Nothing like the blues to shake off the rust and move into a new season.

Some Wonderful Steel Guitar Blues from Black Pentecostal Gospel Groups

Originally posted on May 29, 2008

Some time in the ‘90s, Arhoolie Records began releasing a number of albums devoted to the gospel music of a series of Black Pentecostal churches in Florida. The best of these recordings have been released in an anthology called None but the Righteous: The Masters of Sacred Steel (Ropeadope).

It combines prodigious steel guitar in the most bluesy, electric sense with soulful gospel and it’s incredible music. Who says the blues are on the way out? Not in these churches. This music rules!

Pyeng Threadgill Sings the Blues

Originally posted on March 3, 2008

Pyeng Threadgill is a fresh young voice with enough musical energy to wake up your weary ears. She is currently working on her third CD. We take a peek at her first, Sweet Home (Random Chance, recorded 2003). It is a modern tribute to the music of blues pioneer Robert Johnson.

The arrangements are in a contemporary bag and Pyeng’s vocals tend to be oblique compared to a classical blues belt. She finesses, drops herself into a song to ride a tide of turbulence, with one foot in the present, one in the blues past. This is not nostalgia. It is a re-creation for today and thanks to Pyeng’s musical sensibility, it works.

Lightnin' Hopkins and the Transition from Country to Urban Blues

Originally posted on January 22, 2008

Texas-originated Lightnin’ Hopkins was a charismatic transitional figure between the country blues and the urban blues that especially came out of Chicago beginning in the late '40s. He often played a solo acoustic guitar and sang, later he might use a semi-hollow, but the essential performances were made with just him and his guitar. What he played on that guitar was often boogie based and could easily have been transposed to an electric band without difficulty. Yet his roots were in the rural style he grew up with, so there can be some variation in the number of bars in the blues form and other asymmetrical features and nuances.

I have a CD on my listening pile right now that was released on Legacy International. It is called The Best of Lightnin’ Hopkins, but I wouldn’t say it is quite of that caliber. He is joined by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee for a more or less casual sounding jam session on about half the cuts and, as much as I appreciate those artists, they take away slightly from what Lightnin’ Sam would have done on his own. Still it’s nice enough. Mr. Hopkins had a sense of humor, a knack for story telling or scene setting and some elemental but perfect guitar accompaniment abilities.

Rocking with Jimmy Reed

Originally posted on January 14, 2008

“I’m goin’ to New York, gonna get there if I have to walk.” So sings Jimmy Reed on the first cut of his 1959 VeeJay album Rockin’ with Reed (Collectibles). OK, so I did another of his albums earlier, but it’s Monday and this one speaks to me.

It has all that great Reed interlocking guitar and bass, all the laconic charm of his vocal style, and some real classics. “Caress Me Baby,” “Take Out Some Insurance,” “Going to New York” kick serious blues butt and the rest of the cuts do it too. Since my car is in the shop, I would have to walk if I were going to New York. But I am not. Instead it’s time for Cadence reviews.

Ike Turner, Carl Perkins, Joanna Newsom

Originally posted on December 26-28, 2007

Everybody knows Tina Turner and lots of people remember when it was Ike and Tina, but before there was all that, Ike Turner was an important leader-arranger and soloist in the blues and r&b genres. There is a CD of the recordings he made under his own name and with others for Modern Records in the ‘50s: Rhythm Rockin’ Blues (Ace). It’s filled with some gem cuts, and includes some great Ike guitar. “Rocket 88” will knock your socks off, as will his “Blues Medley.” “I Ain’t Drunk” is funny as hell. It is all worthwhile.

Let us all hope for a better new year—with some peace and understanding in the world. See you in 2008!

(December 27, 2007:) As we approach another new year I naturally seem to get into a reflective mode. It seems the further we go into the new Millennium, the more critical it is to keep alive the roots that make the music of today possible. I have been as guilty as anyone of sometimes discounting or neglecting the people who made concrete the idea of picking up a guitar or bass and playing a certain way. One of those artists certainly was Carl Perkins. He did get the recognition he deserved later in his career, but the original landmark Sun recordings he made in the ‘50s did not initially bring him worldwide acclaim. It was the covers that other artists made of his songs that helped introduce him to a larger audience, of course. “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Honey Don’t,” “Matchbox,” and “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby” are perfect examples.

A CD came out a while ago featuring two Sun LP compilations: Blue Suede Shoes and Original Golden Hits on the Collectables/Sun Collectors Series. It is a good set. All the tunes mentioned above are on there, plus a good number of other ones. What strikes me as I listen to the CD is how much of his output had a country flair and how low his lead guitar was in the mix. His special way of guitar picking formed one of the main influences on the rockabilly style and of course his vocal approach was also widely influential. Nevertheless the heavy balance in favor of guitars his music inspired really wasn’t as present on his first recordings as was the case later. And the more country-inspired numbers are not often remembered. But everything still sounds fresh and inspiring to me, especially when contemplating the year to come.

(December 26, 2007:) Happy Boxing Day, for those countries that celebrate. Not here in the USA, alas. I am back after a brief respite and today perhaps it is time for some quieter music. Joanna Newsom would fit the bill. She sings and plays a stringed harp like an angel. A somwhat quirky angel she is. Joanna’s voice makes her sound like she is twelve years old, but I am sure she is not. A CD of hers, The Milk-Eyed Mender (DC), is about three years old or so, and that’s the one I have been playing. The songs are whimsical and somehow hearken to an unspecified previous time in this or some other world, or at least a less urban world of today. Acoustic folkies could learn something from her harp playing. This is folk music coming from another place. It is innocent sounding in a way, but more than that, it is honest.

John Lee Hooker in Person and the Holiday Blues

Originally posted on December 7, 2007

The blues? Seems appropriate in these times. Not for everybody. But hey, it’s the holiday season and people go up and down like those painted ponies in another Joni Mitchell song. If you watch TV, you get bombarded with those diamond ads. You must give your significant other a $5,000 diamond turd, or better yet, a new BMW. Now who ever does that for anybody for Christmas or Hanukkah? OK, if you do it and can afford it, the best to you. The rest of us? Hey, nothing better than a guitar for that special somebody! Or not.

So I have been listening to John Lee Hooker, a wonderful bluesman who played a semi-hollow most of his career. Hooker made a bunch of albums for VeeJay Records. VeeJay was one of the most important black-owned record companies ever. And you know what made them go bust? They got the licensing deal for the Beatles first album and when it hit big they could not keep up with the orders and went into hock trying to press enough. The same thing must have happened to Swan Records, who got the original deal for “She Loves You,” and then disappeared soon after.

I digress. John Lee Hooker’s In Person (Collectibles), was a live Vee Jay release from the early-mid ‘60s and it’s great. The thing about Hooker’s playing is that he might only play one chord throughout the song, and of course sometimes more, but what he did play was just perfect, always. And his singing. He rocks, big time. He’s so good, your personal blues will go away for a little while. He had the “it” that very few have.

Buddy Guy Plays the Blues

Originally posted on November 26, 2007

Another work week descends upon us. When I was much younger the free summer concerts in Central Park NYC were hosted by Schaeffer Beer. In 1967 a friend and I went to the so-called Schaeffer Beer Festival to catch a promising lineup: Buddy Guy and the Mothers of Invention. I didn’t know much about Buddy Guy then and there I stood when he opened the show. It was electric blues from Chicago, more electric than I had ever heard any Chicago bluesman play. It was excellent. Guy was on fire. He played “Sunshine of Your Love,” a Cream staple and big hit of the day. Later, Zappa did the song too, as a sort of rejoiner! Anyway, I went away quite impressed. Years went by and I ended up in Chicago for graduate school in the early ‘80s. Guy was knocking them dead at the South Side’s Checkerboard Lounge, but I never seemed to get the chance to go. It was where blues was played at its best and it started late and ended much later. I was too busy getting the schoolwork done and I still regret not having made the trip.

Buddy Guy lives through his recordings as well, though, so I’ve continued to appreciate him. He is certainly one of the greatest electric blues guitarists ever and a tremendous vocal power. Right now I’m checking out a CD that sounds like it was recorded in the ‘70s-‘80s called Buddy Guy and Friends, Volume One (St. Claire). Some of this CD was recorded at the Checkerboard Lounge, some in the studio. It is all great. Check this one out if you can find it.

Blues from Jimmy Reed, 1963

Originally posted on October 29, 2007

Can it be Monday again? A good time for the blues, the backbone of rock and jazz and much else. I am listening to a 1963 Vee Jay release T’Aint No Big Thing, But He is Jimmy Reed. It was re-released on Collectibles, and it sounds as fresh as the day it was made. Like so many urban bluesman of his era, Jimmy Reed came up to Chicago from the south to seek his fortune. He began recording for Vee Jay in 1953 and had a string of blues hits and many albums through the ‘60s. He influenced all kinds of musicians, perhaps most famously the Rolling Stones, who recorded some of his songs early in their career and were influenced by him in general. This particular album is typical of Jimmy's work. He and his fellow guitarists set up a rocking blues pattern with the rhythm section and each cut is mostly under three minutes.

The way the band works together, the ever-present turnarounds (concluding phrases that come at the end of the blues chord patterns) for multiple lines, Jimmy’s laconic vocals and his piercing harmonica set him apart from the rest. His style never really changed, at least during the Vee Jay days. There were four basic grooves he had—boogie-jump, fast blues, mid-tempo shuffle, and very slow blues. Each groove had corresponding interlocking lead and rhythm guitar parts and the band had mastered their unique approach completely by the time this record was made. They really rock!