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Year of the Blues Update
As we enter autumn of the Year of the Blues, I'm predicting that new blues packages of historical releases will hit the record store shelves in record numbers. Some of them will be a triumph of marketing over good sense, but I'm very pleased that three celebrations of the Year of the Blues will definitely reward multiple viewings and listenings. I'm talking about PBS' landmark series, "The Blues," Public Radio International's audio series of the same name, and EMI/The Right Stuff's six-CD series, Blues Kingpins.
The Blues on Film
The Blues on Film is a week's worth of documentaries helmed by such diverse filmmakers as Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Mike Figgis, and Clint Eastwood, among others. Here's the list that I taped to my refrigerator, 'cause I won't miss this excellent line up of PBS blues documentaries next month that will surely be one of the highlights of my blues year.
Sunday, September 28: Feel Like Going Home: by Martin Scorsese
Scorsese's film gives us the broad brushstrokes that include the journey of the blues form from West Africa to the American South. The first film in The Blues series promises performances by Willie King, Taj Mahal, Otha Turner and Ali Farka Touré, and rare archival footage that includes bluesmen Son House, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.Monday, September 29: The Soul of a Man by Wim Wenders
Wenders is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time. Sure, he's done critically-acclaimed films like The Buena Vista Social Club, Lightning Over Water, or Hammett; I'll always cherish his cinematic gifts writ large in The American Friend. The Soul of a Man features bluesman Chris Thomas King starring as Blind Willie Johnson, and it's a fictional story of the blues that Wenders brought to the Cannes Film Festival.Tuesday, September 30: The Road to Memphis by Richard Pearce
Pearce's love letter to Memphis features B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon, Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, and Rufus Thomas. While the Wolf was probably best known for his Chicago blues, Memphis' own Rufus Thomas is given center stage as a key figure in Memphis music.Wednesday, October 1: Warming by the Devil's Fire by Charles Burnett
Burnett is an accomplished independent filmmaker whose UCLA thesis film, Killer of Sheep, was one of the nation's 50 films listed in the National Film Registry and honored by the Library of Congress in the 1980's. Warming by the Devil's Fire tells the story of Burnett's childhood, interspersed with some fictional stories, in 1950's Mississippi.Thursday, October 2: Godfathers and Sons by Marc Levin
Director Marc Levin, hip hop guru Chuck D and Chess records heir Marshall Chess explore new ways to mix the history of the blues with the future of hip hop. While I can't fathom how the blues and hip hop intersect, I'm looking forward to Marc, Marshall, and Mistachucks' adventures on the blues trail.Friday, October 3: Red, White and Blues by Mike Figgis
My favorite Mike Figgis film is Leaving Las Vegas, and I know I'm not alone in that regard as Nicholas Cage earned a Best Actor Academy Award and the film earned four Oscar nominations. When Figgis gets The Blues, he has a decidedly British take on the music, with Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison and Lulu kicking back in Abbey Road studios improvising the blues.Saturday, October 4: Piano Blues by Clint Eastwood
I'm sure you've seen Clint Eastwood movies. While they're usually visual treats, I tend to gravitate toward the soundtrack. Eastwood's a piano man, and it's fitting that Scorsese recruited him for the closing film in the series that brings together Pinetop Perkins, Jay McShann, Dave Brubeck, and Marcia Ball.
The Blues on Radio
Public Radio International will host 13 1-hour series called "The Blues," produced by Experience Music Project's Robert Santelli. This series of audio documentaries mixes interviews, music, and period pieces to bring the blues to life.
On www.yearoftheblues.org/radio, I heard Episode 6, "Sweet Home Chicago," as it explores the history of the Chicago sound. Along the way, we hear Mose Allison, Billy Boy Arnold, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Charlie Musselwhite and Willie Dixon reminisce about their lives in the blues. Interspersed with interviews there's blues aplenty, and first-class commentary courtesy of Keb' Mo.' If "Sweet Home Chicago" is any indication of the quality of the entire series, I'll be glued to my radio when I'm not checking out PBS' films next month. During this episode, Billy Boy Arnold and Hubert Sumlin redefined Little Walter's "Juke," and I can't wait 'til I hear it again next month.
Blues Kingpins
The Right Stuff and EMI have released six CDs under the "Blues Kingpins" banner, drawn from EMI's considerable blues catalogue. Taken together, the releases from Fats Domino, Ike Turner, John Lee Hooker,
Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James and B.B. King are an encyclopedia of the blues, and feature each of these groundbreaking artists solo, acoustic, electric, and with a full band.
Check out my reviews of each individual CD over in our CD Reviews section, but I hope that you'll agree with me that the Blues Kingpins need to be appreciated as a complete set. Each disc contains nods to swing and jazz, and if you consider John Lee Hooker's earthy, signature style or Elmore James' searing slide as blues comforters, you'll enjoy each disc as it serves as a link to the early days of the blues.
Blues historian Bill Dahl penned the liner notes for the series, and his writing has been as reliable as a B.B. King solo over the years. His research is thorough, and he always manages to tell me something new about the blues. For a fan and a critic who's been following the blues for nearly 30 years, that's saying something.
Until next month, let's play the blues.
(C) 2003 - Eric Steiner