Archive Review: Little Walter's The Complete Chess Masters (2009)

Little Walter Jacobs was, without argument, the greatest blues harmonica player ever, an instrumental virtuoso that revolutionized the use of the instrument and influenced virtually every harpist that would attempt to follow in his footprints. Sodbusters like Paul Butterfield, Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza, and Jason Ricci were all influenced by Walter’s enormous shadow.

For a while, blues harp master Little Walter was Chess Records’ biggest and best-selling star…bigger than Muddy Waters or Howlin’ Wolf. From 1952 through 1958, Walter ran off a string of fourteen Top Ten R&B chart hits, and even his recordings from the late-50s and early-60s display a dazzling presence, a willingness to take chances, and an uncanny skill as both an instrumentalist and vocalist.

The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) collects better than ten-dozen tracks recorded by Walter, including nine previously unreleased performances. Across the five CDs included with the set, Little Walter is accompanied by a veritable “who’s who” of Chicago blues royalty, including Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Otis Spann, and Jimmy Rogers.  

The first disc includes some of Walter’s early big hits, including the career-making “Juke,” from 1952. A fluid, swinging instrumental with an easily-recognizable central riff and some tasty six-string fills courtesy of Jimmy Rogers, the song would spend an incredible 20 weeks on the R&B charts. Backed with the soulful “Can’t Hold Out Much Longer,” the single created a blueprint that Chess would follow for much of Walter’s career, featuring an instrumental ‘A’ side backed by a ‘B’ side that would feature Walter’s underrated vocals.

When “Juke” hit the top of the charts, Little Walter ditched Waters mid-tour and, scooping up Junior Wells’ band the Aces, launched his solo career in earnest. Recording with the new band, sessions from late-1952 and early-1953 resulted in another big hit in “Sad Hours.” Paired with T-Bone Walker’s “Mean Old World,” the steady shuffling “Sad Hours” offers the first use of Walter’s unique “warble” method that created a multi-dimensional sound for the instrument.

The second disc kicks off with one of Little Walter’s signature songs (and a blues standard), “Blues With A Feeling.” With Chess Records finally letting him put his soulful vocals up front alongside his instrumental prowess, the song was the perfect framing of mood and performance, drenched in emotion and bristling with energy.

Little Walter’s recording of Bo Diddley’s houserockin’ instrumental “Roller Coaster,” with Diddley himself providing some rattling fretwork alongside Walter’s frantic harp, represented something of a changing of the guards. By 1955, the commercial market was beginning to thin out for blues music as rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm & blues took over the charts. “Roller Coaster” would be the last of Walter’s instrumental hits.

Between 1956 and ‘58, Little Walter recorded a number of tracks that, while standing up with some of his best work, none of it proved to be a commercial success. Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry were Chess Records’ latest stars, and otherwise red-hot songs like the spry instrumental “Flying Saucer” or the hard-driving, Berry-styled rocker “It Ain’t Right” were ignored by record buyers.

In January 1959, Little Walter would record with guitarist Luther Tucker and pianist Otis Spann, producing a number of strong sides, although only one – the smoldering “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” – would inch midway up the R&B chart. Benefiting from Spann’s rollicking piano-bashing, the song features one of Walter’s most emotional harp performances, the lonesome desperation of his solos matched by his mournful vocals.

Other songs recorded in 1959 showed that, while Walter’s skills with the harmonica remained unsurpassed, his once-expressive voice was slowly being eroded by alcohol. In some instances, his diminished vocal capabilities worked to his advantage, as in the tear-jerking “Blue And Lonesome.” Backed by Freddie Robinson’s hypnotic fretwork, Walter’s low-register vocals define sadness and depression, his blistering harp a reflection of his inner turmoil.

Little Walter’s commercial fortunes continued to decline from 1960 until his death in 1968, and the sessions he was offered became few and far between. Still, there are some treasures to be plucked from Walter’s increasingly obscure recordings. Willie Dixon’s “As Long As I Have You” is a precursor to the British blues-rock that would rise up during the ‘60s, the song full of switchblade guitar and rough-hewn vocals. From one of Walter’s last sessions, in 1967, a final shot of “Juke” recorded with Buddy Guy and Otis Spann would cement Little Walter’s legacy as the greatest.

Yeah, you’ve probably figured out that five discs, featuring better than two-dozen tracks apiece, is a heck of a lot of material to wade through, and you’d be right. Although The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) might only appeal to the most rabid of fans, it is also an important historical document. The set provides a portrait of a musical genius in the prime…and decline…of his talent, and it’s a worthwhile addition to the library of any serious blues collector. (Hip-O Select, released March 6th, 2009)

Review originally published by Blurt magazine