Price 30p

I GOT THEM OLE TV BLUESTo learn that the BBC were prepared to fly Buddy Guy ovcr for a single télévision performance came as quite a surprise and on the 2nd.of August: we eagerly tuned in to the BBC show MB . A*ïn Music11 .

After suffering many minutes of utter rubbish Buddy was introduced by the présenter^popster B.A.Robert- son,who then conducted the worldfs worst interview.

What followed was little bettor, with Buddy,supported by a white pick up band including Dave 'Elmore1 Kelly, playing three undistinguished num- bers,looking and sounding like a second-rate Hendrix.

HowoveJ ̂ that the BBC were prepar- ed to fly Guy over for this show may liold out some hope of them bringing some other artists over in the fut­ure .

Also adornina the screen at them*

moment is another BBC show,nThe Ass- ociatesM}which fcatures B .B ,King playing the signature tune and other music for the show.With B.B. turning his hand to songs such as '’SomGwhere Over The Rainbow" it 1 s quite an ex- périence and will provide plenty of headaches for King1s discographers in the future 1

Well,Channel 4 starts in November and is promising a séries of jazz programmes.So,if we start writing now we may even get some blues.

WANTANEWDISC ?/ I «

Gettit from da Sailah!SUFFERING FROM SUMMERTIME FLATULENCE? -Then get yourself sortie senapods an* don *t bother me till it*s ail over.If, on the other hand,you are free from ail bodily excesses, I might allow you to buy a few new albums.

ACE-£4 >00 each.GH51 Rosco Gordon Vol.2.CH52 Howling Wolf-Ridin* Xn The

Moonlight*ATLANTIC-2LP set £6.50*60164 Prof«Longhair-The Last

Mardi Gras - live set from Tipitina1s, 178 .

BLUES BOY-£4,00 each.301 B.B.King~The Rarest King.302 Lowell Fulson-1946-57.CHESS(French)-£4.00 each.515.025 John Lee Hooker-House

Of The Blues.515,028 Shakey Horton-Soul Of

Blues Harmonica.DELMARK-2LP set £6.50.645/6 Magic Sam~Live 1 63-*69.KRAZY KAT~£4.00 7406 Smokey Smothers-Federal

sessions.MAGPIB-£4.00.4417 Piano Blues;Paramount Vol.2

-entire Piano Blues sériés always in stock;BUY THE WHDLB SET FOR A SPECIAL PRICE OF £60.00!!

NIGHTHAWK-£4.50 each.107 Chicago Slickers Vol.2,108 Prof.Longhair-Mardi Gras in

New Orléans,109 Downhome Delta Blues.0RIGIN-£4♦50surprlsingly these classic al­bums are still available.Anf I fve got them in stock right now, ... *RED LIGHTNING-£4.00 each.036 Luther Allison-South Side

Safari,040 Big Twist & The Mellow Fellos

ROUTE 66-£4.00 each.KIX-19 Larry Darnell.KIX-20 Wynonie Harris Vol.2. KIX-21 Amos Milburn Vol*2.RED PEPPER-£4*00 each.701 Champion Jack Dupree-Joe

Davis sides.SONET-£4.25.879 Hound Dog Taylor-Genuine

Houserocking.Music.SUND0WN~£4.50.‘709-05 Long Gone Miles-Country

Born(Smash sides)<YAZ00~£4.25 single LP's^ô.SO

doubles.Entire catalogue always in stock.JAPANESE P-VINE~£8 .00(gaspo. . . ) 9038 Downhome Chicago Blues~the

entire Parkway sessions with Muddy >Walter,L.Foster.

POSTAGE RATES: InlandzLP* s :l=53p; 2=96p.j3=or 4=£1.22 ;5-7~£l.57 ; 7- 10~£1.99. Overseasîvia small packet:LPrs;l~72p;2 or 3=£1.57; via letter post:4-6~£5.09.Larger parcels,prices on request.

You ain*t seen Sailor’s Delight yet? Where yabin ail these years? Send for your FREE sample copy right now.

Want to speak to the Sailor? Find out what1 s happening record wise? Bore the arse off him at 2 in the morning? Then phone 01-959 5347 and be the récipient of a short sharp lesson in Street language.

SailorVernon,Ora-Nelle Villas, 19 Brockenhurst Gardens,Mill Hill.LondonNW7

PICKIN’ THE BLUES57,East Maîn Street, East Calder ,West Lothian ,EH53 OES.

EditorialAfter holidays,urgent repairs to the house,hundreds of visitors and sundry other distractions we f re back,and still on sched- ule!

We hope that yourve ail had a good summer and are now ready to head tbrough autujmn and winter with us to keep you warml

Several people have written asking what’s happened to the discographies.Well ,wer re working on a whole batch at the moment and theyTll be reappearing soon. To give you some idea of the ar- tists being covered the disco‘s will include Magic Saro,JB Lenoir and Fenton Robinson.

Now wefll probablÿ be inunda- ted with letters s&y±ng} nWhat about country and Pre-war art- ists?M .Well,if that*s your bag get pen to paper and send us the resultsJAs we’ve cohfessed be- fore,those areas ar4n*t our strong-points,so corne on and help us out!

Well,that1s the lot for now, so keep well and we f 1 1 see you in late September. Mark & Frances,

SUBSCRIPTIONS etc.SURFACE MAIL RATES INLAND £2.25p. for 5 issuesOVERSEAS £3.25p. for 5 issuesAIR MAIL RATESZones B&C (includes USA,Canada, Malaysia}Australia,New Zealand, & Japan) £4.25p. for 5 issuesAil payment in Sterling please, IMOrs or Bank Drafts from over- seas^with ail roonies payable to M*S,& F-A.Harris,BACK ISSUES: Issu es 1-4 20p,each Issues 5 & 6 30p.each♦Please add 20p.P&P(40p.overseas)per order.

If a tick appears in the box your subscription is due for renewal.

ContentsNews 4Letters 4Wayne Bennett - Part 2 5Ail The Blues That FJLts 8

Talking With The King 1 0

• Reviews 1 2

Typing,artwork,layout,photos of B.B.King & Wayne Bennett,and anything not credited - Mark. Subcriptions}finances,patience and coffee - Frances.

Compétition !Those fabby people at Rooster have shown great generousity by donating a copy of their fanta- Stic Larry Davis album,"Funny Stuff11 , for this issue * s quiz.

So,if you don’t already own this master work write the an- swers to the three questions on a postcard and complété the sentence,11! want to win the al­bum because...” in not more than 1 2 words,and get it to us by I9th.September.1) Where was Larry Davis born?2 ) What label did he first re­

cord for?3) What does Billy Gayles do on

this album that hefs never done on record before?

The answers to last month's quiz were :1) Joseph Benjamin.2 ) Johnny Shines or Ronald Regan

or Pete Shertser.3)St.Louis,Missouri.The winner was Daniel Van Der Slik who said: irI want to win the album because I wonder how many mont lis it takes sending a record to Hollandn.Write and tell us, Daniel 1

Page 3

NEWS Once again the news is mainly of upcom- ing record releases

...Red Lightnin* have their second set of Tommy Tucker recordings rea- dy to hit the stores in a couple of weeks.Also in the final stages of préparation are a second set from Troyce Key and J.J-Malone and anoth- er set from the uDevil(s Music", featuring one side by James DeShay.. . .Good to see Saydisc back in the blues roarket with a revitalisation of their Matchbox label.For October release are three country sets,ail featuring the complété recordings in chronological order of some of the underrated coutry blues perf- ortners such as Texas Alexander, Richard Rabbit Brown,William Moore and Long Cleve Reed.Also sheduled, for January release,are sets from Walter!tBuddy Boy"Haxvkins ,Bo Weavil Jackson and Peg Leg Howell..~The next set from ’Rooster is to be an %album by Magic Slirn, featuring cuts niade during their recent trip to the States.From what I fve heard of it it promises to be the Slim al­bum we've ail been waiting for,com­plète with that wonderful nTeardropn sound, . .French Chess have another batch of release ôn the way.Alth- ough on the whole it 1 s a case of more of the saine old thing theyfve taken the initiative to re-release Walter Hortonfs Argo album...And talking of Walter Horton,his States recordings are to make up the next Pearl release,"Blues Upside The

Wall1* ,hopefully this year.Also due from the Delmark stable are a new Jimmy Johnson set,due September, and re^releases of Junior Wells1 nHoodoo Blues" and Magic Sam 1 s "West Side Soul,h,both with new sleeves and possibly liner notes... Over there in Holland Oldie Blues have lined up,for September release, albums by Little Willie Littlefield, recorded in June of this year,and a collection of 401 s sides by Lonnie Johnson and Blind John Davis,..Yes, believe it or not,Blues Unlimited is about to appear on the Streets again.Featured are splendid artic­les on Ishmon Bracey and Marshall Chess as well as the usual wonder­ful goodies...Nice to see James Cotton recorcüng again.He's a set out on Jackal with Lawhorn,Perkins and Lay in tow.A review will follow if we can turn up a copy...Well, thatfs ail folksî

LETTERSDear Mark & Frances,

Re< "Ail The Blues That Fit s11 Muddy Waters1 EP mentioned in the last issue.Thousands have probably written to tell youtthat the track nYou Shook Me!l is in fact Muddy 1 s vocal over Earl Hooker1 s instrumen­tal "Blue Guitar",originally relea- sed on Age 29106 2Regards,Peter, Goldsmith,Gross-Gerau,West Germany.

Dear Fellow Blues-Pickin1 Fans,For fans of New Orléans R&B,a

question.The sleeve-note of the Chess Blues Masters Sériés album of Sugar Boy Crawford says that Sugar Boy is the vocalist on ail the tracks that have vocals.

But could it be that Snooks Eag- lin is the vocalist on some tracks? The vocals on . 11 You Call Everybody Sweetheart" and MIf I Loved You Darling11 have a différent quality, a more cold-in-the-nose voice,less rounded pronounciation of words,the intonation of "You are so mean to me, . J 1

Also,while I rm on the quest,the album sleeve notes refer to Sugar Boy 1 s Impérial si-des as "his best material".But what were these re- leases and are they obtainable?Best Wishes,

Wayne Bennett.------------ Part 2 -------------

In 1958 I met Bobby "BlueM Bland for the first time.Ird heard about him,but I rd never met him.How did you come to join him?

Well,they came through Chicago and I made an audition for them,and on December 18th.l957 I joined the Bobby Bland band,and played with he and Junior Parker and stayed on with Bobby through r58 to r65.So every album Bobby did from r58 to 165,1111 say f69 which was the last album I was on with Bobby although I*d been away from th$ band for four years.But I still recorded with him when he came into Chicago. The last album I did with Bobby was where we did "Chains Of Love11, the nSpotlighting The Man" album.It was an album of ballads and blues,but a very good album.

But I was fortunate enough,after leaving Bobbyrs band,to still be a part of his recording outfit up un- til 1969.Everything he*s done since t'hen has just been studio men,in association with MCA/ABC,none of those albums I 1ve been on.

When we play these things from the 601 s I*m playing Wayne Bennett any- way,as I fm on the originals,So,right now,the reason you don 11 see me standing out front and getting ail flamboyant is because I lay in the background and keep the Bobb}' Bland flavour•There1 s a flavour that sells

Bobby Bland1 s records . Bobby r s band was always built around the guitar player.lt didn*t shoxv the guitar player overshadowing,but it showed a certain flavour that seIls the Bobby Bland thing accross to the au­dience,and the people look for that. That*s why you hear me playing fills ail the time between certain things he does.This is a motivating thing that keeps him afloat,and even over ail the horns you r 1 1 hear the gui­tar coming out.So this is like the platform that sold the Bobby Bland band over the years,and I just hap- pen to have been the guitarist who set this pace,so ail the other gui- tarists that come along look for this particular thing,the way it 1 s set up.

Now,when I rm playing for Wayne Bennett you hear a whole différent kind of guitar,which you 11 1 hear on the tape.Ifve got a demo tape of tunes by other artists , 1 cause I ’m in search of a record contractai overdue,! ’in at least 2 0 years over- due.You cetainly deserve-one!

Well,I owe myself and my family,and my loved ones and friends at least five albums.Irve been encouraged by (George)Benson,I rve been encouraged by many people,and I *ve heard them ask me,llWhat are you waiting for? When are you going to do something for Wayne?11.

I remember people who have heard what I Tve done on tape.They’d say, "That1 s great,but I can * t hardly accept you doing that 'cause I rm accustomed to hearing you do this1- . Whatfs happening is that people id- entify me with nothing but the blu­es .Now ; that 1 s good in one way,but it hurts in another,because what happens is that when I studied gui­tar my teachers didn*t teach me the blues,they taught me the guitar.

I studied classical guitar for 8years,where you played Rachmanin- ov’s concerto No.2,or certain move- ments from “The Firebird Suite11, where you read the music.

When I did popular guitar,when I was singing along with certain groups that we had in the S0 *s,in between my work with Jimmy Reed and Bobby Bland,we did tunes like MThe Poor People Of Paris","Portu- gese Washerwoman",ail the pop tunes, the kinda thing that made Frankie Avalon famous.Well,people have nev­er heard me do this kind of thing.I

Pngu 5

do these things very well,because this covered my pop/jazz thing,this had nothing to do with me bending a string at all.My playing that kind of legitiroate music had nothing to do with me Corning along ten years later and playing "Stop Me Right Now",in other words itrs showing versatility*

See?in the 60*s,when I was work- ing with Bobby Bland,(George) Ben- son was working with a guy called Jack McDuff,and he was fortunate e- nough to land a contract with Verve. He went on and on to bigger things,• from Verve to A&M and on to where he is now.

With Wayne Bennett not so,here1s why.I was playing blues at this particular time and so I ivasn$t fortunate enough to land a record- ing contract jbecause producers who were out looking for people,in se- arch of other things,were not nec- essarilly looking for blues guitar- ists.They were looking for people who could do a wide variety of stuff,and with me they put me in one particular category.

When I went home to Chicago,when I came of the road in !65,I caught holy hell.Producers wouldnft call me for sessions,people would say,"We need a guitar player to do this session,itrs a pop session",or a r o c ^ n ’roll session, and I was told that guys would say,"Well,Wayne Bennett1 s at home",but the producer would sayWell,Wayne only plays blues".OKÎEverybody just stuck a tag on me.So,as a resuit of that,for almost 18 or 19 months,! caught holy hell.

People wouldnr t call me for gigs because I'd been vaccinated with the Bobby Bland needle,and they thought that1 s ail I ever did.They never knew that I could do anything else. Itrs fantastic,but they never knew this,people who didn*t know me.Now, those persons who I played jazz ^̂rith in earlier times,they knew that I was versatile enough to go a bit further.But it took me,in Chicago,2 years to become established again.Guys ail round me were getting ses­sions, and I almost had to do a nine to five if it hadnft been for three or four friends of mine saying,"Let* s call Wayne,and he can play rhythm on the session".So,I would play rhythm for the session and when they found out I could play everything else,other than blues,IWaS G* 1*0 Ulor1!̂ mi» m*>i» K ^

So,when guys sayWayne,when you do an album why the hell don1 1 you want to do the blues?",they know why.Itrs because I didn*t want to be stuck with just being a blues guitarist,and that1s it.

Everybody's desperately in love with the blues.Fine,I can accept that.I don't throw stones at the blues,because if I hated the blues that bad I wouldnTt be here with Bobby Bland.But,the only thing about it is I don!t like for anybody to just put me in one particular cate- gory and leave me there,because that limits you and when people feel that you1re limited they donft call you for other things.

With me being in Europe right now,with me being well known in Eu­rope by many people,like yourself and ail,had we not had this inter­view you would never have known that I played anything else other than blues,because you never heard me do it.Yeah,but watching you play oneknows that there1s so much more inthere other than blues.

Okay,but you could have listened to the things that we did when we did Junior Parker1 s "There1 s So’meone Somewhere Who Loves Me",and the ot­her things.You could tell by the fills and things that I played,the counterpoint things that I played over and against what was happening on the session.Joe Scott completely turned me loose when we did these sessions.Somethings he would write a guitar part,somethings he would- n*t,just leave it to me to play fills and to play at will.But he would tell me,"Wayne,in this seg­ment I rve got the horns doing so and so,so lay low,donft over-play, because I donrt want you to corne in conflict.So play fills,but be discreet",OK?So, 1 *d be discreet,1 cause I didn*t want to clash with anyone,but whèn he said,"Go for what you know",then I would play fills as they would present them- selves,and then the company was ha- ppy,he was happy,and the artist was happy.

(At this point our conversation was int.errupted by a phone call,)

Therers such a s tory on me,man,that has never been told.It's the same with so many guys,you know.But there ♦ m ... « * - *

ing about just Wayne Bennett.I don 1 1 like to speak on too many things, •cause I donft like to Sound self- centred,but there are things that people should know,because I never got the récognition that I deserved.

I heard that there1s an English paper,a paper here in Europe,that mentioned in the last lines,"What- ever happened to Wayne Bennett?",

Nobody really calls the shots, 'cause noone knows what the hellrs gonna happen in a years time.Nobody knows,inanjl mean,when we do album after album on différent artists in the studio,when I worked as a stu­dio guitarist,everybody would say, "The tune we just laid is going to be the hit".To the producer,to the person in the studio,yes,But to the public,to the record buying public, hell no!

The tune that they expected to be the hit dies,the tune that they hated most,that1 s the one that the public bought.The producer would say,"My God,that's the tune that we did for scraps.We just threw that in,and that1s the tune that sold a million !".So,nobody knows what the hell1s gonna be big.Like what they did with Anita Ward,MRing My Bell",the other side of the record was the

itune that was the A side<See,no-one actually calls the shots on what*s gonna be the hit,because itrs like saying/'I'm gonna make up the pub­lias mind up for them".No waylIYou can1t say what the hell the publicrs gonna take^What could be your cup of coffee could be another manrs cup of tea,and theyrll prove it to you every time.

Yeah,it*s been a very common question !

Right!Well,Wayne Bennett worked as a session musician after 1965.1 did stage shows,live stage shows,at The Regai when I ;yent home after work- ing with Bobby Bland.I didnft go some place,crawl into a corner and die,I went diligently home to re­groupai had to practice for almost a year to get my playing velocity together,because playing one slow tune after another for 7 or 8 years had my playing ail the way down to a screeching haltlSo,! had to get into my scale books and pull myself ail the way back up to a certain playing level,because when I would go to jam sessions,jazz jam sessions, the musicians would sa3',"0 h no,man, we don't want none of that!"*Well, that wasn1t an insult but it was an embarrassing situation♦

So,playing with Bobby Bland hel- ped me in one way,but it 1 s like ro- bbing Peter to pay Paul.It's robb- ing you of one thing,it's giving you another,but it* s robbing you really. As a guitarist it's robbing you.So what you got to do is play the blues at the gig and when the gig is over forget that they exist and do some- thing else-Otherwise people won 1 1 look at you as a guitarist,theyT1 1 look at you as a blues guitarist,and that?s bad because it*s like putting ail your eggs in one basket,and you just donrt do that.

My advice to any person,and not just Wayne Bennett,to you or any person who plays a musical instrum­ent, namely a guitar,to never put yourself in just one category and never stereot}'pe yourself,

Now,if you're already an estab- lished artistjlike B,B.or Albert King,all well and good,because that is your thing.But if you1re a pers­on who1 s in search of a record con~ tract and you1re dealing with people on legitimate music,which covers as­pects of blues,pop,contemporary, rock,whatever,my advice is never to centre yourself on one thing.

Concluded in the next issue-

v

This issue Phil Wight is handing over his column to Paul Fryer who sent in this piece on Walter Davis. However,Phil1 s still with us,so keep the Muddy discographical information rolling in„Itfs really appreciated♦Bd.

ALL THE BLUES THAT FITSby Paul Fryer,

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WALTER DAVIS.Think You Need A Shot.RCA INternational 10B5.M&O Blues/Ashes In My Whiskey/Think You Need A Shot/Sweet 16/Moonlight Is My Spread/Don’t You Want To Go/ L&N Blues/The Only Woman/That Stuff You Sell Ainft No Good/Root Man Blues/Just Want To Talk Awhile/Min- ute Man Blxies Pts.l&^/New Come Back Baby/Let Me In Your Saddle/Howling Wind Blues.Walter Davis was one of the great popularisers of the pre-war blues•A piano player and singer hailing from Mississippi,he was one of the prime movers in developing the Bluebird Beat,the sounds associated with the Victor subsidiary label that brought the early country bl­ues of the Delta into a rapidly ur- banising setting.With that setting came new markets for blues records, waiting to be t'apped by a music to fit the new times*

Davis took the basic barrelhouse style of the Deep South and,by sim- plifying it,softening it and moving it towards a more bailad-like style, reformed and popularised the music. Davis 1 songs remained firmly blues, but they adopted a less aggressive, smoother format.No longer was roll­ing out the blues sufficient by the late 1930‘sjcity dwellers required something extra*something not sole-' ly relevant to the South}something that attettpted to meet the supposed sophistication of the Northern mi­grants While remaining true to the

the land of Jim Crow.This stylistic change was great

at the time and has led many modem critics to berate the man for his unfaithfulness to the blues tradit­ion or,rather,to the folk-blues tra* dition beloved in the I960*s.

However,the RCA album,"Think You Need A Shot",is a fine anthology of Davisr work,and of this change with* in the blues.Together with Big Joe Williams and Sonny Boy(John Lee). Williamson,Davis paved the way for the post-war blues *Unlike Williams and Williamson he played the piano, an instrument that was for a long time an anathema to blues collect- ors,in that it was the instrument of the settled musician,the band mu- sician,rather than that of the it­inérant player.

The piano style is simple,the instrumental passages complementing the vocals rather than existing al- ongside them,highlighting rather than driving the beat along.Never- theless,the rhythm*remained and most of Davis1 material was,indeed, for dancing,The extra rhythroic acc- ompaniment was usually provided by guitars playing behind Davis1 voice and joined by the piano between verses.

Perhaps the best example of this technique cornes on "Minute Man Bl­ues",from 1935,when the guitars of Joe Williams and the ever-faithful St.Louis accompanist Henry Townsend give the song,originally issued in two parts,the attack usually asso­ciated with the siropler Delta blues coupled with that edge of différ­ence ,newness,

Davis* lyrics also took the bas­ic Southern style and lightened it. Rather than the intensity and,oft~ en,gloom of the early blues,Davis concentrated on bringing out the more humorous aspects of the war between lovers,incorporating many of the aspects then found in black vauderville.Love meant unhappiness, but Davis was seldorn in love*More usually,lie was the hapless suitor trying to impress through false boasts.He recorded a whole sériés

the uneasy pursuit of the stray wo- man,all of which stressed Davis1 potency,but in a less than serious way.The lyrics of songs such as "Think You Need A Shot^/'Let Me In Your Saddle",and "That Stuff You Sell Ain't No Good11 ,were bragging lies aimed at securing the singer favours of woroen who held ail the trurop cards,

The more familiar strands of the country blues lyrics became second- ary in Walter Davis1 work.Seldom did he revamp traditional themes: MDon1t You Want To Go,r,a reworking of "Sweet Home Chicago",was an ex­ception rather than the rule.Togeth- er with his génération of Bluebird- contracted urban musicians,he re- lied on new songs,songs composed either by him or for him with a particular rnarket in mind.The lyr­ics were to fit the developing mu­sical style,and were to carry a superficial gloss of sophistication. They were songs prepared for a mar- ket,one that was centred around the record rather than the live perfor­mance, and needed to be disciplined and,to a certain extent,calculated.

Davis was not the extempore folk artist borrowing from tradition to compile a song of his own.His meta- phors,as on "Ashes In My Whiskey", were more idiosyncratic than the plainer talk of the earlier songs. They were roetaphors with thought behind them ,purposely différent,and obviously the work of one man rath­er than of a tradition.

Both in his music and in his ly­rics,Walter Davis adopted the rôle of Tin Pan Alley-like composer,tak- ing from the blues héritage,but composing songs that were consci- ously his own.Like Leroy Carr,he was capable of the extreme move away from what the blues should be, or was,and into personal composit­ions created especially for disc.He was a crucial figure in the blues1 task of coming to terms with the strength of the recorded medium,a fact demonstrated by his high and consistent record sales throughout the late 1930's and early 19401s.

.This RCA album shows the blues in the first stages of coming to terms with the need to make singu- lar dises that could be seen to be, both lyrically and musically,the work of a naisician willing to dis­tance himself from the blues trad­ition and to brina the blues into an urban setting.

ADDENDA,Etc.Well^I've been at it again,making ail kinds of daft mistakes!Yes,the phantom of the discographies has been doing its rounds and my brain has ceased to function when it cornes to spelling naines!

First of ail I must apologise for spelling Jimmy Rogers1 name with a Md",in the last issue.Now,we ail know that the Rodgers with a MdM was called Jirowie,and that he was a white yodler,and ASLEF member, who recorded during the 2 0 1 s and 30fs.He never worked with Muddy Waters and he certainly never eut anything for ChessL

Now on to the discographies.Tony Travers has a few observations on both the Nighthawk and Johnny Jones pièces♦

First of ail Tony reckons that there*s an unissued cut,"I Get Ev- il",that belongs to the 1964 Cari Jones session.He also reminds me of the vocals Johnny eut with Tampa Red,but we omitted these as they were considered to be outside the scope of the disco.However,we want to -run a Tampa disco in the future and ail will be revealed then!

Now turning to Robert Nighthawk5 Tony points out that the Robert McCoy who recorded with Jack Newman was actually the piano player from Alabama,not Nighthawk.He also men­tions that Little Walter,not John Wrencher,played harp on "Kansas City Blues"(Testament T-2215),and that an alternate version of "Cry- ing Wonrt Help You" was scheduled for Testament T-2216,which never surfaced,

Thanks,Tony,and if any others of you have any corrections,additionsi or comments please let us know.In­formation is of no value unless it is shared!

D

H Ë S

* * * *

The w orld 's oldest blues magazine,

s tîll going strongl

A gDldmine o f articles, photos, discographies, reviews ano more,

Sample copy E1.65 or subscrîptlon CG.50from BU Publications Ltd., 3G Selmrmt Park, Lewlshem, Londort SÊ13 5DB, England.

Page 9

B.B.King played The Playhouse , Edin- burgh on 2Sth.May.This was the fir- st time he had played Scotland for ten 3'earSjthe reason being that no promoters had been willing to bring him over.

The gig itself was as good as any he does and he made spécial ef­forts to acknowledge the host coun- try,including a bizarre episode when he stopped to mention that while he was attending the Grammy Awards ceremony he had met Sheena EastonlYou can,of course,guess the crowd’s reaction and it was obvious that B.B. was most concerned as to whether he had made a mj.stake in her country of origin!

After the show we made efforts to see B„B and were kindly ushered in to an audience with the man him- self.Looking healthy and relaxed he kindly offered us a seat and a glass of wine.Unfortunately we were, as usual,unprepared for an inter­view but were able to talce notes of the conversation that followed.

The first thing we did was to explain why his Sheena Easton spee­ch had been met with hysterical laughter,thus settling his mind as he really was worried about having made a blunder.

8 .B. felt that nowadays aboutPage 10

TALKING WITninety per-cent of the audience were with him before he starts.How­ever he always plays as hard.As he says,nI rve played hard every night. Every night l've given ail I *ve gotr* ̂ However , be did say that the Scottish audience had proved a hard one,especially after the intermiss­ion before the second set.

After a couple of questions re- garding the last time he had met and played with Roscoe Gordon he wished to stress some points about his early days.

nBobby Bland was nèver my valet or chauffeur and I never recorded with him in Memphis,as I fve seen mentioned in articles.!Td also like to mention that Albert King is not my brother and that when I quit Memphis I didn't leave Bobby my band.ïn fact I left my band to Joh- nny Ace,who was my piano player11.

After his gigs in London it came to light that Willie Nix had played on some of his early sides.When questioned further he said,MYeah,he played with me and he recorded with me,but that was just after ft3 O*Clock Blues,f ►

Unfortunately by now we had been joined by a journalist for one of the Scottish dailies,who was more interested in général statements ■ rather than who played on what and whenlHowever,between the two of us throwing questions at B.B. some in- teresting facts and insights into his attitude to the blues came to light.

"The blues lias been suppressed.We1ve had our biggest fights with the companies.Just because someone’s a blues player doesn*t mean that heTs not just the same as other ar- tistsJI .

Asked about the new Nashville album he replies ? fïI * ve wanted to do an album like this for à long time.It Ts the best thing I fve ever done.I Tm not just saying that to sell the albumjbut it 1 s the only one I listen to nowM .When questioned about country music he just summed it ail up by saying/I like music and l've never heard somebody who didnF t play something that I 1ve liked" «.

When asked âbout early influen­ces and inspirations he named many jazz horn players together with El- more James and Robert Niglvthawk.Why

FH THE KÏNGhe never played slide is answered by his following statement.

nI always wanted to play like rny cousin,Bukka White.But the reason I never could play slide is because my fingers just can1t work it.I also always wanted to play like T*- Bone Walker^but then.who hasi^t?!1'

MOne person started me on guitar, a preacher,sanctified preacher.He was my uncle*s brother~in-law.He used to sing gospel songs.See,it was a Southern custom that. the ad- ults ate first,the kids later.My uncle!s brother-in-law used to corne

*r by to eat and used to lay his gui­tar on the bed.I still do that*Well, I used to catch the guitar and one time I was caught.I .thought that theyfd scold me,but this preacher showed me just three chords.I still use thero" .

"At that time I never thought that I fd be famous for being a blues guitarist.I knew I 1d be famous,but I thought I fd be popular as a spi­ritual singer".

When questioned about how he set about working out his set he repl- ied,uI work out the set in terms of the audience.After three numbers I can tell if I fm going to have to work really ha.rd.Like tonight,! knew that I ’d really have to work hard.After 3'ouTve been playing a long time you get to know what you can,cantt do,must,mustnft do"f

"An audience is always différent when you corne back.They’re harder when you corne back for the second set" .

v "I go right from one tune to an­other,! donrt do any chat because I used to stutter,that* s why I talk a little slowly.I try to keep an aud-

T ience with me,I don*t fool around too rouch between tunes"»

"I always sing with my eyes clo- sed.That cornes from the early days when theyrd throw toinatoes and eags at youlThey used to raid the chick- en coups and get ail the bad eggsl But I haven’t had anything thrown at me for the last twenty-five yea- rs ! " .

The usual chat about guitars followed, during which the jounali- st's sidekick pressed B.B. into telling lier about how the guitar came to be named Lucille*The look of exaspération on his face had to

be seen to be believed as he went through the story that he must have told one hundred times before!How~ ever,he hit a light note when he told of how he lost that first Lucille.

"I kept the first Lucille about twelve years.It got named after an incident in 1949 in Twist,Arkansas. See,I visited a friend and that particular year,around 156,ail the General Motors keys seemed to fit everything1Well,Lucille went from my trunk.I think they were after the spare,but they struck it richî"

The conversation was coming to an end,as the many autograph hunt- ers lined up,and B.B. asked for one last question.The journalist looked at me and I looked at him.What do you ask the man?Well,what about, "When will you be back?'*?

"In around six,roaybe ten,months", he replied .’Good news,Ifm sure,for ail the blues lovers north of the border.

A more helpful,kind,and patient artist one could never hope to meet. B.B.King is certainly the greatest ambassador the blues has ever had and it was a privilege and a pleas- \ire to spend just a little time with this great man.

Corne back soon,B.B. Porin 11

• REVIEWS •

HOWLING WOLF.Howling Wolf. Chess(UK) CXMD-4004Forty Four/Evil/Suiokestack Light- ning/Somebody In My Horne/How Many More Y e a r s / I L e a v i n 1 You/All Night Long/Moanin* For My Baby/ Shake For Me/Baby How Lon^/No Pl­ace To Go/I Asked For Water/Moanin1 At Midnight/The Red Rooster/You111 Be Mine/Who's Been Talking/Wang Dang Doodle/Li.ttle Baby/Spoonful/ Going Down Slow/Down In The Bottom/ Back Door Man/Howlinr For My Baby/Tell Me. ̂ ,

~ 'fSTîl Î5 0 ZSame : Vol. 2. " C h e s s (UK) CXMD-4007Killing Floor/Louise/Poor Boy/Sitt- in* O 11 Top Of The World/Nature/My _ Ço_UDtry, S14g ar_Marna/Tail Dragger/ Three Hundred Pounds Of^Joy/Natchez Burnlng/Built For Comfort/Qoh BabyPage 12 'kisfciv

Hold Me/Just My Kind/I 1 ve Got A Wo~ man/Work For Your Money/I1!! Be Around/You Canft Be Beat/You Gonna Wreck My Life/I Love My Baby/Neigh- bores/Iim The Wolf/Rocking Daddy/ Who Will Be Next?/I Have A Little Girl.Real Folk Blues.

Chess(French) 515.011* 1The Natchez Burning/Poor Boy/Sitt- ing On Top Of The World/Tail Drag- ger/300 Pounds Of Joy/Built For Comfort/My Country Sugar Mama/Kill- ing Floor/Louise/Tell Me What I fve Done/Ooh,Baby/Nature.More Real Folk Blues, ’ ‘<l

Chess(French) 515.017 »Work For Your Money/Just My Kind/I've Got A Woman/lfll Be Around/You CanTt Be Beat/You Gonna Wreck My Life(No Place To Go)/I Love My Baby /Neighbors/I ’rn The Wolf/Rocking Daddy/Who Will Be Next?/I Have A Little Girl.Howlin1 Wolf. Chess(French) 427016Smokestack Lightnin T/Down In The Bottom/No Place To Go/Moaninf At Midnight/Forty-Four/My Country Sugar Mama/Spoonful/The Red Rooster /Moanin* For My Baby/I Asked For Water/How Many More Years/Louise/ Killing Floor/Evil(Is Goinf On)/ Back Door Man/Sitting On Top Of The World/Tail Dragger/Tell Me/Wang Dang Doodle/Who f 3 Been Talking/Built For Comfort/Ooh,Baby,Hold Me/ Baby,How Long/Three Hundred Pounds Of Joy,Blues Roots Vol.14*

Chess(German) 624804 AGX Had A Dream/Hiway My Friend/Hold Your Money/Streamline Woman/You Gonna Wreck My Life/Sweet Black An- gel/I Canrt Stay Here/Back Door Man /I Ainrt Superstitious/Irm The Wolf /I Walked From Dallas/Watergate Blues/You Turn Slick On Me/Coon On The Moon.

This is the second of our mammoth reviews where weTre trying to make some sense out of the plethora of Chess re-issues from around Europe.

To simplify matters w e 1re not going to consider the re-issues of Wolffs later albums,such as "Back Door Man" and nThe London Sessions11, as thèse are being re-issued,thank Godjin their original form,except for some rninor s.leeve changes.We 1 re

also overlooking the bootlegs,on Blues Ball,Blue Night and Syndicale Chapter.The former were expertly reviewed,by Cilla Huggins,in Blues Unlimited Nos. 134 and 137, and the latter is now a totally redundant set since the availability of the tracks on official albums with far better sound quality.

Howlin* Wolffs output,from the early 50's to mid 601 s,was of an unusually high standard.His power- ful voice and stark harmonica play­ing was always at the front of an excellent band,featuring the best that Memphis or Chicago could off- er.My preference has always been for for the early Memphis sides,which feature the likes of Willie Johnson and Albert Williams,as they have a certain freeness and excitement that is missing from the majority of his Chicago sides.However,these same Chicago sides are still at the forefront of the best blues that the city ever produced,and anyone with any interest in the blues sho­uld have at least one of these sets in their collection,

Now,which one of these albums should you go for?Well,if youfve already got any of his material you will have to check through the tit- les to check up on what you require. But if youfre just starting stay with me for a little wliile and I rll tell you what each set has to offer.

The British licensees,PRT,have issued two double albums which,as with other sets in the series,have mediocre packaging but surprisingly good sound quality« Volume one is a straight re-issue of two original albums,Chess LP~1434Vand LP-1469, and this should help avoid a lot of duplication for many readers.

The music spans from 1953 through to 1961 and as such the set gives the listener a fair indication of the range of the Wolf1s music.The famous numberSjSuch as "Spoonful" and "Smokestack Lightninr ,are here togetlier with twenty two other fine tracks,mostly from his later years.

Volume two,however, is a little stronger musically with some won- derful early tracks,such as "Just My Kind"?and later numbers such as the magnificent "Built For Comfort". Therefore,11d say that this is the stronger of the two sets,but PRT have conspired to produce a volume which could lead to severe duplica-

cornes about through the set being a re-issue of Chess LP-1512 and LP- l502,except that they have dropped "Tell Me What I*ve Done*.Why they have done this is a roystery to me as it leaves us with only twenty- three tracks,and an incomplète re­issue. CrazyI

Meanwhile Vogue,in France,have re-issued these two later LPTs in their original form.The sleeves in- clude some discographical informat­ion and they are very attractive packages.However,the contents are another story as the sound quality is very poor.I don?t know what has happened,but it sounds as though they have tried mixing electronic stereo tapes down to mono.As a re­suit the sound is weak and slightly muddy.Therefore,if you need this music I*d stick to the UK issues, even considering the one missing track.

Also from Vogue we have a reiss­ue of the double Chess Masters al­bum,Chess 2ACMB-201.The cover is still the same horrible painting of Wolf climbing into a fighter plane and the musical content is fine,but I can*t see what use this collect­ion is considering the other re- leases,as this set is guaranteed to produce duplication with any other Chess Wolf set !

Finally,we corne to the worst collection of the WolfTs work that has ever been known to man!I donft mean to say that the music is bad, but the programming,packaging and sound are ail fifth rate.

Looking at the sleeve one is led to believe that they*re getting four previously unissued songs and one previously unissued take.How- ever,on listening one gets a corn- pletely différent picture.

"Hi\vay My Fri end"., "Hold Your Money" and "Streamline Woman",all listed as unissued,were ail on the

„ first Blues Bail volume,and are ail excellent Memphis sides that ought to be heard be everyone.Now,I111 forgive Teldec for saying that they are previously unissued,as the Bl­ues Bail is a boot,but there is worse to corne.

"Back Door Man" is listed as an alternate take,but on listening you get the original version,which came out on the terrible electric album, except that it fades at the end.How- ever,"I Had A Dream" is an Alternate of that that o H r H n a U v ahhoaror? nn

“this take could explain Wolf 1 s comment, at the beginning of this song,on that album.

Despite the discographical in­formation on the sleeve^You Gonna Wreck My Life",as on ail of the sets reviexved here,is in fact "No Place Xo Go1*.The title was a reworking of the earlier number,but the only place you can get it,to my knowl­edge,is on the original release, Chess 1744,

As I mentioned,the sound quality is poor,but the worst instance is '*1 Walked From Dallas" ,where there is only half of the stereo record^ ingIHowever,ail is not lost as the fourth unissued title, Ï!I Ain 1 1 * Superstitiousrt, is just that 3

This track apparantly cornes from a session,held in Chicago,in early May 1970 that produced ten tracks, ail reworking of his standard num- bers.With what sounds like Hubert Sumlin on guitar and a horn section, this is some of the best late Wolf that I 've heard,and why Teldec did not include more from this session, instead of some of the other tracks, is beyond me.

The remainder of the album is made up of various tracks picked at random from his Chess catalogue.Four are from his last album , !>Back Door Mann,while "Sweet Black Angel" is ‘from the nSuper Super Blues Session1' album where Wolf is joined by Bo Diddley,Muddy Waters,and a crowd of screaming womenI

So,this set is one to avoid,un- less you feel you must have every- thing by the Wolfï

In conclusion,! feel that I have to recommend the British sets for their sound quality and fair price* This surprises me as I considered these volumes worthless when they first appeared,but perhaps it’s more a case of PRT making fewer errors than their continental partners,as none of thèse sets is nearing perfection.

It's sad to think that the chance of ever seeing the définitive Chess re-issue programme has now been lost.The Genesis sériés would have been just that,if it had managed to reach its twelfth voume,but instead xvef re now subjected to several diff­érent issues from ail over Europe, containing this superb material in unending permutations, ail competing for the same market♦Whocver oversaw these licensing deals has a lot to answer for.Pnge M

R00STER7 f f R47 LARRY DAVIS W a l k Out ü k e A Lady/

Since I Been Loving You — Différent versions of two trocks (rom the LP going great guns on the

Southern morket ]n the USI £1R4S SM0KEY SMOTHERS Black Cat Gîrl/Things A în 't What They Used To Be — New blues în the cîassîc Chicago tradition with Smokey backed by superb Lester Davenport harp and band, £1 (ce Cube 5926 A.C. REEDI Am Fed Up Wïth Thîs Musîc/ *t(l Got The Bîues — X*rated top- sîcJe features A,C/s fra n k V funky view of beîng a bluesman,£1.30, Watch out for the forth- comîng LP.EP R707 MAGIC SL1M — 3 sotîd slabs of South Sîde superbness, Still selling strong, £1.30

1*%$} R2616 Ï A LARRY DAVIS

'FUNNY STUFF'Great modem blues wîth a tou ch of funk VsouL £4.50 R2618 — WHAT? Corning soon: MAGIC SUM 'GRAND SLAM' — l t fs gonna be Slim's best LP ye t— studîo recordlngs but capturing Slim's hot and steamy Jlve soUnd I!

ROOSTER RECORDS PO Box 148, London W9 1DY, Téléphone: 01-286 2993

PROFESSOR LONGHAIK .The Last Mardi Gras.

Atlantic Deluxe ATL-K-60164Big Chief/Jambalaya/Mess Around/Cry To Me/Rum And Coca Cola/l Got My Mojo Working/Bveryday(I Have The Blues)/Doinr It/Gone So Long/She Walks Right In-Shake Rattle And Roll/Hey Now Baby/Bald Head/Stag-O- Lee/Tipitina/Her Mind Is Gone/How Long Has That Train Been Gone/Boo- gie Woogie/Carnival In New Orléans,Having already got quite a bit of Professor Longhair live music in my collection , 1 thought that this dou­ble album might prove to be too much of a good thing-Fortunately I ivas to be proved wrong.

This is the master of New Orlé­ans R&B,recorded with a full band at Tipitina’s Piano And Juice Bar during the' Mardi Gras week of 1978, resulting in .another enjoyable,in- fectious set that I keep playing and playing.

As you can see the material,once again,is made up of his own class- ics plus several of those tunes that he almost seems to have made his own,including a partlcularly fine version of 11 Jambalaya*1 and the corr** ectly titled "Rutn And Coca Cola11 »

Other outstanding tracks are ,fHey Now Baby!l, trBald Headir and "Mess Ar­ound1'.A snippet of nNo Buts,No May- besu also turns up,but I rm not tel- ling you where!

The one drawback is that I do feel that the piano could have been roixed a little more to the fore,as it sometiroes seems to just be a part of the général proceedings .However, it's a good band and despite a coup­le of fluffed passages they provide a wonderful colouring to the songs, on many tracks helping Fess to get into a terrifie groove with some apt guitar and sax work.I should also mention that on a couple of tracks the full band is not heard, lending a certain variety to the proceedings.

If you don*t already have a live album of his marvellous music then youfd be as well to start here,or if you1ve already got either the Queen Mary or London sets go out and buy this anyway.Then yourll hear Fess relaxed and happy}playing in his own club,with more of the at­mosphère of New Orléans and the Mardi Gras than any strange concert hall could have afforded.

Peter Marlow.

LOOK HEREWanting more Blues reading matter? Well,wefll shortly be stocking ail available blues books,but in the meantime we can offer you:

WHISKEY, W3MEN, AND. . . ,Issue 8 of which contains,among other things, an Impérial label listing,and art­icles on John Brim and Wynonie Harris^It's about the same size as Blues Unlimited and can be yours for £1.50p-,including P&P .We also now have a stock of BLUES UNLIMITED and can supply most num- bers from 6 0 to the present issue* Ail are used,but clean,and they are £1,25p.each,except for those that are currently available which are only 75p.each.So,if you1re wanting to fill any gaps,or want to increase your library,drop us a line,with an SAE,and we111 tell you what we can do for you.One last thing,please make cheques for WWA payable to MS & FA*Harris.

VARIOUS ARTISTS. /Folk Festival Of The Blues-

' Chess(UK) CXMP-2006Wee Wee Baby(Muddy Waters,Willie Dixon,Buddy Guy)/Sitting And Think- ing/Clouds In My Heart/Got My Mojo Working/She*s Nineteen Years Old (Muddy Waters)/Worried Blues/Don1t Know Which Way To Go(Buddy Guy)/ Bring It On Home(Sonny Boy Willi- amson)/Sugar Mama/May I Have A Talk With You(Howlint Wolf).What a line up!Muddy Waters,Buddy Guy,Willie Dixon,Howlin* Wolf and Sonny Boy.If you're new to the blues,how could you loseî

The majority of this fine album was recorded live in Chicago at the Copa Cobana nightclub in July 1963, and what better way is there to hear these guys other than liveTA very receptive audience helps spur the artists on,and they ail turn in some first class performances.

I can1t single out one outstan­ding track,as I love them ail,but I will say that Buddy Guy 1 s brill- iant guitar work shines through on almost every track.When Buddy plays like this there’s no-one who can touch him,and what I wouldn’t give to hear him play like this today.

I understand that this set has been avaiJ^able in various formats over the years and that the Sonny Boy track,at least,is the studio eut with an audience dubbed on. However,this in no way detracts from the musical quality and com- bined with a reasonable sleeve,with good notes by Pete Welding,you!ve got yourself a fine little number which deserves to stand in anyoner s collection.

Steve Sibbald.HOUND DOG TAYLOR.Genuine Houserockin1 Music.

Sonet SNTF-879Ain11 Got Nobody/Gonna Send You Back To Georgia/Fender Bender/My Baby's Corning Home/Blue Guitar/The Sun Is Shining/Phillips Goes Bana- nas/WhatTd I Say/Kansas City/Cross- roads.These ten tracks by the late Hound Dof Taylor have been culled from the 1971 and 1973 sessions that produced the two albums "Hound Dog Taylor And The Houserockers1* and "Natural BoogieM .

This is not to imnlv that IHocd

the time of recording,merely that they were surplus to requirements. They are ail typical examples of the good-time boogie generated by this group,led by Taylor!s seering slide guitar.In no way can this be described as, a Mbottom of the barr- el scrapingn exercise,and fans of Hound Dog can buy this LP without fear of disappointment*

Having said that,however,1 must confess that I find the two guitar and drums line-up a bit monotonous and I find my attention wandering after a while.Nevertheless,for a partying boogie band you couldnît get better and to have seen this band in actionjplaying in a South Side club to a local crowd,must have been something else.

Anyway,donJt let my personal op­inions put you off too much,and I rm sure that Hound Dogx s fans will be buying this by the barrow-load.

Phil Wiglrt.SMOKEY SMOTHERS - /The Complété Sessions 1960/62.

Krazy Kat KK-7406I Canrt Judge Nobody/Come On Rock Little Girl/Honey I Ain't Teasin*/ You're Gonna Be Sorry/Give It Back /Smokey*s Love Sick Blues/I Ain*t Gonna Be No Monkey Man No More/Mid- night And Day/I*ve Been Drinking Muddy Water/Crying Tears/What Am I Going To Do/Blind And Dumb Man El­ue s/Way Up In The Mountains Of Ken- tucky/Hello Little School Girl/The Case Is Closed/Twist With Me Annie.The naine of guitarist Otis fSmokey* Smothers will be familiar to many readers as a sideman on many clas- sic 501 s Chicago blues records, notably those with Howlinr Wolf-On this album we hear what Smokey cou- ld do in his own right.

The LP consists of tracks from two sessions,the first twelve being recorded in August I960 in Cincin- atti with Freddie King and Fred Jordan on guitars and Philip Paul on drums.These tracks at one time made up an album on King records which was subsequently re-issued by Polydor,but which has long been de- leted.The last four tracks were re­corded, once again for King/Federal, in 1962 with Louie Boyd on harp and unknown guitar,bass and drums.

Despite these dates the tracks have a very 50rs sound and bear the ünmistakeable influence of Jimmy Reed,with Smothers,for iDost of thePage 16

record,singing in a style very sim- ilar to Reed* s laidback drawl.This- is perhaps a pity,because he has a good voice of his own which is re- vealed on slow nurobers such as MCrying Tears11 and MBlind And Dumb Man Blues11 .

The backing also has a strong resemblance to the Reed sound,al- though it 1 s somewhat rougher and more countrified.The twelve 1960 tracks have a tough sound with app- ropriately rough lead guitar,where- as the f62 tracks bear more of a country influence with Louie Boyd1s effective,though not particularly gifted,harmonica work.

To brand Smothers as a Reed cop- yist would be easy,but he has plen- ty more to offer himself.Witness, for example, the lyrics on "Give It Back11 ,a song on the theme of bald women which has fascinated so many blues.singers:lfGive me back the wig I bought you, Give me back your one glass eye.Give me back the teeth’ I loaned you,Donrt even say goodbye*When I take away your peg-leg,You*re gonna fall right down and cry,r .Smothers wasn1t a first rank bl­

uesman,but this set is a worthwhile purchase for ail those who enjoy straight ahead Chicago blues,partic­ularly as,apart from the excellent Rooster 45,it is ail that's avail- able of his \vork,

With ail sixteen of his Fédéral sides in one,dissapointingly un- attractive ,sleeve and good sound quality this represents good value for money,although'Ifd warn those new to the blues to check Reed out first before delving into the world of Smokey Smothers.

Richard Clements.

LIVING BLUES• The blues journa l from Chicago

Soiry folks, ifs Ihe sanie magazine but now priées* The exchnnge raie and rîse în covcr price (over a yc:u ago!) havehenlcn mc.Tlierefore please note new prîccs: ail new subsorîp lions £6.50 for 4 Issues surface siiuit ot 010*50 air mail, Rcnewals new price after îssne 53. Sample coptcs £1,60.Chcqneselc4payable lluggins, 23 Randolpli Crescenl, Lonclon W.9.

LOWBLL FULSON ♦ 1946-57. Blues Boy BB-302My Baby Lef t Me/Katie Lee Blues/ Fulson Boogie/Tell Me Baby/9:30 Shuffle/Thinking Blues/My Gai At Eight/Black Widow Spider/My Baby/ Let*s Live Right/Guitar Shuffle/ Blues Never Fail/I Believe 1*11 Give It Up/Youfve Gotta Reap/Please Don 11 Go/Donrt Drive Me Baby.

With this big value,16 track re­issue of early Fulson material ,B1- ues Boy have filled a few gaps in the Fulson buff's collection.

Taken mostly from the Swing Time catalogue,with a couple from Alla- din and three from Checker,they co- ver the period at the start of his career,when he recorded accompanied only by his brother Martin on sec­ond guitar,through the small bands, on to the sax led groups of the late 50fs.

I can’t really find any fault with any of the tracks here,they1re ail excellent examples of his re- laxed Texas blues,with plenty of that lovely guitar-work and some great booting saxes on the later cuts .

I suppose this LP is really a bootleg,but as itrs "released by exclusive arrangement between Low- ell Fulson and Blues Boy records" and royalties are being paid,then we should be grateful for its re­lease .

I wouldn’t like to stick my neck out and say whether this set dupli- cates anything else currehtly avai­lable, but as itfs Blues Boy 1 s poli-

labels I think you can buy this dise without any qualms.

A very attractive and informat- ive sleeve,with full lyric transcr­iptions, and superb sound quality, round off an excellent and tremen- dously enjoyable LP.Just go out andbuy it,thatfs allî’ Phil Wight.CHUCK NORRIS„The Los Angeles Flash.

Stockholm Records RJ-201Los Angeles Bounce/In The Evening (When The Sun Goes Down)/Shake Rat- tle And Roll/Blues After Hours/I Know The Blues/Chicken Neck Shuffle /See See Rider/Everyday I Have The Blues/Honky Tonk.For the first release on Mr.R&B^ new label,featuring new recordings, we have Chuck Norris1 first solo outing on LP.Now,many readers will say , nWho?" ,but Charles "Chuck11 Nor­ris has been a leading West Coast' sideman and sessioner for at least thirty years.His guitar or bass playing is present on a myriad of West. Coast material and he's pla}'ed with artists such as Little Willie Littlefield,Percy Mayfield,Red Nel­son,Charles Brown,Floyd Dixon and Big Joe Turner’tb name a few.Chuck has also been invôlved in much non- blues material,such as the Platters Lionel Hamptor. and Diana Washington This ail provides a valuable point­er to the contents of this album,as Chuck Norris is as much into jazz, and pop as he is the blues.

This record appears to have been recorded live at two dates in Swe- den in 1980.The backing is provided by Rolf Wilkstron^s Hjartslag,a top Swedish blues group,with the addit­ion of ténor saxophonists Preston Love and Ulf Andersson.

As can be seen from the track listing,six of the nine tracks are blues standards with the remainder being Chuck Norris originals;"LA Bounce","! Know The Blues" and "Chicken Neck Shuffle".The music is played very competently in a re~ laxed,laidback style and I must confess that I found some of the slower numbers rather boring.How- ever,the faster cuts,such as "LA Bounce ' 1 and "Honky TonkM,have nice soli on guitar and saxes.Ail in ail everyone plays very pleasantly and tastefully,but there is rather too much of a jazz influence for my liking,the music lackina the

blues.Morris himself, though a good guitarist?has a rather weak voice and on this* set he sensibly uses it very little,nor does he have particularly original material.

However*, I wouldnft like to condemn this album unreservedly as those who like relaxed,tasteful, jazz-tinged blues,maybe for late night listening,or the kind of material produced by European tou­rs ,or even the West Coast fan,will probably find this an enjoyable, though not essent.ial,L P .

Richard Clements.EARL Kl NG.Earl King. Specialty VS~2010A Mother's Love/I1m Your Best Bet Baby/No One But Me/Eating And Slee- ping/Sittinr And WonderinVFunny Face/rTil I Say Well Done/What Can I Do?If,like me,you have longed for an enterprising licensee to dig deeper into the Specialty vaults,as ne.ith- er the US parent or the UK Sonet outlet have done,you will welcome the recent Japanese attempts to re- dress the balance.

This Vivid Sound sériés started with eight repros of original al­bums ,including Guitar Slim and Franlcie Lee Sims ,At 2009 the se ries- switched to 1 0 " compilations of singles which had not previously been on long play.2009 is Guitar Slim,2011 Lloyd Price and 2012 is Don & Dewey and Larry Williams.

However,the most surprising is the Earl King.As one of the neglec- ted heroes of New Orléans R&B he certainly warrants some overdue attention.Even Ace Records have not yet given his US 'Ace recordings much of an airing,although there is time to rectify that.

The album here contains ail the Specialty singles(495,497,531 and 558)from 1954-55,497 being credited to The Kings.

MA MotherTs Love1*,with its str- ong Guitar Slim influence,is the best known traclc,but the others are by no way inferior with that heav- ily amplified guitar running thro- ughout.

It is not hard to see why Earl, not to be confused with his King namesake,did not have major succ- ess,as he lacked a really distinct style,but if you go for straight- forward 50f s R&B,with ail the roughedges intact,you will take to this Page 10

*album*Be prepared to pay £8.00 for an eight tracker,but quality does override quantity!

Would it now be too much to ex- pect Sonet to do something more ambitious for the UK marketTCharly and Ace are proving that it can pay to go beyond the more obvious re­issues,so let Sone^s motto be, "Recoup with Rupe’M

Neil Davies.STICK McGHEE,Drinkin* Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee.

Crown Prince IG-401Drinkinf Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee/Blues Mixture/Let1 s Do It/Shers Gone/Hou- sewarmin* Boogie/One Monkey Donrt Stop The Show/Tennesse Waltz Blues/ Tee Nah Nah/I Ain’t Gonna Scold You /Wee Wee Hours Pts.l&2/0h What A Face/Blues In My Heart,Tears In My Eyes/I*m Doinf Ail This Time/The Wi- ggle Waggle Woo/Things Have Changed.If Granville Henry MSticku McGhee had only ever recorded "Drinkin r Wineu then that would have been en- ough to have established him as orie of my personal favourites.But here we have fourteen sides of his New York R&B,with two by his better kn­own brother,Brownie,originally re- leased under the name of session pianist Harry Van Walls.

Taken from the Atlantic,King and Savoy catalogues,the music is pleas- ant,though not earthshattering.How­ever,the dreadful version of Mtenn~ essee Waltz” and the inane lyrics of "Wiggle Waggle WooM certainly make you sit up and take notice!

The accoropanying rousicians are the top sessioners in New York at that time,with Big Chief Ellis,Sir Charles Thompson,Gene Ramey,Mickey Baker,Sonny Terry and of course Brownie McGhee ail turning up,

Some of the R&B from the early 50 * s sounds badly dated,but this mu­sic still sounds fine for me.However X expect that this type of music doesnft enjoy wide popularity with the blues dise buying public,but I urge them to take a listen to "Drin- kinf Wine",MI tm Doin* Ail This Time" or lfBlues Mixture11, and see if }'ou don1t agree with me.

Stick was never a major talent, but he enjoyed much popularity dur- ing the early 50fs and itfs nice to see this re~issue set with Mr R&B * s usual high standards of sound and présentation.

Phil Wight.

SMALL ADS.2 p.per word,pre-paid,as for subs.WANTED: Muddy Waters Chess 1511, Jimroy Rogers Chess 407,Buddy Guy Chess. 409,Junior Wells Delmark 612,Slim Harpo Excello 8003,8005, 8013. Write,giving full détails, to D.Kaye,18 Rookery Close,London NW9 6 QJ.SLEEPY JN f WARREN-MSnuff(Tap Dancing Drunk)Parts One and TwoMjDanny Boy- , ,!Wild Women^/^Kokomo Me Babyft;Sam Myers-fîLittle John1f/ llBoss Bag" are, for the first time in the UK,leg- ally available on limited(to 150) édition C2 2 cassette.Licensed from legendary Major Bill Smith of Fort Worth,Texas,the individually num- bered cassettes(with inserts)con- tain fifteen minutes plus of music leaving-message space - idéal for Christmas present.Price~£2. 30p, (overseas £2.55p.,add £1,00 if reg­istration is requirëd) .Cheques, drawn ôn English banljc, etc.payable to:P,J.Wolfe-This is- a sériés ad- vertisement,so donrt delay your order. 7 Langley Walk,Langley Green,Crawley,Sussex,UK, No Person­al callers,please.

WANTED: Living Blues issues 7 & 13, Good Price paid. Mike McKernie,31 Foggyley Gardens,Dundee DD2 3LR .WE HAVE GOOD STOCKS of Blues Link magazine at 25p» each.We also have a limited supply of isuues 2,3,4 , 6 & 7 of Talking Blues at 35p. each. Postage is extra at 18p. for the first mag,plus 6 p , for each addit- ional one.- Red Lick Records,The Smithy,Llanfrothen,Penrhyndeudra- eth,Gwynedd,Wales,UK.BLOCK: The Dutch blues and rock magazine.Published by Rien Wisse. Articles,reviews,photos,discogra­phies , Block,Postbus 244,7600 AE Almelo,Netherlands.WANT SOME GERMAN BLUES? Then write to The German Blues Circle,Post~ fach 180212,D-6000 Frankfurt 18, and Blues Forum at: Glogauer Str. 22,1000 Berlin 15, Wes t, Germany .LIVING BLUES MAIL 0RDER - Write for our catalogue of blues books5 albums and 45rs.We also have regu- lar auction/set sale lists of blues R&B,soul,jazz,and also country mu­sic.IRCr s are appreciated,so write to:Living Blues,2615 N.Wilton,Chi­cago ,Illinois 60614,USA.

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