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February Cover StoryJohn Sinclair
John Sinclair is legendary as the man who guided the Rock-and-Revolution
MC-5 to early fame, and as the political Sinclair is also well known as a music journalist and producer. He was the editor of Blues Access magazine and has contributed features, interviews, reviews and columns to numerous publications such as Playboy, Living Blues, AllMusic Guide, Big City Blues, OffBeat, Signal To Noise, BluesHound, Boston Phoenix and many other publications. Sinclair has also contributed liner notes to CDs by Luther Allison, Art Ensemble of Chicago, James Cotton, Tab Benoit, Johnny Adams, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Re-Birth Brass Band, Irma Thomas, the Wild Magnolias and a host of others. Sinclair has also recently produced an important series of albums from his vast tape archives, including live sets by Sun Ra & His Arkestra, Detroit Blues Revue, Little Sonny, Roosevelt Sykes/Victoria Spivey, Big Walter Horton/King Biscuit Boys (all recorded at the historic Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1972-73), the Up, Mitch Ryder & Detroit, the Rationals and several CDs featuring the MC-5. Twenty years ago Sinclair began his epic work in verse centered on the music of the Mississippi Delta. Setting the verse to the music of the blues creating a new and unique performance style perfectly showcased on his first Okra-Tone CD, Fattening Frogs For Snakes, produced by R&B giant Andre "Mr. Rhythm" Williams. The album represents the first section of the book of the same name, which recently was published by the Surregional Press of New Orleans to coincide with the release of the CD. The CD is a historical homage to the sounds and history of the delta blues. Songs such as the opener of the recording "The Delta Sound" find Sinclair quoting Muddy Waters from an interview with Robert Palmer from Palmer's landmark book on blues history Deep Blues. The song also features a very slow hypnotic delta blues riff, with Jeff Grand paying musical homage to Muddy Waters style slide guitar riff. The next two tracks Crossroad Blues and The Wolf is at Your Door are about blues greats Tommy Johnson and Howling Wolf. Crossroad Blues is a little faster then the opener and features another nice repetitive delta riff. Historical references include background on the history of voodoo and its association in blues as well as in Tommy's Johnson's life. The Wolf is at Your Door has a Smokestack Lightning type riff and features information on Howling Wolf's musical influences and experiences. The recording really picks up now with history lessons in how musical styles evolve as well as how songs are influential on other blues tunes. We Just Change the Beat features Sinclair quoting Willie Dixon talking about how changing the beat of a tune can change the whole style. This fact is wonderfully emphasized by driving changes throughout the tune going back and forth between blues and more up-tempo rock feels. Great background vocals, slide guitar, and nice driving drums make this one of my favorites of the recording. Sunnyland Train and 21 Days in Jail carry this musical theme still further featuring blues and boogie style blues. Sunnyland Train features Bill Lynn singing a lead vocal lineas well as John's spoken word vocals. Sinclair talks about how Sunnyland got his nickname and how Willie Dixon's My Babe taking a theme from This Train Don't Carry No Gambler's line and changing it to My Babe. 21 Days in Jail is a tribute to Robert Junior Lockwood and his influence and tutoring from Robert Johnson. This tune features background vocals, nice guitar licks, and a story of Lockwood's playing with Sonny Boy Williamson and a story of their experiences in the Delta region and subsequent 21 days in Jail. The recording is rounded out featuring stories relating to traveling via train, Pea Vine Blues and Chicago blues, Chicago Bound. The first tune features WC Handy's famed account of the first time he heard a blues while waiting for a train that was a number of hours late. This is one of the most famous accounts of early blues recollection coming from the "Father of the Blues" himself. Musically the tune has a nice groove that propels itself along under Sinclair's words. Chicago Bound completes the recording with a nine-minute musical and lyrical account of the history of Chicago blues. ©
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prisoner
in the early days of the War on Drugs. His 1971 release from a 9-1/2-to-10-year
sentence for possession of two joints was secured by high-profile admirers
like John Lennon and Stevie Wonder. In subsequent years Sinclair has
forged a whole new legend as a New Orleans-based preacher of the power
of blues and jazz, "his love and knowledge of which form the basis
of his wonderful spoken-word performances" (John Strausbaugh, New
York Press) and popular award-winning music programs for WWOZ Radio.
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