|
The Summertime Blues
I remember climbing the Indiana dunes as a kid near Chicago in the 60s listening to Blue
Cheer's cover of the great, old Eddie Cochran rockabilly nugget, "Summertime Blues." This
month in Cosmik Blues, I think I've definitely found a cure for those summertime blues. Just
like Eddie, "I'm gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler."
Before I do, I'm going to talk a little about B. B. King and take a look at this month's in-box
of new blues releases.
This summer features some of the hottest new blues releases I've heard in a long, long time,
including the newest studio set from B. B. King, "Making Love is Good for You." After 48 years
of making music, Mr. Riley B. King should have his own category in the record stores, 'cause
this new MCA release is really a gem. It's more than a great B. B. King record. There's a
legend about B. B. that I'd like to share--actually, it's about his guitar, Lucille. If
you've seen B. B. play, you've seen him play his trademark Gibson, and I wanted to find out a
little more about her. I read it in his press kit, and want to pass it on along here.
The Story Behind Lucille
In the mid-1950's in Arkansas, B. B. was playing at a country dance, and a few fans became unruly.
Two men got into a fight and knocked over the club's heater, a kerosene-fueled trashcan. The
fire blazed through the hall and B. B. escaped just in time. Once safely outside the club, B.
B. turned around and realized his prized $30 acoustic guitar was still inside, so he ran back
into the burning building in between the flames. When he later found out that the fight had
been over a woman named Lucille, he decided to give the name to his guitar, and ever since, each
one of B. B. King's trademark Gibson guitars has been called Lucille. Well, just one listen to
"Making Love is Good for You" will show you that both B. B. and Lucille are in fine form on
this MCA disc.
Those Southern Gentlemen... and Other Blues Releases
There are a lot great blues releases this summer, and I'd put Southern Gentlemen's debut, Exotic Dancer Blues, near the top of my list--particularly for the Gentlemen's hard-driving
blues in the style of a little ol' band from Texas, ZZ Top. Kevin Kekes and Dennis Lesh power
this power trio on bass and drums, but David T. Chastain's howlingly-gritty vocals and
straight-ahead guitar work shine. Leviathan Records is one of many projects of frontman
Chastain. Over the years, he's released CDs as part of CJSS, Chastain, Zanister or as David T.
Chastain, and Southern Gentlemen is his first Leviathan foray into the blues. It's worth more
than a listen. Southern Gentlemen has an eye-catching CD cover of model and singer Kate
French, and the band's blues is as raw and powerful as some of ZZ Top's early work like Tres
Hombres. Stay tuned to Leviathan Records--with talent like Chastain's, Leviathan Records
bring a raw edge that's missing from more established blues labels.
Speaking of innovative labels, St. Louis' Bedrock Records is breaking new ground and reissuing
some great 70's music at the same time. Bedrock Records is re-introducing the music of
Midwestern country-rock greats Heartsfield and psychedelic/progressive rock pioneers Gypsy.
Heartsfield was an AOR mainstay in markets from St. Louis to Ann Arbor and back again in the
mid-70's, and Bedrock has reissued Wonder of It All, Foolish Pleasures, and a previously
unreleased concert from 1975. Like Heartsfield, Gypsy has played some of rock's best-known
rooms, including the Fillmore (both East and West), Winterland and the Whiskey A-Go-Go. While
I'm happy that new generations can experience Heartsfield and Gypsy, I'm happier still that
Sherre Birenbaum of Bedrock has decided to get behind Jimmy Dillon, a popular San Francisco
Bay-area session player and popular live act. Jimmy plays to SRO blues festivals throughout
Europe, and his new Bedrock disc, Rituals, shows why. He's got a blistering slide, great
vocals and a command of the blues song that just won't quit. My favorites include "Mighty Long
Road," "Trouble," and "Dangerous Man." Dillon was Clarence "The Big Man" Clemons' musical
director for five years, and has worked for Levi's ("501 Blues") and Chevrolet ("The heartbeat
of America"). If Jimmy Dillon is just one example of Sherre's ability to tap new blues talent
for Bedrock, I'm looking forward to her next blues discovery.
Country Blues Heaven: Pink Anderson and Bluesville
Unless you've followed the juke joint or medicine show circuits of the deep South, Pink
Anderson hasn't exactly been a household name. Fortunately, Pink's Prestige and Bluesville
discs from the early 60's have been reissued by Fantasy under the Original Blues Classics
imprint. Pink Anderson was a fixture on the Piedmont country blues circuit that began in his
native South Carolina. His Medicine Show Man re-release captures some of the best country
blues found anywhere, particularly when ol' Pink finds his "Greasy Greens," or when he howls "I
Got A Woman Way Cross Town." For 40 years, Pink traveled the string band and minstrel show
circuit in the South, and he played hillbilly, folk and boogie blues. I don't think he
realized the impact country blues had on a young British musician named Syd Barrett who played
the blues in bands in the early 60's that went by the name of Hollerin' Blues, Blues Anonymous
or The Ramblers. Syd later met up with a bassist named Roger Waters, and after a few twists
and turns, they helped form a "psychedelic" band named Pink Floyd. The Floyd part of the
band's name is from another bluesman, Floyd Council.
There are two other releases from Fantasy that've certainly captured my attention: The
Bluesville Years Vol. 11 and Vol. 12. Vol. 11, Blues is a Heart's Sorrow, features 20 classic
country blues cuts, including Sunnyland Slim's "Everytime I Get to Drinking," and Lightnin'
Hopkins and Sonny Terry's "Last Night Blues." Vol. 12, Jump, Jumpin' the Blues, is a treasure
trove of 22 tunes that include Homesick James' "Working With Homesick" and Billy Boy Arnold's
"Get Out of Here." Both CDs feature first-class production and liner notes by noted blues
historian Samuel Charters. On collections like these, blues fans can't lose--there's enough
history and boogie in the Bluesville archives to hold my interest for many volumes to come.
Kudos to the folks at Fantasy for introducing artists like Pink Anderson, Sunnyland Slim,
Little Brother Montgomery, and St. Louis Jimmy to new generations of blues fans. Go ahead,
click on over to this month's CD reviews page online at Cosmik Debris for more in-depth reviews
on both Bluesville releases.
Next month, I'm going to try and find out a little more about last month's American Legends
Music Organization tribute concert at New York's Symphony Space honoring Robert Johnson. It's
about time the blues community honored one of the Mississippi Delta's most recognizable guitar
players. Johnson's stepson, Robert Lockwood, Jr., and his friend David "Honeyboy" Edwards
headlined the show, along with some of today's top blues talent, such as Chris Whitely, Guy
Davis and John Hammond.
Until then, "I'm gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler" with this month's Cosmik Blues.
|