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Whoever said that the blues was dead must have been outta their head!! The continual flood of album releases from labels from many different parts of the globe can only indicate the international popularity of blues and its associated musics.


For a start, there’s a brace of new ace compilations from Ace. Access to the vaults of a number of seminal post-war American blues, R&B and soul labels gives Ace the resources to continually revive and repackage regional music recorded in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. When it comes to belting out a hard rockin’ song, ‘blues shouter’ Roy Brown Pay Day Jump (Ace CDTOP 1423), is hard to beat. This third Ace Roy Brown release contains such belters from the late 1940s as Boogie At Midnight and the staggeringly wild Butcher Pete Parts 1&2 which still amazes some 65 years later.


Brown could sure holler but Clarence


‘Frogman’ Henry Baby Ain’t That Love (Ace CDLUX 016) could adapt his singing voice to accommodate a wide variety of material, running through bouncy New Orleans R&B, smoochy ballads, soul workouts, and pop ditties, all helping make Baby Ain’t That Love a delightful listen.


Another New Orleans artist, Tommy Rid-


gley, also had a versatile voice that sounds great backed by a fat horn section and swing- ing rhythm section on some of the eight sin- gles he made for the Ric and Ron labels between 1960 and 1963, now collected on In The Same Old Way (Ace CDCHD 1446). Com- plementing the sixteen Ridgley items are six tracks by Ron labelmate Bobby Mitchell that includes an up-beat 1961 version of Mama Don’t Allow arranged by Mac Rebennack.


Yet more infectious New Orleans R&B is served up by vocalist Eddie Bo who had a hit with Check Mr Popeye, one of the 22 tracks featured on Baby I’m Wise: The Complete Ric Singles 1959-1962 (Ace CDCHD 1429).


Warren Storm’s The Bad Times Make


The Good Times (Ace CDTOP2 1441) has a 50/50 mix of good rockin’ South Louisiana R&B and a bunch of not so rockin’ pop songs but, with 44 tracks across two CDs represent- ing twenty years of music, there’s a lot of music to choose from.


There’s also great variety on the 28


tracks of Boppin’ By The Bayou: Rock Me, Mama (Ace CDCHD 1443) with its interesting mix of proto-rock’n’roll and Cajun artists. This is the eleventh release in Ace’s By The Bayou series with the compilers promising plenty more to come.


The London-based Ace Records has been around since 1978 but their longevity pales besides Chicago’s Delmark Records, which began operations in 1958. Founder Bob Koester, now in his 80s, still keeps a watchful eye over the steady stream of reissues from his label’s vast back catalogue, as well as the con- tinuing release of newly-recorded albums. When Koester first encountered JB Hutto & His Hawks he thought they were the “most exiting, roughest blues band in Chicago” and the recordings he made of them in 1966 and 1968, released as Hawk Squat (Delmark DE 617) go some way to justify his observation. Hutto’s slashing (Elmore James-influenced) slide guitar and scorched vocals are forcefully served by the energetic backing of his musi- cians, a line-up greatly enhanced by the piano and organ playing of veteran Sunnyland Slim.


Devine’s Modern Sounds of Ancient Juju (Arhoolie 550) that reads “Any blues fan will love this… I know I do”. Might as well let Charlie continue to tell it like it is… to quote from his sleevenote “HowellDevine plays The Music with the original feel, intent and spirit, and you can tell they love the music while delivering some real blues in their own way.” Yup, this trio of Joshua Howell (vocals, har- monica, guitar), Pete Devine (drums) and Joe Kyle (upright bass) sure mix it up right with a brace of interesting cover versions (from Frank Stokes, Muddy Waters, Booker White, Sonny Boy Williamson no 2) crossed with their own material. Howell varies his vocals, blows good harmonica, plays effective acoustic and electric guitar while the rhythm section often goes out on a limb to create a vibrant, occa- sionally wild, percussive backdrop.


JB Hutto


For the reissue CD, the album’s original twelve tracks have been augmented by a further six tracks, five of which are alternate takes. Raw, basic and vibrant Chicago blues that still hits like a triple shot of rotgut whisky.


A new signing for Delmark is harmonica player and vocalist Omar Coleman. Born in 1973, Omar grew up in Chicago absorbing all the blues and soul music he could, which he’s now melded into his own brand as heard on Born & Raised (Delamark DE 840) for which he’s written or co-written twelve of the album’s fourteen tracks. Although smoother in sound than the abrasive JB Hutto, Born & Raised still has plenty of punch delivered by Coleman’s excellent band (especially the fluid guitar work of Pete Galanis) and Coleman’s strong vocal and harmonica performance. Coleman cites such harmonica greats as Junior Wells, both Sonny Boys, and Little Walter among his influences but his harmonica tone and some of his phrasing actually sounds simi- lar to that of Charlie Musslewhite (who, back in younger days, happened to live in Del- mark’s basement and help out in the shop).


Charlie Musslewhite has just released his own brand new album I Ain’t Lyin’… (no cat no) on his and his wife’s Henrietta Records label. Recorded live in late 2014 at two loca- tions (Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival, Sonoma, California and Clarkdale Sound- stage, Clarksdale, Mississippi) with just his band of Matt Stubbs (guitar), Steve Froberg (bass) and June Core (drums), Charlie, as usual, sounds relaxed and in control while delivering another masterclass in blues vocals and harmonica playing. With the exception of Elmore James’ Done Somebody Wrong and a re-run of the harmonica showcase that is Cristo Redentor, Charlie has written all the songs and, while none of these songs step out of a regular blues frame, they are all crafted to the requisite Musselwhite standard. Ever since the early ‘60s Charlie Musselwhite has been polishing this craft, and the music and performance of I Ain’t Lyin’… is yet further proof of his absolute dedication to the blues.


There’s an endorsement from Charlie Musselwhite written on a sticker attached to the front of the review copy of Howell -


The much appreciated Arhoolie Records belongs to ethnic music lover Chris Strachwitz and This Ain’t No Mouse Music (Arhoolie 545-A & B) is a 38 track, two-disc CD set, that mixes back catalogue tracks with previously unissued items recorded specifically for the recent eponymous documentary film that delves into the man and his record company. The range of American musical and regional styles contained in this set reflects Strach- witz’s wide personal tastes. As well as the blues content (Lightnin’ Hopkins, Wade Wal- ton, Mance Lipscomb, Fred McDowell, Mercy Dee Walton, and KC Douglas) the set offers examples of Cajun, zydeco, Tex Mex, norteno, bluegrass, old-timey, polka, country and jazz. Disc one, track eleven is Strachwitz’s original (pre-Woodstock)1965 recording of Joe McDonald & Group performing I Feel Like Fixin’ To Die Rag. Chris’ initial share of the publishing allowed him to buy the building that houses Arhoolie Records and his Down Home Records Store. That’s music history!!


The Austrian label Wolf has amassed a huge catalogue of blues releases over the years and they show no signs of slowing, but some of their releases indicate that perhaps volume doesn’t necessarily equate with quali- ty. Stop Breaking Down (Wolf CD 120.834) is the sixth album Eddie Taylor Jr has fea- tured on for Wolf. Recorded in Chicago, it starts well with a solid version of Slim Harpo’s King Bee and finishes with a couple of nice duo tracks featuring Taylor with Harmonica Hinds, but too often, on the tracks in- between, Taylor’s vocal lacks conviction, while his guitar playing is adequate but rather uninspired.


Mandolin is not the first instrument that comes to mind when thinking about blues music, but there were two musicians, Yank Rachel and Johnny Young, who were more than adept at playing blues on their eight- stringed boxes. Yank has been somewhat for- gotten, overshadowed by some of the blues greats he played alongside and recorded with like Sleepy John Estes, Noah Lewis, Big Joe Williams, and the original Sonny Boy Williamson. A true blues pioneer, Yank sus- tained a very long performing career for some 70 years, recording with Sleepy John Estes in 1929 and making his final album Blues Man- dolin Man in 1986. Volume 1, 1934-1938 (Wolf WBCD-006) and Volume 2, 1938-1941) present Rachel in a variety of settings. The earliest six sides feature him singing and playing guitar really well backed by the second guitar of Dan Smith, followed by six tracks by vocalist/gui-


Photo: Dave Peabody


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