SAM LAY
I Get Evil (Random Chance Records)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

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Sam Lay has long been recognized by blues insiders as "The Shuffle Master" for his skills behind the drum kit. He was Bob Dylan's drummer on Highway 61 Revisited and at the plugged-in show at Newport, played with the Chambers Brothers at Woodstock, and propelled the Siegel-Schwall Band, Jimmy Reed, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Junior Wells and others with just the right beat at the right time. In the halcyon days of Chicago blues, Sam played on more than 40 sides as a Chess session man with the likes of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, and Willie Dixon. A couple of years ago, the Chicago branch of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences honored Sam with a Hero Award for his blues legacy, and shortly after the ceremony, harp player Corky Siegel told me that Sam "doesn't play the drums, he sings the drums." Well, on I Get Evil, Sam does much more than that. He's got Fred James on guitar, Ken Smith on bass, Greg "Fingers" Taylor on harmonica, and Celia Ann Price on keyboards on ten cuts that showcase Sam's drums, vocals, and guitar. Sam plays guitar on four cuts, and "You're So Fine," "Boogie Chillen," and "Black Night" all are, in Fred James' liner notes, "pure, unfettered Chicago blues."

Track List:

You're So Fine * Black Night * Rock Me Baby * I Get Evil * Mean Disposition * Boogie Chillen * Fannie Mae * Still A Fool * Hands Off * Sam's Big Boy

© 2003 - Eric Steiner