Archive Review: Charlie Musselwhite's Juke Joint Chapel (2013)

Blues harp legend Charlie Musselwhite has been pretty busy since the 2010 release of his critically-acclaimed Alligator Records’ album The Well, his first all-original collection of songs. The album earned the blues veteran a well-deserved 2011 Blues Music Award as “Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year,” a feat that he also duplicated in the same category the following year. Musselwhite released Get Up! in early 2013, the album a stunning collection of songs that saw the harmonica wizard collaborating with singer and guitarist Ben Harper on ten breathtaking original tracks of blues, blues-rock, and funky R&B.

Get Up! earned Musselwhite and Harper a Grammy® Award nomination and is certain to be in the running come time for the Blues Music Awards. Musselwhite spent much of 2013 touring with Harper in support of Get Up!, but he found enough time in his busy schedule to put the finishing touches on Juke Joint Chapel, a sizzling live album that documents an August 2012 performance by the blues harpist and his band at the Juke Joint Chapel, a venue located in the historic Shack Up Inn on Highway 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi – the birthplace of the blues!

Charlie Musselwhite’s Juke Joint Chapel

Juke Joint Chapel cranks up the party with a loping cover of Eddie Taylor’s classic “Bad Boy,” Musselwhite’s fluid harp lines dancing spryly atop the slow-walking rhythm as Matt Stubb’s guitar darts in and out of the arrangement with serpentine grace. Musselwhite’s vocals are gruff and slightly twangy, but it’s the harmonica that does most of the talking anyway, and the notes fall from the instrument like rain in a thunderstorm. The tempo picks up a step or two for a raucous take of “Shakey” Jake Harris’s “Roll Your Moneymaker,” the band ganging up on harmony vocals, which are in turn peppered by Stubbs’ stinging fretwork.

Stubbs’ clever guitarplay is front and center on the Tony Joe White roots-rocker “As The Crow Flies,” his energetic six-string sharing the spotlight with Musselwhite’s vocals and frenetic harpwork. The band choogles alongside the two frontmen with a lively locomotive rhythm propelled by drummer June Core’s explosive beat-keeping, but it’s the juxtaposed guitar/harmonica interplay that makes the song fly. It just isn’t a Charlie Musselwhite album without a nod to his old friend and mentor Little Walter, and on Juke Joint Chapel that purpose is served by a scorching cover of the harp legend’s “It Ain’t Right.” Delivered with a feverish intensity, the up-tempo arrangement sounds more like a runaway train than the aforementioned Tony Joe cover, with the band flailing away behind Musselwhite’s incredible harp gymnastics.  

Blues Why Do You Worry Me?

 
Halfway through Juke Joint Chapel we get the first Musselwhite original, but it’s a humdinger! On “Strange Land,” Stubbs lays down some staggered Bo Diddley-styled git licks, drummer Core and bassist Mike Phillips hold down a rhythmic bottom end, and Musselwhite layers on a flurry of notes which serve as both a bridge between the lyrics and as an emotional punctuation to the words. The song is a real barn burner, with Stubbs’ roaring solos and a cacophonic rhythmic backbone that is enhanced by Musselwhite’s low-key, growling vocals and high lonesome harp riffs. Musselwhite’s “Blues Overtook Me,” by contrast, is more of a traditional Chicago-styled blues romp with autobiographical lyrics, a rollicking backbeat, tasty guitarplay, and savage harp slinging inspired by both the great “Walters” – Little Walter Jacobs and Big Walter Horton.

The original “River Hip Mama” is Chicago styled blues by way of the Mississippi Delta as filtered through the 1960s-era British blues-rock of the Rolling Stones. The band creates a menacing, malevolent groove with a boogie-beat worthy of Canned Heat and John Lee Hooker, swinging wildly as Musselwhite chomps away on the harmonica and Stubbs injects shards of slashing guitar. Musselwhite’s lyrics and vocal delivery…slightly grumbled and altogether lusty…also reminds of the great John Lee. His “Blues Why Do You Worry Me?” is another old school high-flyer with referential lyrics, a fine walking bass line, elegant fretwork and, of course, imaginative harmonica licks threaded throughout. Juke Joint Chapel closes out with a cover of jazz legend Duke Pearson’s best-known song, the classic “Cristo Redentor,” for which Musselwhite and crew deliver an energetic and unique reading, the best I’ve heard since guitarist Harvey Mandel’s 1968 recording, the band’s instruments meshing perfectly to create a magical fusion of blues feeling and jazzy virtuosity.    

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Regardless of whether he’s revisiting old gems or covering classic blues tunes, Musselwhite always provides entertaining performances, and he’s found the perfect musical foil in guitarist Matthew Stubbs to help flesh out his electrifying live sound. Juke Joint Chapel delivers the stone-cold real deal that hardcore blues fans crave, the album perfectly capturing Musselwhite and crew’s houserockin’ live set. Whether you’re a newcomer to the Musselwhite camp who just signed on with The Well or Get Up!, or you’re a longtime follower of the harp wizard, you won’t be disappointed by the high-octane jams showcased on Juke Joint Chapel! (Henrietta Records, released December 24, 2013)

Buy the CD from Amazon: Charlie Musselwhite’s Juke Joint Chapel

CD Review: Alligator Records 50 Years of Genuine Houserockin’ Music (2021)

Alligator Records celebrates its 50th anniversary this year – no mean feat for a staunchly independent label – and they have good reason to be proud. The Chicago-based label has released a lot of great music in the five decades since that first Hound Dog Taylor record, and Alligator’s catalog of over 300 titles features some of the best and brightest roots ‘n’ blues artists that have traveled the backroads of America. 50 Years of Genuine Houserockin’ Music is budget-priced (three discs for under $30) anniversary box set offering up a whopping 58 songs and nearly four hours of music, taking the listener for an entertaining stroll through the label’s storied history.

Alligator Records: 50 Years of Genuine Houserockin’ Music

Disc one includes legends like the aforementioned Mr. Taylor (whose “Give Me Back My Wig” defined the label’s mission statement of “genuine houserockin’ music”); the great Koko Taylor (whose “I’m A Woman” puts Muddy in his place); and skilled guitarslingers like Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Fenton Robinson, and Johnny Winter, who explore a variety of styles. You’ll also find harp maestros Big Walter Horton and James Cotton, and much-beloved artists like Son Seals, Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison, and Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women. Throw in some blues-rock jams by the Paladins, and honky-tonk piano-pounding by New Orleans legend Professor Longhair and you have a nearly-perfect 18-track album.

If that’s not enough to get yer motor revving into overdrive, disc two will melt your brain with incendiary tracks from talents like the late, great Michael “Iron Man” Burks, the always-rowdy Little Charlie & the Nightcats, and more harmonica wizardry from masters like Carey Bell and Billy Boy Arnold. Disc two showcases the label’s incredible diversity, mixing songs from soul-blues outfits like the Holmes Brothers and the Kinsey Report with performances by great singers like Janiva Magness, Mavis Staples, and the underrated Katie Webster. The legendary “Steady Rollin’” Bob Margolin is represented here, as are talented cats like Kenny Neal and Joe Louis Walker, and lesser-known but influential artists like Corey Harris and Michael Hill. Throw in some classic Zydeco from C.J. Chenier and a track from the innovative blues-rock outfit the Siegel-Schwall Band, among other fine performances, and you have 21 red-hot tunes that will torch your stereo speakers with pure flamethrower blues…

Still not enough for ya? Man, you drive a hard bargain…how ‘bout disc three and 21 houserockin’ tracks from skilled bluesmen and women like Marcia Ball, Billy Branch, Toronzo Cannon, and Roomful of Blues. There’s no shortage of skilled fretburners like Tinsley Ellis, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Selwyn Birchwood, and Coco Montoya to be found, and bands like Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, the Nick Moss Band (featuring the extraordinary harp player Dennis Gruenling), Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, and Tommy Castro & the Painkillers are among the most popular (and hardest-working) blues gangs haunting your local juke-joint these past few years. Shemekia Copeland and Curtis Salgado are two of the most talented blues singers on the scene today, and you can’t overlook legends like Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, and Guitar Shorty.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Altogether, 50 Years of Genuine Houserockin’ Music does a great job of documenting a half-century of Alligator Records’ irreplaceable and invaluable contribution to American music. The three-disc set includes a 40pp color booklet and provides the listener a veritable roadmap of the evolution of roots ‘n’ blues music over the past five decades. It’s a great sampler of the wealth of talent the label has to offer, and if you pick up this box set and don’t immediate order a dozen or so discs from the featured artists, I have to seriously question your taste in music…maybe you’d be happier with a shiny new Justin Bieber album? For the rest of us, there’s nothing but “genuine houserockin’ music” on the menu. Kudos to Alligator founder Bruce Iglauer and his staff for this incredible musical milestone! (Alligator Records, released June 18th, 2021)

Buy the CD from Amazon: 50 Years of Genuine Houserockin’ Music

Also on That Devil Music:
Bruce Iglauer - Bitten by the Blues book review
Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection CD review

Short Rounds: Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, The Hangfires, Kursaal Flyers, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, Toots & the Maytals (2020)

New album releases in 200 words or less…

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite – 100 Years of Blues (Alligator Records)
Guitar maestro Elvin Bishop and harp wizard Charlie Musselwhite are both bona fide blues legends, and it’s a cryin’ shame that they’ve never made an album together until now. This pairing of two beloved bluesmen, both masters of their craft, is as much of a sure thing as you’ll find in these sorry times, and 100 Years of Blues doesn’t disappoint. The duo’s blending of blues and roots-rock goes down like honey mead, ol’ Charlie handling the heavy lifting on the hardcore blues tunes with his soulful vocals and fluid harmonica-play while ol’ Elvin tackles the humorous material with his usual aplomb, peppering every performance with gut-wrenching tone and texture. For instance, “Birds of A Feather” is an old-school blues jam with plenty of harmonica and guitar boogie; the pointed topical lyrics of “What the Hell” are delivered with Bishop’s slyly disarming vocals and Musselwhite’s instrumental counterpoint; and the instrumental “South Side Slide” gives both musicians a chance to shine while transporting the listener back to Chicago circa 1966. Much like Musselwhite’s recent recordings with Ben Harper, the collaboration of these two seasoned blues veterans makes sense, and if you dig either artist, you’re gonna love 100 Years of Blues! Grade: A   BUY!

The Hangfires – Curly Q (Underground Treehouse Records)
Former Georgia Satellite Dan Baird has played with fellow-traveler Joe Blanton in the Bluefields for a few years, developing an impressive musical chemistry and songwriting shorthand that reveals itself in the grooves of Curly Q. A Covid-quarantine project, the Hangfires is a studio amalgam featuring Baird and Blanton on guitars and vocals, with keyboardist Jen Gunderman and drummer Greg Morrow, all four recording remotely and swapping files online. The result is unbelievably cohesive, the talented foursome making a near-seamless album of joyful noise that blends the twang ‘n’ bang of the Bluefields with the Keef-inspired throwback sound of the Satellites. Unbridled rockers like “The Good Part” or “Mama Thinks I’m Alright” provide the cheap thrills we need in these dark times, with zealous vox and stinging six-strings, while the slower-paced “Wild Imagination” blends soulful vocals with lush instrumentation, slashing fretwork, and thoughtful lyrics. Not just another bunch o’ guitar-happy rawkers, the Hangfires bring hard-won wisdom and intelligence to their lyrics to go alongside their raucous musical soundtrack. R.I.Y.L. The Georgia Satellite, Jason & the Scorchers, Drivin’ ‘N’ Cryin’ Grade: A   BUY!

Kursaal Flyers – Little Does She Know (RPM Records, U.K.)
Pub-rock, that uniquely British sound, never grabbed more than a cult following stateside, with Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, and Dr. Feelgood getting all the love. But Southend’s Kursaal Flyers were one of the better bands of the era, as proved by Little Does She Know, a four-disc, career-spanning box. Including three studio and a live album circa 1975-77, plus the band’s 1988 reunion LP, the set throws in another seventeen bonus tracks, including live performances, that showcase the Flyers’ inspired blend of roots-rock, power-pop, and British R&B that was incredibly progressive at the time. The band’s guitarist, Graeme Douglas, would go onto success with Eddie & the Hot Rods, singer Paul Shuttleworth found solo success, and drummer Will Birch formed world-beating power-poppers the Records before becoming an esteemed music journalist. Pub-rock built the foundation for the punk-rock kiddies of ’77 before melting into obscurity, but the Kursaal’s timeless sound still echoes across the ages. Grade: A   BUY!

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets – Walkabout (Yep Roc Records)
On paper, the pairing of British rock legend Nick Lowe with Mexican wrestling mask-clad American rockers Los Straitjackets seems an odd couple but, in practice, it’s a match made in heaven. The guys in Los Straitjackets have the instrumental chops to capture the nuance and elegance of Lowe’s songs and, with a rock-solid band playing behind him, ol’ Nick can climb out on a limb now and then. Walkabout is a compilation album originally only released in Australia, collecting songs from Lowe’s recent EPs with the Straitjackets, including the swinging, jazz-tinged rockabilly swing of “Tokyo Bay” and a soulful cover of the Bee Gees’ “Heartbreaker.” Los Straitjackets strut their stuff with instrumental surf-rock covers of Lowe gems like “Half A Boy and Half A Man” and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” A previously-unreleased live version of Nick’s “Heart of the City” closes out Walkabout with a bang! Grade: A   BUY!

Toots & the Maytals – Got To Be Tough (Trojan Jamaica)
Reggae legend Toots Hibbert passed away in September from that damned Covid, but he left us one helluva parting gift. Got To Be Tough is the first Toots & the Maytals album in a decade, but it’s an uncompromising, tough-as-nails collection of roots, rock, and soul that will make your speakers smile in ecstasy. Even at 77, Hibbert’s rough-hewn vocals have diminished little in power or subtlety, and his original songs showcase his underrated songwriting ability. “Drop Off Head” is a chainsaw rocker and the defiant “Just Brutal” matches hurricane-strength vocals with sassy horns and socially-conscious lyrics. The title track is a masterpiece of roots-reggae with empowering lyrics while the haunting “Stand Accuse” displays Toots’ ability to mix strength and vulnerability in a single verse. Produced with a deft hand by Zak Starkey (Ringo’s son), who also contributes musically alongside some of Jamaica’s most talented, Got To Be Tough is a fitting coda to an amazing career that spanned six decades. R.I.P. Mr. Hibbert. Grade: A+   BUY!    

Various Artists – Crawling Up A Hill (Grapefruit Records, U.K.)
Thanks to the good folks at Grapefruit Records, you can now do a deep-dive into the British blues boom circa 1966-1971 with Crawling Up A Hill. The three-disc, clamshell-boxed, 56-song collection offers plenty of the usual suspects – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, The Yardbirds, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, Alexis Korner, Free, Taste (w/Rory Gallagher), Status Quo, and Savoy Brown – among its wealth of entries. It’s between these grooves that the set really shines, Grapefruit plucking jewels from the lesser-known likes of Love Sculpture, Steamhammer Medicine Head, Stack Waddy, Black Cat Bones, Blodwyn Pig, Skid Row (w/Gary Moore) and Killing Floor to paint a brilliant picture of the then-thriving scene. There are a few notable exclusions, (Jethro Tull, Zeppelin?) due to licensing, but throw in often-surprising obscurities like Heavy Jelly, Red Dirt, Levee Camp Moan, and Dr. K’s Blues Band and you have a collection well worth the roughly $30 price tag. Grade: A   BUY!

 

Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, May 2020: The Burrito Brothers, Richie Owens & the Farm Bureau, Webb Wilder, Lucinda Williams & X

Short Rounds, April 2020: Datura4, Dream Syndicate, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, Bryan Ferry, Game Theory & Supersuckers

Short Rounds, March 2020: The Bluefields, Dave Clark Five, Marshall Crenshaw, Gwil Owen, Gary Moore & Watermelon Slim

Short Rounds, February 2020: Beach Slang, The Bar-Kays, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Delaney & Bonnie, Mott the Hoople & Television Personalities

New Music Monthly: September 2020 releases

September is upon us and the new music is flying high in spite of the pandemic and the lack of live shows across the country. The next best thing to rockin' your local venue is getting your kicks with new music, so pick yer poison, kiddies! There's blues and roots music from the New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers, Grant-Lee Phillips, Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters, and the adept pairing of legends Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite. There's classic prog-rock from King Crimson and Flying Colors; high-octane rawk from Bob Mould and the duo of James Williamson and Deniz Tek; and groovy reissues from Little Richard, Johnny Thunders, and the Rolling Stones. Who could ask for anything more? 

Release dates are probably gonna change and nobody tells me when they do. If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy! If you're boycotting Amazon and don't have an indie record store close by, may we suggest shopping with our friends at Grimey's Music in Nashville? They have a great selection of vinyl available by mail order, offer quick service, and if you don't see what you want on their website, check out their Discogs shop!

SEPTEMBER 4
King Crimson - The Elements 2020 Tour Box   BUY!
New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers - Volume 1 [w/Charlie Musselwhite, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jimbo Mathus & friends!]   BUY!
Grant-Lee Phillips - Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff   BUY!
Throwing Muses - Sun Racket   BUY!

SEPTEMBER 11
Blitzen Trapper - Holy Smokes Future Jokes   BUY!
Doves - The Universal Want   BUY!
Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters - Beyond the Blue Door   BUY!
The Flaming Lips - American Head   BUY!
Gasoline Lollipops - All the Misery Money Can Buy   BUY!
Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos   BUY!
Mastodon - Medium Rarities   BUY!
Johnny Thunders - Que Sera Sera: Resurrected [3-CD box set]   BUY!

SEPTEMBER 18
Ace of Cups - Sing Your Dream   BUY!
Flyer Colors - Third Stage: Live In London [prog-rock supergroup w/Steve Morse, Mike Portnoy & Neal Morse]   BUY!
Gazpacho - Fireworker   BUY!
Little Richard - King of Rock and Roll   BUY!
Little Richard - The Rill Thing   BUY!
Napalm Death - Throes of Joy In the Jaws of Defeatism   BUY!
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones w/Little Charlie - Too Far From the Bar   BUY!
James Williamson & Deniz Tek - Two To One   BUY!

SEPTEMBER 25
Ayreon - Transitus   BUY!
Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite - 100 Years of Blues   BUY!
Bruce Cockburn - True North (A 50th Anniversary Box Set) [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Deftones - Ohms   BUY!
Thurston Moore - By the Fire   BUY!
Bob Mould - Blue Hearts   BUY!
The Pretty Things - Bare As Bone, Bright As Blood   BUY!
The Rolling Stones - Steels of Wheel Live [unreleased 1989 concert]   BUY!
Surfer Blood - Carefree Theatre   BUY!

 

Album of the Month: Man, there's a lot of great music to choose from this month but I'm going to have to go with the Pretty Things' Bare As Bone, Bright As Blood LP. The final recording by legendary PTs' frontman Phil May, this collection of acoustic performances is basically May and PTs' guitarist Dick Taylor, literally finished up days after Mays death in May 2020. This promises to be a fitting swansong to a great, unheralded band. Check out the latest issue of Ugly Things music zine for more info on May's enormous musical legacy.

The Rev's Favorite Blues Albums of 2018

It was a bountiful year for blues music fans with more great albums than one person could legitimately afford to buy. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just the reality of the situation. The Reverend did his part for the blues economy, buying up as many new releases as the bank account would allow, but even that falls short of covering the genre in toto…even counting the promo CDs sent by gracious labels for review.

The following ten albums aren’t necessarily the “best” of 2018 but rather those discs that were my favorite releases for the year, along with another ten worthy albums and blues reissues that almost made the cut…and any of these albums would make a great addition to your music library. Check out the Rev’s lists of favorite rock ‘n’ roll and archive/reissue albums from 2018 while you’re here!

Roy Buchanan – Live at Town Hall 1974 (Real Gone Music)
The legendary guitarist’s acclaimed 1975 album Live Stock was expanded to two discs by Real Gone Music for Live at Town Hall 1974. Featuring an impressive 21-song track list (compared to the six tracks on the original release), including 14 previously-unreleased song and improved sound, the set captures Buchanan’s entire November 27th performance at the Town Hall in New York City as taken from the original multi-track tapes. As such, Live at Town Hall 1974 displays the instrumentalist’s enormous talents and underrated vocals, which he shared with singer Billy Price. It’s a phenomenal and intimate recording that shows exactly why the late Buchanan’s star continues to shine so brightly...   BUY!
  

Shemekia Copeland – America’s Child (Alligator Records)
If Koko Taylor and Etta James are the standard by which female blues sings must aspire in the 21st century, Shemekia Copeland stands proudly alongside the legends. For my money, Copeland and Janiva Magness are the two best vocalists in the blues field today – male or female – and both women have brought their enormous talents to songs that fit nicely into the stylistic blend of blues, folk, and country music that is “Americana.” No matter what you want to call it, over the dozen songs included on America’s Child, Copeland’s amazing voice turns every performance into timeless American music.   BUY!

Tinsley Ellis – Winning Hand (Alligator Records)
Guitarist Tinsley Ellis has been kickin’ around the American blues scene since the late ‘70s, both with the Heartfixers and as a solo artist with better than a dozen albums to his name. Still, Ellis doesn’t get nearly enough praise for his enormous talents as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, skills all in abundance on Winning Hand. Each performance here is indelibly imprinted with Ellis’s own robust brand of blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll and for those who love rowdy guitarplay, it just doesn’t get better than Winning Hand.   BUY!

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite – No Mercy In This Land (Anti- Records)
From open to close, No Mercy In This Land is an incredible collaboration between two musical titans. Ben Harper brings intelligent, poetic lyrics and a sense of youthful vigor to the performances, an energy that spurs Charlie Musselwhite – a jaded veteran who has played with bona fide legends like Big Joe Williams, John Lee Hooker, and Michael Bloomfield – to play here like a man possessed. The result is an instantly classic album that fuses blues and soul music like few artists have been able to do. My only complaint is that the album’s 35-minute running time is too little when the music is as good as what you’ll find on No Mercy In This Land.   BUY!

 
Eric Lindell – Revolution In Your Heart (Alligator Records)
New Orleans-based blues guitarist Eric Lindell has been making great music for over a decade, at least since 2006’s Change In The Weather. The sublimely wonderful Revolution In Your Heart marks his return to Alligator Records, the label where he made three underappreciated albums during the late ‘00s. Recording in his Louisiana backyard, Lindell infuses a dozen original tracks with a subtle, laid-back, New Orleans vibe, effortlessly blending blues, funk, soul, and Southern rock into a heady musical brew. A talented artist worthy of greater acclaim, Eric Lindell is ready for prime-time.   BUY!

 
Nick Moss Band – The High Cost of Low Living (Alligator Records)
Bluesman Nick Moss has been kicking around the Windy City for better than two decades, making his bones playing with legends like Jimmy Dawkins and Buddy Scott. Breaking out on his own in the early ‘00s, Moss has released nearly a dozen critically-acclaimed studio and live albums. Hooking up with skilled harp wrangler Dennis Gruenling, Moss signed with the esteemed Alligator Records and delivered The High Cost of Low Living, the traditional-styled Chicago blues LP we knew he could create. Layering his fiery guitar licks alongside Gruenling’s raging harp, the two crank out a joyful noise. With their Alligator label debut, Moss, Gruenling and a talented crew update the Chicago blues for the 21st century.   BUY!

Preacher Boy – The Rumble Strip (Coast Road Records)
Although The Rumble Strip showcases a welcome expansion of Preacher Boy’s musical palette beyond his signature country-blues sound, Christopher Watkins’ vocals on these songs still growl and bite like Howlin’ Wolf chewing on a microphone, swallowing electricity and spitting out lightning bolts. It’s with his lyrical skills where Preacher Boy really shines, though, and The Rumble Strip is full of whip-smart story-songs backed by imaginative and often-dense instrumentation that proves that Preacher Boy is no one-trick pony. Recommended for rock and blues-rock fans alike, The Rumble Strip marks the return of a unique and original musical voice.   BUY!

Daniel Seymour & Mark Robinson – Chug It Down and Go (Blind Chihuahua Records)
Nashville guitarist Mark Robinson has a pair of critically-acclaimed electric blues studio albums – Quit Your Job, Play Guitar and Have Axe - Will Groove – to his credit along with a rowdy live LP that any blues fan should have on their shelf. Hooking up with fellow multi-instrumentalist Daniel Seymour, Robinson performs a breakneck stylistic U-turn with the acoustic Chug It Down and Go. Talent always shines through and Robinson and Seymour deliver a high-spirited, energetic, and entertaining collection of original songs with deep roots. It’s all quite clever and exceptionally well-performed, Chug It Down and Go a truly magical collaboration between two skilled and passionate music-makers.   BUY!

Various Artists – Confessin’ the Blues (BMG Music)
A multi-format various artist compilation, Confession’ the Blues was ‘curated’ by the Rolling Stones and is available in various multi-disc formats with cool, folksy cover artwork by the Stones’ Ron Wood. Most blues fans will have these songs already, but proceeds from the album go to Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven organization, a worthy cause by any measure. I initially bought Confessin’ the Blues, Vol. 1 as a two-LP vinyl set ‘cause I wanted the big artwork and the warm sound of wax. There’s just no way you’ll be disappointed by a track list that includes Muddy Waters, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, and Elmore James with Sonny Boy Williamson, among other blues legends.   BUY! 

Various Artists – Memphis Rent Party (Fat Possum Records)
Released on vinyl to serve as a de facto “soundtrack” album to Robert Gordon’s excellent book Memphis Rent Party, the album features a veritable “who’s who” of unsung Memphis musical idols, from bluesman Furry Lewis and the legendary Alex Chilton to Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, early rockers Charlie Feathers and Jerry Lee Lewis, and bona fide Memphis music legend Jim Dickinson. No matter your taste in music, there’s something among the dozen tracks on Memphis Rent Party to tickle your fancy, the album’s creative diversity makes it the perfect soundtrack to listen to while reading the book!   BUY!

Honorable Mention: Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio’s Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here; Joe Bonamassa’s British Blues Explosion; Catfish’s Get Down/Live Catfish; Buddy Guy’s A Man & the Blues [vinyl reissue]; Buddy Guy’s The Blues Are Alive & Well; Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa’s Black Coffee; Larkin Poe’s Venom & Faith; Fantastic Negrito’s Please Don’t Be Dead; Boz Scagg’s Out of the Blues; Junior Wells’ Coming At You [vinyl reissue]

CD Review: Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite's No Mercy In This Land (2018)

Ben Harper is a musical chameleon who has dabbled – and quite successfully I might add – in blues, rock, soul, and even reggae music. A three-time Grammy® Award winner, Harper has better than a dozen studio and live albums under his belt, but few have showcased his skills as both a songwriter and guitarist than his award-winning 2013 collaboration with bluesman Charlie Musselwhite, Get Up! The critically-acclaimed album successfully introduced Harper to the blues audience and did the same for blues lifer Musselwhite, introducing his raging style of harmonica blues to the alt-rock crowd that has long adored Harper.

Harper and Musselwhite first met in 1997 while both were playing a session for blues great John Lee Hooker, who first had the idea that the two artists could make beautiful music together. Their paths crossed many times through the years as Harper was building a career and Musselwhite was cementing his legacy as one of the blues’ great harp players alongside legends like Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Big Walter Horton. While Get Up! displayed a certain musical chemistry, it was touring together in support of the album that tightened the bond between the two artists, a musical brotherhood quite evident in the grooves of the pair’s sophomore effort, No Mercy In This Land.

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite’s No Mercy In This Land

Harper wrote or co-wrote all the songs for No Mercy In This Land, his lyrical voice haunted by the ghosts of the Mississippi Delta, blues-infused material like “When I Go” and inspired by giants like Charley Patton and Son House. Even bluesier, perhaps, than its predecessor, the album reveals diamonds like the country-blues jaunt “Bad Habits,” which features a spry rhythmic soundtrack above which Musselwhite’s harmonica soars. “Love and Trust” evinces some hard-fought wisdom and brilliant imagery highlighted by the song’s inspired acoustic strum while “The Bottle Wins Again” is a blustery, rockin’ slab o’ Chicago blues run amok with raging harp, a stompin’ rhythm, and Harper’s best guttural Howlin’ Wolf styled vox.

There’s not much romance to be found among the songs on No Mercy In This Land, but “When Love Is Not Enough” is a good old-fashioned heartbreak song, minimalist in its instrumentation but offering up Harper’s most soulful vocal performance on the album, the singer channeling Otis Redding and Levi Stubbs in his delivery, his vocals supported by his sublime fretwork. “Trust You To Dig My Grave” is virtually a Piedmont blues tune, Harper’s nimble guitarplay evoking Blind Blake while Musslewhite’s harp provides valuable accents; together they remind of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. The album’s title track is stunning, subtle, and powerful, Harper’s apocalyptic guitar slung low beneath the lyrics, his sweeter vocals complimented by Musselwhite’s weathered voice and mournful harp playing. “Nothing At All” is equally strong, Harper’s considered vocal delivery enhancing the emotional heft of the lyrics.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

From open to close, No Mercy In This Land is an incredible collaboration between two musical titans. Ben Harper brings intelligent, poetic lyrics and a sense of youthful vigor to the performances, an energy that spurs Charlie Musselwhite – a jaded veteran who has played with bona fide legends like Big Joe Williams, John Lee Hooker, and Michael Bloomfield – to play here like a man possessed. The result is an instantly classic album that fuses blues and soul music like few artists have been able to do. My only complaint is that the album’s 35-minute running time is too little when the music is as good as what you’ll find on No Mercy In This Land. Grade: A+ (Anti- Records, released March 30, 2018)

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CD Preview: Walter Trout’s We’re All In This Together

Blues-rock guitarist Walter Trout has been mighty busy since undergoing a life-saving liver transplant in late 2013. Whereas lesser musicians might have been tempted to hang up their running shoes, Trout was back on the road in early 2015 and has been touring ever since, performing with the fervor and energy of a man half his age. Somewhere along the way, Walter found time to chronicle his dance with the reaper on the brutally honest and musically-powerful 2015 album Battle Scars. He followed it up in 2016 with the equally impressive concert LP Alive In Amsterdam, a testament to his renewed effort as an ambassador for the blues.

I have the feeling that the talented Mr. Trout is really just getting started…on August 25th, 2017 Provogue Records will release the guitarist’s new studio album, We’re All In This Together, his 26th recording to date. With nearly a half-century of performing under his belt, Trout takes nothing for granted, and We’re All In This Together is filled with guest appearances from Walter’s friends and former bandmates like John Mayall, Joe Bonamassa, Sonny Landreth, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Louis Walker, Charlie Musselwhite, Edgar Winter, Mike Zito, and others. The album also showcases the talents of Trout’s son Jon, a talented string-bender in his own right who is beginning to give his old man a run for his money.

Unlike Trout’s previous (and critically-acclaimed) cameo-filled album, 2006’s Full Circle, the sequel-of-sorts We’re All In This Together pays tribute to his friends and collaborators as Trout wrote an original song for each one of his fourteen special guests to perform on. The material is less heavy in nature than his previous studio album, which is to be expected as Trout moves away from his trial by fire with a renewed sense of purpose. “Now was the right time for this record,” Trout says in a press release for the new album. “Battle Scars was such an intense piece of work, written with tears coming down my face. I needed a break from that, to do something fun and light-hearted. This album was joyous for me.”

Trout reunites with friends from the recent all-star Supersonic Blues Machine project, with six-string talents Warren Hayes, Robben Ford, and Eric Gales all contributing to We’re All In This Together. It wouldn’t be a Walter Trout album without the larger-than-life presence of British blues legend John Mayall, who enlisted the guitarist into his Bluesbreakers band way back in 1985. Mayall displays his underrated harp skills on “Blues For Jimmy T.” Says Trout, “am I proud to call myself a former Bluesbreaker? Yeah, of course. What a credential. That is a very exclusive club, and I know that when I’m gone, that’s gonna be one of the big things that they’ll remember me for: that I was a Bluesbreaker for five years.”

Much of We’re All In This Together was created with modern, cutting-edge recording technology, many of Trout’s collaborators sending in their contributions to be incorporated with performances by Trout and his band – keyboardist Sammy Avila, bassist Johnny Griparic, and drummer Mike Leasure – who appear on every track. Producer Eric Corne put together a seamless mix that sounds electrifyingly live in the studio. Says Trout, “it’s very hard to tell we’re not in the studio together. If you listen to the Warren Haynes track, when we get into that guitar conversation on the end – it sounds like we’re looking each other right in the face, y’know?” Prog-rock musicians have been working this way for years and creating innovative and entertaining albums, so why not blues musicians?

We’re All In This Together promises to represent another milestone in a career littered with such. With 25+ years as a solo artist under his belt, Trout is still rockin’ and shooting for the stars, winning over new fans one live show at a time. “I’m 66 years old,” says Trout, “but I feel like I’m in the best years of my life right now. I feel better than I have in years physically. I have more energy. I have a whole different appreciation of being alive, of the world, of my family, of my career. I want life to be exciting and celebratory. I want to dig in. I want to grab life by the balls and not let go...”

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We’re All In This Together track listing:
1. Gonna Hurt Like Hell (featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd)
2. Ain’t Goin’ Back (featuring Sonny Landreth)
3. The Other Side of the Pillow (featuring Charlie Musselwhite)
4. She Listens To the Blackbird Song (featuring Mike Zito)
5. Mr. Davis (featuring Robben Ford)
6. The Sky Is Crying (featuring Warren Haynes)
7. Somebody Goin’ Down (featuring Eric Gales)
8. She Steals My Heart Away (featuring Edgar Winter)
9. Crash and Burn (featuring Joe Louis Walker)
10. Too Much To Carry (featuring John Nemeth)
11. Do You Still See Me At All (featuring Jon Trout)
12. Got Nothin’ Left (featuring Randy Bachman)
13. Blues For Jimmy T. (featuring John Mayall)
14. We’re All In This Together (featuring Joe Bonamassa)

Also on That Devil Music:
Walter Trout - Battle Scars CD review
John Mayall - Talk About That CD review
Supersonic Blues Machine - West of Flushing, South of Frisco CD review

CD Review: Elvin Bishop - Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio (2017)

Venerable roots ‘n’ blues legend Elvin Bishop has long since passed the point where he could comfortably rest on his laurels and play out the string, wherever it leads. As shown by Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, the follow-up to the singer, songwriter, and guitarist’s Grammy™-nominated 2014 album Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, there’s still a lot of joy in the music for Bishop, and he continues to look at fashionable new ways to dress up his tried-and-true signature sound.

Fear not, true believers, Mr. Bishop isn’t trying to reinvent the blues in, say, the same manner that Run the Jewels has challenged hip-hop traditions. Nor is he trying to appeal to younger listeners by radically changing his sound, attitude, or appearance…he’s still the same fun lovin’, happy-go-lucky Elvin that hundreds of thousands of fans around the world have come to love and respect as a sincere, talented Americana traditionalist.    

Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio

No, what Bishop has done with Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio is to alter the angle at which he approaches these songs. As he says in the album’s liner notes, he and a couple of buddies began jamming in the studio and it sounded so good and they were having such a good time that the ‘Big Fun Trio’ was formed with guitarist Bishop, singer and percussionist Willy Jordan, and pianist and guitarist Bob Welsh. The proof is in the grooves, as they say, and the album-opening “Keep On Rollin’” is a great example. A rollicking, humorous, mostly-spoken piece with Elvin and Willy trading verbal jabs, Welsh’s New Orleans-flavored piano runs are paired with a funky, foot-shuffling rhythm and Bishop’s jagged fretwork.

The fun continues with the scorching “Honey Babe,” a rockabilly-tinged romp that offers up some of Bishop’s finest guitar pickin’ and great tone. A solid reinvention of a song that originally appeared on Bishop’s 1974 album Let It Flow, it’s a fine showcase for the guitarist’s often-underrated talents. Jordan takes the microphone for the Chicago blues-styled rave-up “It’s You Baby,” his soulful vocals riding high atop Welsh’s juke-joint piano-pounding and guest Kim Wilson’s raging harp play. Bishop fills in with some red-hot licks, Jordan’s vox reaching Little Richard level intensity in a great performance that is certain to stomp listeners into submission in a club setting.

Bishop brings in another friend, harp wizard and Chicago blues legend Rick Estrin to blow some notes on the rockin’ “Delta Lowdown,” a spry instrumental that showcases Estrin’s immense skills and Welsh’s keyboard mastery. A cover of the Bobby Womack gem “It’s All Over Now” offers up Jordan’s lively vocals and a raucous, rhythmic arrangement that showcases Bishop’s stinging six-string  solos while Bishop’s rootsy sense of humor shines on the hilarious story-song “That’s What I’m Talkin’ About” as he and Jordan swap culinary-obsessed verses over a Southern-fried soundtrack. Friend and compatriot Charlie Musselwhite joins in on the biographical “100 Years of Blues,” a rowdy, low-slung history of the music that name-checks legends like Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters while Charlie blasts some mean harp and Bishop lays out some choice git licks above the shufflin’ rhythm.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Working in a stripped-down trio format, the song shorn of everything but the essence of the performance, what’s left is pure salt-of-the-earth roots ‘n’ blues. Bishop always sounds like he’s having fun in the studio, but with Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, the three musicians play with reckless abandon, reveling in the sheer joy of making music. Bishop could have begun phoning it in years ago and fans would still enjoy his immense talents and charisma; that he is still looking for new ways to excite himself and his bandmates musically is both the key to Bishop’s longevity and a testament to the heart and soul that he brings to every performance. Grade: B+ (Alligator Records, released February 10, 2017)

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CD Review: John Hammond's Mirrors (1967/2016)

Blues Hall of Fame inductee John Hammond is a giant of 20th century blues, a talented songster whose work has preserved countless blues, gospel, and folk tunes that otherwise might have disappeared from the great Americana songbook. The son of famed Columbia Records A&R legend John Hammond (who discovered Dylan and Springsteen and was an early champion of Delta bluesman Robert Johnson), the young Hammond began playing guitar in high school and dropped out of college to pursue his musical vision. Living in Greenwich Village in the early-to-mid-60s, Hammond hung around and made music with fellow travelers like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Duane Allman.

Hammond has released roughly three-dozen albums since his self-titled 1962 debut, including a critically-acclaimed collection of material by singer/songwriter Tom Waits, 2001’s Wicked Grin. Known as a skilled interpreter of song, Hammond possesses an enormous knowledge of, and deep insight into the material he performs. Signed to the venerable Vanguard Records label early in his career, Hammond recorded so much material during his initial sojourns into the studio that Vanguard was releasing albums long after he’d left the label. Mirrors is one such work, a Frankensteined-production that cuts ‘n’ pastes various performances but somehow comes together as a cohesive album. The original side one is entirely ‘electric,’ Hammond joined in the studio by friends like Charlie Musslewhite and a pre-Band Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm; side two is strictly ‘acoustic.’

John Hammond’s Mirrors

Hammond’s rowdy cover of Billy Boy Arnold’s ‘I Wish You Would” spanks the planks from note one. Jimmy Lewis’s fluid bass line opens the song, Musselwhite’s greasy harp jumps in soon thereafter as Hammond growls out the vox above as funky a rhythm as you’d hear in the mid-60s. Hammond’s guitar battles with Robertson’s while the greatest master of the Telecaster, Michael Bloomfield, toils away in the background on piano. Hammond’s take on the great T-Bone Walker’s “They Call It Stormy Monday” is workmanlike but, considering how often the tune’s been covered by literally everybody in the blues biz, Hammond’s languid vocals and subdued instrumentation seem rather lackluster by comparison.

Much more interesting is the unusual reading given Piedmont bluesman Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues.” Best known as performed by the Allman Brothers Band, Hammond’s spry take pre-dates Duane Allman’s by a half-decade and has a decidedly rockabilly tint that features guitarists Billy Butler and James Sprull chicken-pickin’ joyfully behind Hammond’s twangy vocals. A cover of Mose Allison’s “I Just Got Here” stands at the crossroads of the Delta blues and big city jazz, and Hammond’s gruff vocals slip and slide across Barry Goldberg’s minimalist keyboard riffs.

Traditional Acoustic Blues

A full-band version of Robert Johnson’s “Traveling Riverside” closes out the album’s ‘electric’ side with a bang, the rhythm section of bassist Lewis and drummer Helm laying down a locomotive groove atop which Hammond’s roaring vocals and Musselwhite’s raging harp dance alongside Robertson’s nimble fretwork. The ‘acoustic’ side of Mirrors offers just Hammond and his guitar, an engaging pairing that delves deeply into the traditional acoustic blues that Hammond adores. A pair of Johnson’s songs open the side, slow-burning “Stones In My Passageway” provided ethereal vocals and haunting guitar, effectively capturing the original emotion of the Delta blues classic.

A cover of Johnson’s “Walking Blues” is more upbeat, with Hammond’s gritty vocals and aggressive, percussive guitarplay providing a (then) contemporary sheen to the muddy Delta gem. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” is a Rev. Gary Davis song, done up nicely here with some elegant fretwork and reverent vocals effectively mixing blues and gospel and taking the song dangerously close to Son House’s darkly-emotional turf. Casual blues fans all know Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night,” but they don’t know that he had a much deeper songbook of blues and gospel treasures. Hammond tackles Johnson’s “Motherless Willie Johnson” (a/k/a “Motherless Children”), his reading differing greatly from Eric Clapton’s better-known cover, the song performed here with reckless abandon that successfully channels the original’s emotional energy.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Released by Real Gone for the first time on CD, in many ways Mirrors is the ‘long lost’ John Hammond album. Longtime fans will be glad to rediscover this obscure gem from Hammond’s bulky catalog, and newcomers will enjoy a unique blues talent. Although Hammond’s vocals sometimes lapse into parody (at least by modern standards), his reverence for the material is undeniable.

Overall, I’d rank the ‘acoustic’ side better than the ‘electric’ side, if only because of the singer’s rapt fascination for the material which is apparent in the performances. A handful of the ‘electric’ songs really rock, presaging the blues-rock blueprint that would also be followed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the 1960s. Bottom line – if you’re a traditional blues fan, what are you waiting for? Grab yourself a copy of John Hammond’s Mirrors. Grade: B+ (Real Gone Music, released October 7, 2016)

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CD Review: Elvin Bishop's Can't Even Do Wrong Right

At this point in his lengthy career, roots ‘n’ blues legend Elvin Bishop is unlikely to bring about any sort of musical revolution. The guitarist has followed a pretty simple formula on albums like Red Dog Speaks and The Blues Rolls On, and over most of the past 20 or so years, really – a bit of good-natured humor, a little heartfelt emotion, a few inspired cover songs, and plenty of greasy git licks. It’s not a particularly innovative formula, but Bishop’s not out to set the woods on fire, he’s just trying to have a good time and play some entertaining music.

And entertaining it is…Bishop’s latest, Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, is the perfect showcase for the guitarist’s bawdy humor and his signature musical blend of twang ‘n’ bang. Marking his return to the Alligator Records label after an absence of better than a decade, Bishop teams up with some old pals – singer Mickey Thomas (he of “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” fame) and harp player Charlie Musselwhite – to crank out a set of songs that offer the perfect mix of talent, blues tradition, and humor.

The title track is a jocular tale of a sad sack named “Maurice” who always finds himself in hot water, the humorous lyrics matched by Bishop’s swinging vocals and engaging fretwork. A cover of the legendary Little Walter’s “Blues With A Feeling” substitutes Bishop’s raging guitarplay for Walter’s dancing harp, while Musselwhite brings his best game for “Old School,” a statement of defiance by a couple of aging bluesmen that offers up plenty of red-hot instrumentation and as funky a groove as you’ll ever hear.

Mickey Thomas takes the microphone for the original “Let Your Woman Have Her Way,” an effective ballad with torch vocals and Bishop’s subtle, elegant fretwork. Fat Domino’s “Bo Weevil” is a New Orleans-styled romp with crackling accordion and undeniable rhythm. Bishop is an underrated instrumentalist, his six-string skills often overshadowed by his playful charisma. As shown by Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, though, while the guitarist may joke around a bit, deep in the grooves where it counts, he’s all business…and Bishop seldom fails to bring energy and passion to his performances.

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