Chicago’s Alligator Records label was still truckin’ along at the dawn of the 1990s, releasing albums during the decade from a diverse roster of blues talent that included Koko Taylor, Charlie Musselwhite, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, and Lonnie Brooks, among many others. Never the wallflower, label head Bruce Iglauer wasn’t opposed to musical experiments that may or may not pay off in the marketplace. For instance, Showdown – a 1985 collaboration between Albert Collins, Robert Cray, and Johnny Copeland – sold well and earned the label its second Grammy™ Award. So, when Iglauer brought four harp masters together in the studio in 1990, he had great expectations for the resulting album.
Cotton, Wells, Bell & Branch’s Harp Attack!
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| James Cotton |
Still, Iglauer managed to nudge, coax, and coerce great performances from all the artists involved, even getting some fine rhythm harp behind the individual lead solos. Harp Attack! opens with the swinging “Down Home Blues,” a perfect showcase for the assembled talents, and everybody gets their turn in the spotlight. Cotton sings the first verse, and delivers a languid, lazy, but steady-flowing harp solo before handing it over to youngster Billy Branch. While Branch’s vocals aren’t as assured as Cotton’s, his solo is razor-sharp and high flying. Wells is the best vocalist of the bunch, and knocks his verse out before launching into a short, shocking solo. Bell delivers strong vocals and a red-hot solo before Cotton, Wells, and Branch play the song out. Each harpist provides a unique tone and viewpoint to their solo, giving the song the feel of an extended blues jam as they riff on top of Lucky Peterson’s piano and Michael Coleman’s subtle six-string fills.
Tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson
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| Junior Wells |
Wells takes the spotlight again on his original “Somebody Changed the Lock,” the song’s jaunty, up-tempo arrangement a perfect foil for his understated vocals and fast-flying harp notes. Coleman and bassist Johnny Gayden lay down a funky rhythmic undercurrent, drummer Ray Allison adds a few well-timed beats, and Peterson’s fingers dash across the keys, but it’s Wells’ game, and his solos are effective and efficient. Bell takes the fore on his “Second Hand Man,” a better showcase for his hearty vocals and his blistering, Big Walter Horton-inspired harp style. Harp Attack! closes with Branch’s “New Kid On the Block,” the 39-year-old “rookie” of the group writing his own ticket with a raucous, biographical Chicago blues rave-up that evokes the best of Wells and Cotton, with a stylistic nod to Little Walter amidst Branch’s rowdy vocals and spirited harp play.
The Reverend’s Bottom Line
The harmonica has a lengthy and respected tradition in blues music, and its role as a lead instrument is second only to the guitar in blues history. From the earliest days of the Mississippi Delta blues, when traveling bluesmen would tuck a “mouth harp” in their pocket and grab a train, through the 1950s when giants like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson brought new popularity for the instrument, to 1960s-era trailblazers like Junior Wells and Paul Butterfield, the harmonica has become ingrained in the music.
Harp Attack! features some of the most spirited and energetic performances you’ll hear on any blues album, and you’ll find few players better than the four artists showcased here. If you’re a fan of blues harp – and who isn’t – this mighty (and essential) record should own real estate in your collection. (Alligator Records, reissued September 13th, 2024)
Buy the record direct from Alligator: Cotton, Wells, Bell & Branch’s Harp Attack!
