Junior Wells - Live Around The World (2002)

Junior Wells was a legitimate giant in the blues world, contributing as much as any other artist towards defining the famed Chicago sound. With a career that stretched across five decades, Wells was a workhorse that kept busy until his death in 1998. Born in Memphis at the tail end of the Delta blues period, Wells was taught his first notes on the mouth harp by Junior Parker at the tender age of twelve.

After emigrating to Chicago like so many bluesmen before him, a youthful Wells made his mark as part of a band called the Aces. Greater opportunities struck in 1952, however, when Wells replaced the legendary Little Walter as a member of Muddy Waters' band. Solo albums for a myriad of labels sealed Wells' rep during the '60s, the harp player often collaborating with his friend, guitarist Buddy Guy.

Live Around The World collects various performances from the last year, year-and-a-half of Wells' life; the artist's worldwide touring taking him to Germany, Norway, Japan, England and points in between. The songs chosen for Live Around The World are fairly representative of Wells' milieu, signature pieces like Hoodoo Man offered alongside blues standards like Willie Dixon's Little Red Rooster. Junior's harp playing is straight from the Sonny Boy Williamson/Little Walter school of the blues, Wells developing his own distinctive style and adding his own peculiar flourishes through the years.

What set Wells apart from the aforementioned influences, however, are his vocal talents and skills as a bandleader. Wells developed a soulful, R&B-tinged singing style that was both emotionally expressive and powerful. Wells also played with some of the best bluesmen on the planet throughout the 40+ years of his career, but he was almost always the focus of attention, a strict bandleader who pulled the most out of his players.

Unfortunately for Live Around The World, the band assembled to back-up Wells on his last hurrah are no match for the Chicago gangs the diminutive harp player used to front. On many of these performances, the musicians are simply overshadowed by the dynamic Wells, a powerful player and performer who was always more at home on stage than in the studio. The resulting
songs are slick and professional, but lack the smoke and sweat and soul inherent in the best Chicago blues. Junior Wells is always a joy to listen to, though, and he gives his best to Live Around The World. Whether tearing through cuts like the lively Got My Mojo Working, the blues-tinged rave-up Help Me or the funky James Brown-styled strutting of Messin' With The Kid, Wells knocks 'em down with passion and precision.

There are precious few live recordings of Junior Wells available, which makes Live Around The World important from a historical perspective, the disc providing a rare glimpse of Well's talents, admittedly in the twilight of his career. (Legacy Recordings)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live Around The World from Amazon.com)