CD Reviews-September 2002

James Cotton is quite possibly the last of the "old school" blues harmonica player left. Cotton has been plying the blues for nearly five decades beginning in 1954 when he filled the shoes of Little Walter in Muddy Waters band. Traveling with the king of Chicago blues had been a move that James Cotton had been preparing for with the support of his harp instructor, Sonny Boy Williams. By the late 1960's Cotton was reading to venture out on his own. Signed with Verve, The James Cotton Blues Band put out their first full-length self-titled release in 1967. The sound was gritty, intense and passionate. Cotton still demands top billing despite the fact that throat problems have robbed him of his once boisterous roar; he is still considered one of the greatest blues harp players of all-time.

Comprised of mainly James Cotton originals, 35th Anniversary Jam is more less a tribute to this bluesman and his music. For the record, Cotton enlisted the help of the next generation of blues players including, Tab Benoit and Kenny Neal as well as some old friends such as Koko Taylor, Ronnie Hawkins, and Bobby Rush. The disc gets cookin' from the get go with the Sonny Boy Williams classic, 'Don't Start Me Talking' as sung by Kenny Neal as James wails in signature style. While James Cotton doesn't sing a note throughout the entire recording his harp playing is as fierce as ever as on the instrumental shuffle 'The Creeper'. With Syl Johnson on vocals and Jimmie Vaughan on guitar, the band tackles the JC standard 'Rocket 88' with a commanding intensity. The record ends with a dedication to the late John Lee Hooker with an instrumental featuring Jimmie Vaughan titled 'Blues For The Hook'.

The array of talent who contributed to this CD is truly amazing and is evidence that after close to 50 years, James Cotton is still the premier blues harp player who remains unrivaled.
-Tony Engelhart

Coco Montoya-Can't Look Back-Alligator Records

Coco Montoya's latest offering finds him branching out into some very rock-oriented territory. The first tune, "Wish I Could Be That Be Strong", is a reflective number that sets the tone for the album. The lyrical content is very self-reflective and the tune is propelled by nice chord changes and Coco's interspersed guitar licks and well-placed solos. I really liked Coco's singing on this one and feel that the slight change in musical direction from more straight-ahead contemporary blues suits Coco's singing style very well.

Coco's guitar solos on the title track "Can't Look Back" as well as "I Won't Beg" showcase the melodic aspect of Coco's playing. The band is very tight behind Coco throughout the disc and step out for showcases occasionally. Rhythm guitarist Chuck Kirkpatrick is featured on slide guitar along with Jo Sublett on tenor sax on "No Longer A Part of Your Dreams". This tune best exemplifies the strength of Coco's supporting cast.

Coco's blues roots aren't left completely out of the recording. "That Same Thing", a funky tune by Coco's mentor, Albert Collins, will have you reminiscing about the iceman and thanking Coco for reminding you of this great and influential blues master. A slow blues is also featured, "Can't See the Streets For My Tears". This track finds Coco playing and singing over a rather sophisticated blues, with "Stormy Monday" style arrangement. "Back In A Cadillac" is a blues rocker that gets you moving in your shoes and ready to go out and get your own long Cadillac and go driving into the night.

While Coco has given us a more rock-influenced album, the lyrical content of this album is still very blues-oriented. This juxtaposition left me with a slightly perplexed (but enjoyable) feeling. Coco and his band seem so at ease with the material that the tunes convey a feeling of genuine happiness. This feeling is prominent while Coco is singing of lost and failed love throughout the thirteen numbers, conveying the message that Coco is taking his blues and transforming them into joy-no small accomplishment.
-Chris Morda

Roy Rogers-Slideways -Evidence

On Roy Rogers latest album, Slideways, Rogers heads into some pretty tough territory, an instrumental cd of slide guitar music. Those familiar with Rogers would proclaim that if any contemporary slide guitarist could keep your attention on a cd of instrumentals it would be the virtuoso Rogers. Roy managed to capture my undivided attention for the majority of this diverse disc. When not listening to Roy I was listening to his side musicians, there are a number of people that Rogers claims "helped me to stretch out musically" on this album and that keeps the material going in a number of different interesting directions.

Fans of funky grooves will be satisfied right from the opening number, Avalanche, which features a nice boogie type feel, and Rogers slide guitar and a nice piano solo. Veteran New Orleans drummer Zigaboo Modoliste is featured on a couple tracks, Crescent Steps and Gumbo Funk, which will get your blood pumping to a funky groove as well. Norton Buffalo, Roy's harmonica partner, offers musical support. on another funky number Smoke and Mirrors. The other 10 tracks on the cd move through a range of tempos and feels.

For acoustic guitar fans many tunes feature the acoustic guitar, either mixed as a rhythm track, such as Smoke and Mirrors, or as the featured instrument, as on Swamp Dream. This tune features nothing but acoustic slide guitar and some "foot stomping" rhythmic accompaniment and finds Roy in "a moment of reminiscing about that kind of place in the Delta". Another tune that definitely conjures up an emotive mode is No Destination. Roy says this tune was meant to conjure up the feeling of the freedom felt when first embarking out on the road. This features an interesting set of musical changes in the middle of the tune that keep you on your toes while exploring the road.

Throughout the cd Rogers tone is slightly understated, but as expected still very prominent in the mix. Rogers is one of the most talented slide guitar players around and will not disappoint old, as well as new fans alike. The last tune on the disc has Roy picking up his sound to high gear as he aptly says goodbye with an eclectic acoustic/electric piece with no other musical accompaniment. This tune really burns and is the perfect segue into the anticipation of Rogers next recording in his "Slide winding" career.
- Chris Morda

Magic Slim-Blue Magic-Blind Pig

The last of the great Chicago roadhouse blues bands, Magic Slim & the Teardrops, has just released another superb album on Blind Pig Records. As with many before and after him, Morris Holt, a.k.a. Magic Slim, learned his chops in Mississippi before migrating to Chicago. Slim's aggressive guitar style on his familiar Fender Jazzmaster, as well as his in-your-face vocals have always been a trademark of this legendary bluesman, showing influences of Muddy, Freddie, Otis and of course his mentor and namesake Magic Sam. Magic Slim's new album Blue Magic captures the pure essence of what Chicago blues is supposed to be. East coast bluesman Popa Chubby does a fine job as producer of this album by letting Slim and his band do what they do best: playing raw, hard driving Chicago blues, with no sign of overproduction or slickness.

Of the ten cuts on Magic Slim's new enhanced CD, six are new tunes penned by Slim. With his simple yet clever lyrics they seem like blues classics already. From the album's first cut, the autobiographical "I'm a Bluesman," Slim proclaims what fans already knew: he "got the blues" and he's "playin' from the heart." Bobby Rush's "Chickenheads shows off the producer's multiple talents with bass, drums, and second guitar tracks all laid down by Popa Chubby. Another great selection is Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years" with that special magic spin. Many of Slim's songs are derived from life lessons such as the next two cuts, the slow shuffle of "Evil Woman Blues" and "You Got To Pay." As close to a sweet love song as Magic Slim gets is the song "Lonely for Your Love" followed by "I Want to See You in the Evening" which proclaims "or I don't want to see you at all." Slim even puts that Chicago flavor on a country tune with a terrific version of Merle Haggard's "I Started Loving You Again." The final cut on this great album is the spirited "Goin' to Mississippi." This tune is also the special enhanced portion of the CD, with a CD ROM video of Magic Slim & the Teardrops performing "Goin' to Mississippi." This is Magic Slim's 6th album for Blind Pig and they just keep getting better, if that's possible. This five-time Handy Award winner's new CD Blue Magic will surely be among the nominees for next year's Best Traditional Album.
-Phil Chesnut

Editor's Note: Popa Chubby and his band were recently in a serious traffic accident while on tour. Although most members of the band are now healing from bumps and bruises, bandmate Rod Gross suffered serious head injuries and a badly broken wrist and elbow. Your good vibes, prayers, and thoughts are appreciated for Rod's full recovery.

Jody Williams: Return of a Legend Evidence

One of the great comeback stories of this or any other year has been the unexpected and improbable return to music of legendary blues guitarist Jody Williams after a 30-year hiatus. A top Chicago session guitarist during the '50s, Williams's creative playing graced some of the era's greatest hits, including Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love," "Mona," and "Before You Accuse Me;" Howlin' Wolf's "Forty Four" "Evil," and "Who'll Be Next;" Billy Boy Arnold's "I Wish You Would;" and many others. But like most artists of the era, Williams got badly burned by the music business. Tired of being ripped off, he dropped out of music in the mid-'60s, went back to school in electronics, and spent the next 26 years raising a family and working as a technician at Xerox. Meanwhile, his guitar lay literally untouched under his bed for more than 30 years; his grown daughter never heard him play guitar until a few years ago. Finally, retired in the late 1990s, with his kids raised and grandkids running at his feet, he came back to his first love-music-with an intensity you don't often hear from men half his age.

The result is this spectacular comeback CD: one of the year's best and most joyous blues albums. With famed Chicago producer (and Seattle native) Dick Shurman working the boards, Williams has crafted a CD that sounds like a classic '50s blues album that got caught in a time warp and somehow ended up being recorded on the best available modern equipment. Williams's unusual sound-he plays exclusively in open-E tuning-has survived largely intact over the years, as has his sophisticated knowledge of jazzy, extended chords, trick licks, and minor-key blues arrangements. Listen to the sparkling remake of his classic instrumental "Lucky Lou," which partly inspired Otis Rush's "All Your Love (I Miss Love)" and Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman." It's hard to believe this is a cut from a man who didn't play for 30 years.
Williams recreates several of his other early hits on this stunning "debut" album, including "You May" and "Moanin' for Molasses." He also wrote nine new songs, all full of clever licks and lyrics; "Brown Eyes and Big Thighs," "Henpecked and Happy," "She Found a Fool and Bumped His Head," and "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am" are among the new standouts. The special guests here include Billy Boy Arnold and younger stringbenders Sean Costello, Tinsley Ellis, and Rusty Zinn. Even Jody's voice is a revelation and as strong as ever. It all goes to show that if you're a major musical talent, taking a long break from the travails of playing isn't necessarily a career killer.

During the long decades when he wasn't playing, Williams kept his artistic juices alive and flowing by building and painting elegant dioramas of African-American history. (Yep, the man is also a strikingly talented visual artist.) This CD shows that Williams is an amazing example of history himself, and you'll love the results. It's great to hear him back.