Ben Sidran

Part One

Always the Positive Philosopher

 By Robert Putignano

Pianist and vocalist Ben Sidran is from and still resides in Wisconsin. In the early 1960s, he played with Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs in a band called the Ardells at the University of Wisconsin. After Miller moved to San Francisco and signed with a Capitol Records, Miller called on Sidran to join him in the Steve Miller Band. Sidran played keyboards and wrote songs on several Miller albums beginning with Brave New World in 1969, co-writing the classic “Space Cowboy.” Sidran received a Ph.D. in philosophy/musicology, writing his doctoral thesis on African-American culture and music in the United States. The thesis was published to positive critical responses in 1971 as “Black Talk.” Around this same time Sidran was signed to Capitol and released his debut Feel Your Groove with Blue Mitchell; members of Humble Pie, including Peter Frampton; Jesse Ed Davis; Boz Scaggs; Charlie Watts, and others. Sidran then signed with Tommy LiPuma at he classic Blue Thumb Records and delivered three very memorable recordings that included sidemen Phil Upchurch, Clyde Stubblefield, Steve Miller, and a return call to Blue Mitchell, amongst countless others.

Through the years, Sidran and Steve Miller continued collaborating from time to time on one another’s recordings. In 1988, Sidran co-produced one of Miller’s latter-day recordings, Born 2B Blue, that attracted strong critical reviews and a nationwide tour. Sidran also produced recordings for Mose Allison, Diana Ross, and others, and joined forces with Van Morrison and Georgie Fame on a tribute album, The Songs of Mose Allison: Tell Me Something, from 1996, and continued making solo albums. Additionally, Sidran has hosted TV programs on VH1, radio shows on NPR, wrote several books, and continues to write about the music he loves.

I caught up with Ben just as he was going to perform at the Jazz Standard in New York City, and as he just released his latest album, Don’t Cry For No Hipster, on his own Nardis (Sidran spelled backwards) label. More details at www.BenSidran.com.

Bob Putignano for BluesWax: Ben, how are you?

Ben Sidran: Doing well! Great to be back with you Bob.

BW: It’s always a pleasure having you back on board, my listeners love you, I love you, and I’m happy to see you continue to evolve and put out good music like you’re a teenager.

BS: I know, it’s just a bad habit of mine. [laughs]

BW: And you’re hanging back in New York City, are we going to the Seventh Avenue South Club tonight?

BS: Oh man, those were the days!

BW: During the Seventies I lived about a half block away from that legendary club, and (mostly on the weekends) it was my final pit stop to catch great music very late at night.

BS: And you got home really late too… All of the great musicians would be there.

BW: Yeah, the Brecker Brothers, Jimmy Heath, you, and so many others.

BS: We’ve got those memories, that’s the important thing.

BW: Speaking of those times, I did recent Internet research on the great radio station WRVR, and was surprised that there wasn’t much info available.

BS: Really? It’s a long time ago that WRVR was such a force, and we’re all not getting any younger, that’s for sure. But remember, time is not something we move through, time moves through us. So stay healthy, keep swinging, and we’ll be in good shape.

BW: I hope so. Going forward, your new CD, Don’t Cry for No Hipster, came out real well.

BS: Thank you!

BW: And you have a nice band coming to New York City next week.

BS: Yeah I’ve got the Hipster Band: John Ellis, Will Bernard, my son Leo on drums, mostly the same group that’s on the new disc. The band is from Brooklyn and I like to tease them about what a real hipster is from forty-fifty years ago. They think their hip now, but I tell those guys, “You really don’t understand!” [laughs]

BW: I find myself telling younger people similar stories, and feel like my father from time to time.

BS: There’s no way out Bob.

BW: But back to your new recording, this one really hit me in a very good way.

BS: I tell you what, I’m hearing the same thing from a lot of people. I think part of the reason is that it was so easy to record this album and we had a lot fun doing it. We recorded the entire album over a couple of days. I had all these tunes written in advance and they were all about a certain state of mind, and it just flowed from there. The lyrics and grooves were fun, too.

BW: There’s definitely a more breezy and light-natured feel to this one.

BS: Yeah, somebody told me that this record could be categorized as “Yacht Rock.” I’ve never head that term before and had to look it up. It’s like rich kids listening or performing music on their father’s boat.

BW: If they only knew…

BS: Right, if they only knew. I wouldn’t go on any yacht that would have me.

BW: And you are still writing books?

BS: The last one, There Was a Fire: Jews, Music, and the American Dream, took so long to write and was so hard for me to do, so as soon as I was done with it we went into the studio and the music just flowed out of me. So the music was a different outlet, still words with a groove behind it as opposed to all the research I did for the book. Partly I owe this record because of the last book.

To be continued…

Bob Putignano is a senior contributing editor at BluesWax, a contributing writer at Blues Revue, and the heart and soul of Sounds of Blue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jA6shappUw

Ben Sidran

“Don’t Cry For No Hipster”

From Don’t Cry For No Hipster

Video Records in Paris, France

November 2012

BONUS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOH8WEqWSHI

Ben Sidran, Georgie Fame, Van Morrison, Mose Allison

“Tell Me Something”

]]> http://bluesrevue.com/2013/04/the-ezine-ben-sidran-part-one-4-26-13/feed/ 0 http://bluesrevue.com/2013/04/the-photo-page-frederikshavn-bluesfestival-4-26-13/ http://bluesrevue.com/2013/04/the-photo-page-frederikshavn-bluesfestival-4-26-13/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:31:33 +0000 Chip Eagle http://bluesrevue.com/?p=23287 Frederikshavn Bluesfestival

Frederikshavn, Denmark

November 7, 2012

Photos by Aigars Lapsa

The acclaimed blues photographer Aigars Lapsa sent us some wonderful photographs from what he tell us in the “Best Blues Festival in Denmark.” Looking at his photos, we can’t argue!

As always, our photographers share their work with you for your enjoyment. If you wish to share or use them for any other purpose, please contact the photographer or our offices.

Enjoy!

There’s a Time

Reference Recordings

BluesWax Rating: 10 out of 10

TITLE

Two years after his last release, the lauded Brand New Eyes, troubadour Doug MacLeod returns with a set of thirteen tunes that emphasize his versatility and expertise in singing, acoustic guitar artistry, and storytelling. This album is proof that MacLeod’s seven nominations in the last eight years by the Blues Foundation for the Blues Music Award as Acoustic Artist of the Year are well deserved.

Abetted by consummate professionals Jimi Bott on drums and Denny Croy on bass, MacLeod cavorts, cogitates, and emotes. Consistent with his many records, the songs are originals and are based on his personal experiences (with the exception of “My Inlaws Are Outlaws,” which Doug asserts is “the only song I’ve written that’s not true!” His family will be relieved). They run the gamut from belly-laugh hilarious to eerily spooky to mesmerizingly poignant, an impressive variety that he handles deftly.

The first four songs perfectly demonstrate MacLeod’s range in performance and composition. “Rosa Lee,” the jaunty opener, is a smug tale about a woman of the night with a special fondness for the singer: “I know you gotta pay, but I get her for free.” It’s followed by “Black Nights,” a wrenching blues song about a painfully unsatisfying relationship. (It’s not Charles Brown‘s classic song, “Black Night,” but it’s equally good.) MacLeod’s vocal is moving, and his finger-picking (on his Gibson named “Little Bit”) is dazzling.

Rising from the depths of despair, we next have “The Up Song,” in which Doug advises us to “loosen up, lighten up,” and do every other kind of up, but “don’t give up!” Ribaldry ensues with the risible lament that “My Inlaws Are Outlaws”; we’re not halfway through the album and have already enjoyed the range of blues emotions and MacLeod’s wide-ranging talents.

There are more highlights. (In fact, there is never a let-down.) “The Entitled Few” is a scathing satire of the economic 1%, and “Dubb’s Talking Religion Blues,” one of MacLeod’s ongoing series of talking blues tunes over several albums, is a similarly tart take-down of intolerant religious fundamentalists. In several of the songs, as in past albums, Doug delves into superstition, the supernatural, and the inexplicable: “Run with the Devil,” “Ghost,” and “The Night of the Devil’s Road.” In fact, the shivers that the latter song sends up my spine echo the feeling that I get when listening to similar works by seminal blues greats Blind Willie Johnson and Skip James…and that’s high praise indeed. The effect is augmented by MacLeod’s evocative vocals, including his frequent forays into the field of falsetto.

This CD was recorded live, without overdubs. The sound is crisp and the instrumentation is pristine, without frills or pretention. The liner notes include informative biographies of the three musicians and MacLeod’s brief but enlightening descriptions of the provenance and tunings of each song.

Even if you have never heard MacLeod before, you will end up delighted by the breadth and skill of this CD, and its intimacy will probably induce you to think of Doug MacLeod as a new friend. We old friends are equally delighted. If this album isn’t acclaimed by many as best acoustic album of the year, I will be stunned.

Steve Daniels is a contributing writer at BluesWax.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWAN0fCEIMU

Doug MacLeod

“The Entitled Few”

From There’s A Time

March 14, 2013

The Bing Lounge for KINK

BONUS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4agIdfU_n0M

Doug MacLeod

Promo Video for 2012 Los Angeles Guitar Festival

Standing In The Shadows

ManHatTon Records

BluesWax Rating: 8 out of 10

The Best of Scottish Blues

I first saw King King at the Maryport Festival in Cumbria in 2009 and remember vividly the formidable sight of giant Scot Alan Nimmo resplendent in his trademark tartan kilt making Braveheart look like the schoolboy Wee Jimmy Krankie. The audience looked petrified, fearing another Scottish invasion and that is exactly what they got from the heavy blues rockers’ high-octane performance that day.

Four years later and the release of a second album follows a succession of accolades from many quarters, including Best Album and Best Blues Band voted by readers of Blues Matters! The opening track, “More Than I Can Take,” typifies the powerful, hard-driving blues associated with the band, with its funky beat, scorching guitar solos, and uncompromising vocals. Similarly, in “One More Time Around,” Wayne Proctor lays down a torrential drumbeat, providing the perfect platform for the inventive solos from Nimmo and keyboard player Bennett Holland. Elsewhere, a discernible change of style becomes evident as the tempo slows with tracks like “Taken What’s Mine,” albeit still building up to impressive crescendos where appropriate.

You can feel the anguish, insecurity, and emotion of “Jealousy,” with Nimmo captivating the listener with the shame he feels about his lack of trust and belief. “Can’t Keep From Trying” and “Coming Home (Rest Your Eyes)” show the maturity in the lyrics, tunes, and arrangements of Nimmo and bassist Lindsay Coulson, which are reflective and yet uncomplicated. The last track is the gospel-sounding “Let Love In,” with exceptional background vocal harmonies from the Butler Family providing a real sense of spirit and occasion, a fitting end to an uplifting album.

If your expectation is a hard-rocking Alan Nimmo with attitude, then you might be disappointed despite songs like Free’s “Heavy Load.” What you do get is King King’s evolution into a more versatile, mellow, mature, and subtle band which has not lost its high-energy intensity. King King won’t be standing in the shadows, but will continue moving onwards and upwards towards claiming their rightful spot centre stage.

Dave Scott is a contributing writer at BluesWax

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9YmNnNsHsI

King King

“Jealousy”

From Standing In The Shadows

Official Video

Bonus Track!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shESO4i8C2Q

King King

Promo Video Sampler

2011 Peer Blues Festival

Belgium

Let’s Get Outta Here

Hittin’ the Note Records

BluesWax Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Sanctuary

Once a member of Cowboy, a group that recorded for Capricorn Records, Tommy Talton has had a long career during which his guitar could be found backing singers like Bonnie Bramlett, Clarence Carter, and Dickey Betts in the recording studio, plus a featured spot on Gregg Allman‘s Laid Back record. For the last six years, Talton has focused on recording his original material under his own name and doing guest spots for singers like E.G. Kight.

His latest release, Let’s Get Outta Here, features plenty of his cutting slide guitar, wistful vocals, and songs infused with Talton’s positive outlook on life and love. The last two elements work to make the gentle ballad “Make It Through the Rain” an appeal for sticking with love to ease the pain of life. Talton doubles on acoustic and an electric guitar run through a Leslie speaker. The rhythm section of Frankie Nattola on bass and David Keith on drums appear on half of the album. “Dream Last Night” is another subdued track as Talton ponders the merging of visions and reality with a graceful vocal underscored by his flowing slide work. Some delicate acoustic picking by Talton tempers the pain of lost love on “Recent Rain.”

Talton also understands that the state of the human condition has changed, a point driven home on “Where is the World,” with the leader’s guitar and Chuck Leavell‘s piano serving as beacons calling us to the light. And when Talton unleashes his slide on “Sunk Down in Mississippi” with Nattola and Keith behind him, the disc takes on a rockin’, bluesy groove that ponders the price of infidelity. Things keep rolling on the aptly named “If Your Attitude if Funky (Nobody Wants Your Monkey).” Bill Stewart pushes the beat and the dynamic horn section consisting of Chad Fisher on trombone, Shane Porter on trumpet, and Brad Guin on sax add the exclamation points behind strong contributions from Kelvin Holly on electric guitar and NC Thurman on the clavinet. David Pinkston‘s steel guitar brings a touch of twang to “Half of What She Is (Is All I Can Hope To Be),” with another member of Cowboy, Scott Boyer, joining Talton for some exquisite vocal harmonizing.

The horns brighten up the title track, a breezy tune made to be listened to on a summer’s drive with the top down. Talton fires off a nimble-fingered solo before switching to slide on “You Can’t Argue With Love,” lending a menacing tone to a song celebrating the power of love with Red Young on piano and organ, plus Brandon Peeples on bass. “Slacabamorinico” is a rousing celebration, New Orleans style, with the horns getting a chance to stretch out. With Boyer, Leavell, and Stewart on hand, the song serves as a brief Cowboy reunion.

The disc finishes with a brief audio clip of Talton’s late mother, Julie, reminiscing about her life, which leads into a tribute to Levon Helm titled “Give a Little Bit.” Talton handles all of the guitar parts, ripping off an impressive solo, and his robust vocal is a highlight. Tony Giordano lends a hand on keyboards and harmony vocal.

While there are plenty of fine moments on this recording, Talton’s musical universe offers little in the way of blues influences. If you are looking for a change of pace from traditional 12-bar blues or over-driven rock/blues records, this one offers a worthy sanctuary to calm your soul.

Mark Thompson is a contributing writer at BluesWax.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne6C4ddgVzw

Tommy Talton

“Slacabanoninico”

From Let’s Get Outta Here

March 3, 2013

B.B. King’s

Not sure which one.

Bonus!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsR33f-XVsQ

Tommy Talton

Promotional Video For

Let’s Get Outta Here

Pretty Girls, Cadillacs, and (Some) Money

Some Final Thoughts on Mark Wenner and the Legacy of The Nighthawks

By Rev. Billy C. Wirtz

Each week Rev. Billy C. Wirtz tells us about artists, albums, and music that we need to know about. Sometimes he writes about other things.  This week he concludes his series on the great American band, The Nighthawks.

April, 1975

He stood there shaking his head in disbelief.

“Where the Hell did you find this?” the tall black man wearing a cowboy hat inquired.

I was presenting Bo Diddley, rock ‘n’ roll icon and originator of the “Bo Diddley Beat,” with a copy of “Surfer’s Love Call” to autograph. Unfortunately, “Surfer’s Love Call,” recorded several years after the hits had stopped coming, was a horrible song, featuring the composer of “Who Do You Love? yodeling over a final verse.

We were on the sidewalk, outside of the Apple Pie, a club in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. He was appearing that night with a young group called The Nighthawks. Next to Bo, clad in black T-shirt and blue jeans, Mark Wenner was on the verge of confrontation with a couple of frat boys challenging the ten dollar cover charge to see an American legend.

Bo looked at the boys, then at Mark, then at me. He signed the record and smiled, as if to say:

“Damn, back in ’55, while James Brown and B.B. King were still on the Chitlin’ Circuit, I headlined shows for Allen Freed and sold millions of records. I was Bo Fuckin’ Diddley.”

Twenty years later, after being forced to make embarrassing records, appear as a parody of himself on “oldies” revivals, and eventually forgotten, he was still playing, but the thrill was gone, and the dark energies that conceived of songs like “Who Do You Love?” long since washed out with the tide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRPXqNE-7O0

The Nighthawks

“Woke Up This Morning”

Theme Song From The Sopranos

February 3, 2011

The Surf Club

April, 2013

Thirty-seven years later, the Nighthawks are winning awards.

The live show still moves at a relentless pace, hardly pausing between songs. An Elvis classic, followed by a Slim Harpo, now one of the new originals, all delivered with the distinctive intensity and “in your face” drive of the “Nighthawks Beat.”

They’ve never had “the hit” everyone thought they deserved.

On the other hand, the lack of interest from even the larger indie labels has given Wenner and various versions of the band the freedom to keep on keepin’ on, and maintain artistic credibility, with a minimum of “Surfer’s Love Call” episodes. Four decades after it all began, Mark still gets excited when discussing his newest project, and the spark that drove him to seek out and learn songs like Buddy Johnson’s “Pretty Girls, Cadillacs, and Some Money,” is still there, strong as ever.

It hasn’t all gone smoothly

The “Record Deal” proved to be a tragic comedy of errors.

The band went through a major split-up in the late eighties.

Their asking price rose and fell; musicians came and went.

Some of the very clubs they put on the map began informing them that they were no longer booking “the blues.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=N2TzOEqu0cY&NR=1

The Nighthawks

“Same Thing”

2005

The Barns at Wolf Trap

Vienna, Virginia

Meanwhile, the scene they helped develop, has itself undergone a number of changes.

Change is subtle and inevitable, and as the paychecks get fatter, it’s easy for the message to get lost.

Thanks to groups like the Nighthawks, the blues and roots music have earned rightful place as music to be studied, archived, and, above all, enjoyed by everyone.

A couple of columns back, Mark confessed that long ago, back in his days as the “School Beatnik,” he had sat down to write the great American novel.

He did, in fact, get off to a good start, but then in the midst of describing a blues “jam session” discovered how much he loved the feeling he got by actually playing those blues on the harmonica.

Vowing to finish it as soon as the blues got boring, he closed up the manuscript and spent the next forty years telling and even adding some chapters, to a much, much greater one.

Rev. Billy C. Wirtz is a weekly columnist at BluesWax. Each week he finds artists, albums, and music that you should know about. He also plays piano. His radio show, Rev. Billy’s Rhythm Revival, is available in podcast. To hear the latest, go to Rev. Billy C. Wirtz’ page on Facebook and look for the link.

April 7, 2013

L’Olympia Theatre

Paris, France

 Photos by Ian Balmer

Last week we featured some photographs from Ian Balmer of the Alvin Lee Tribute Concert held in Paris, France, on April 7. This week we found that we have left out a file of photographs and correct that error on this week’s Photo Page.

As always, our photographers share their work with you for your enjoyment. If you wish to share them or use them in any other way, please contact the photographer or our offices.

Enjoy!

Next Week: Frederikshavn Bluesfestival from Aigars Lapsa

]]> http://bluesrevue.com/2013/04/the-photo-page-more-shots-from-the-alvin-lee-tribute-concert-4-19-13/feed/ 0 http://bluesrevue.com/2013/04/paul-thorn-what-the-hell-is-goin-on-4-19-13/ http://bluesrevue.com/2013/04/paul-thorn-what-the-hell-is-goin-on-4-19-13/#comments Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:11:48 +0000 Chip Eagle http://bluesrevue.com/?p=22658 Paul Thorn

What The Hell Is Goin’ On?

Perpetual Obscurity

BluesWax Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Superpowers

What The Hell Is Goin’ On? indeed! This twelve-song follow-up album to his 2010 release, Pimps and Preachers, is composed entirely of cover songs. This is not your typical cover album though, as they are mostly all rather deep cuts. I have to admit though, while tapping into topics such as love, infidelity, broken relationships, revenge, and loneliness, they all fit in Thorn’s wheelhouse quite comfortably.

From the 1973 Buckingham/Nicks album, “Don’t Let Me Down Again” is approached by Thorn in a more countrified manner with a slower tempo than the original, thus allowing the riff to really soak in and take hold. This I really liked. I still kind of missed Stevie Nicks on vocals though. Although I appreciate and enjoy the Thorn’s rendition of Buddy Miller’s “Shelter Me Lord,” I prefer the original version a little better. This one is somewhat of a contemporary gospel song to be sung with catastrophic events in mind. Background vocals provided by the McCrary Sisters, along with the organ accompaniment by Michael Graham, give Thorn’s version a little boost of “church” that interestingly blends in with some nice swampy slide work by Bill Hinds.

Thorn journeys to unusual places to find love and retribution. This is one my favorite traits of his. Whether he’s writing the song or choosing one to cover, he doesn’t take the heavily traveled path. Take his cover of Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Snake Farm.” The music is heavy on the slide, with a little echo to set an eerie tone. The song itself is country-quirk. It’s a song of affection about a tattooed woman named Ramona, who works at the Snake Farm reptile house, likes beer and loves the U.K. band The Alarm. If you listen closely to this one, you can almost hear the rattlesnakes in a faint, repeating sped-up drum track toward the end.

Thorn enlists Delbert McClinton to assist with vocals on his version of Wild Bill Emerson’s “Bull Mountain Bridge.”
This catchy song is a captivating one about a redneck Klansman Bull Mountain Hawk who seeks retaliation on a local charismatic drug dealer, Stone Fox Dan for messing around with his woman. Bull Mountain Hawk’s solution is simply to break his arms, throw him in the river, and if anybody asks, tell them he committed suicide.

Questioning the reason behind today’s rampant violence, the title track, “What the Hell is Goin On?” from Elvin Bishop, features Bishop himself on guitar. The song is additionally fortified with Thorns energy and surpasses the original as far as I am concerned. Thorn and Bishop make a great team. Another artist with roots in the Sixties that Thorn chooses to cover is Paul Rogers. Taking on “Walk in My Shadow” by Free (originally on their Tons of Sobs album), the song is flipped from its original sixties electric blues format, with its faster pace and Paul Rogers vibrato infused vocals, to a more traditional electric blues. This one turns out nice. If you have ever lived in a small town and experienced rampant gossip and loss of privacy, you may just identify with “Small Town Talk,” by Rick Danko. This track sounds very much like a Randy Newman song with Thorn’s slightly nasally voice and the poppy organ melody.

My introduction to Paul Thorn was through his previous album, Pimps and Preachers. I was blown away at his ability to pen a song. And now I am aware of his superpower to dive deep and find songs that deserve to be listened to again.

Phillip Smith is a contributing writer at BluesWax.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HulJhHWTBTo

Paul Thorn

“What The Hell Is Goin’ On?”

From What The Hell Is Goin’ On?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fFJFf0led4

Paul Thorn

“She’s Got A Crush On Me”

From What The Hell Is Going On?

On Real Life Real Music

Live at Dosey Doe

Woodlands, Texas

Life At Captain Tom’s

Fat Hippy Records

BluesWax Rating: 8 out of 10

Scottish Blues

When I first saw Gerry Jablonski at the U.K.’s Orkney Blues Festival in 2005, he was pursuing a solo career although he sounded like a one-man band on stage, stamping his feet, throwing his head backwards and forwards, and playing his amplified acoustic axe in a manic frenzy at breakneck speed. Whilst steeped in the blues, his repertoire included Hendrix and Ray Charles covers plus a roller coaster of other genres such as heavy metal, punk, and what he called “fiddly diddly.” I predicted that the CD he recorded soon after that festival, The Man Who Lost The Moon, would become a highly acclaimed album, but perhaps it was too avante garde.

While Jablonski is still on the periphery, he is building up his reputation gradually with The Electric Band and is supported by a growing, enthusiastic fan base in the U.K. and Europe. Which brings me to Life At Captain Tom’s. I must have seen or at least listened to around fifty Scottish blues bands over the past 10 years through attending gigs and reviewing CDs, including the excellent Jock’s Juke Joint compilations (a great place to begin for those new to the Scottish blues scene). Despite the high calibre of contemporary blues in Scotland and the international profile of bands like King King and Blues ‘N’ Trouble, my favorite by a mile is Gerry Jablonski because of his creative, dynamic, and zany performances, and above all his genuine feel for the blues. These qualities permeate the band, which has at least one more genius in harmonica player Peter Narojczyk, although drummer David Innes, bassist Grigor Leslie, and Paul Emerson on keyboards are no slouches either, but highly competent musicians.

The breathtaking opening track, “Higher They Climb,” has one of the most distinctive and memorable riffs since Alvin Lee’s “Love Like A Man.” The slick changes in tempo, enigmatic vocals, mesmeric harmonica, incendiary guitar solo, thunderous bass, and pulsating drumming make this the best blues-rock track in recent years. A sensitive side is also not too far from the surface, however, and Jablonski can add light and shade to both his vocals and his guitar playing.

“Sherry Dee” is an actual biker bar in Louisiana, and the song is a blues shuffle interspersed with explosions of the most dynamic harmonica solos you will hear this side of the Atlantic. “Koss” is a moving tribute to the late Paul Kossoff, “We cried, we cried the day the young blood died,” with Jablonski’s guitar imitating the style and tone of the axeman from the English rock band Free.

“Hard To Make A Living” is a sanguine reflection on the realities of working hard for little reward; Narojczyk’s harp providing the anguish and frustration. However, optimism lies in the fact that “whatever life throws at you, the blues will always have a voice.” “High On You” typifies the band’s collective creative brilliance and sincerity, while “Merchants Of Soul” celebrates the blues influences of B.B. King and Jimmy Page, with plenty of Jablonski’s trademark licks as well. The other tracks which stand out are the beautifully crafted autobiographical ballad “Anybody” and “Skinny Blue-Eyed Boy,” the heartbreaking story of parental separation. I continue to predict a very bright future for Gerry Jablonski and The Electric Band because of their talent, honesty, dedication, and, above all, commitment to the blues.

Dave Scott is a contributing writer at BluesWax.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gty9UxSGy3k

Gerry Jablonski and The Electric Band

“The Higher You Climb”

Club Gdynia

Gdynia, Poland

Bonus Track!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK3BhNLtI3Y

Gerry Jablonski and The Electric Band

Short Segment from Polish National Public Television

Dick’s Picks 25: May 10 and 11, 1978  (4 CDs)

Real Gone Music

BluesWax Rating: 9 out of 10

New Haven’s Second Set’s Hot, Springfield is Beyond Belief

Dick’s Picks 25 is two back-to-back shows from New England, the New Haven show takes a while to solidify, but the Springfield, Massachusetts, (second night) is nearly as good as it gets. Typically I am more interested in early seventies Dead shows, but these two performances changed my perspective as tape archivist David Lemieux selected two of the better shows from 1978. By the way, Owsley Stanley recorded the New Haven show, and Betty Cantor Jackson captured the second night that I thought sounded more detailed and clear, but that could have had a lot to do with the venue.

Highlights from New Haven’s first set are few as the band sounds disinterested and doesn’t seem wanting to bounce off each other with much interplay. But there had to have been some sort of prayer meeting between sets, and maybe some magic dust was sprinkled on the band as there’s a surprisingly strong (not one of my favorite tunes) “Estimated Prophet” that nicely segues into a tantalizing “Eyes of the World,” both tunes check in at nearly twenty-five minutes; the drums take over (not too long: eight-minutes) as Lesh leads the way into a not-too-spaced-out “The Other One” that morphs into a delectable “Wharf Rat,” onto the closing “Sugar Magnolia” that rocks and rolls. This second set is one of those (somewhat rare) non-stop jams that had no breaks between all songs performed, but they also do it again on the next night, but on the second night there’s not one but two encores.

On the very next night, just up the road from New Haven, the Dead brought their near-highest supernatural prowess to the Springfield, Massachusetts, Civic Center Arena that’s mostly known as a hockey rink and not for it’s superb acoustics, but the set shines sonically and on the musicianship and vocals, as all band members are on the same wavelength from the first notes to the end. Just about every song during their first set oozes with eloquent interplay, even their vocals standout. Donna Jean Godchaux sits back and vocally plays more the role of a background singer and never gets in the way. “Cold Rain and Snow” chugs along in a funky zone. “Beat It On Down the Line” is typically short and sweet, yet rocks solidly. “Friend of the Devil” is performed slowly but it’s gorgeous. “Looks Like Rain,” and a devilishly heavy “Loser” also burnish magnificently. The tempo rises with the bluesy “New Minglewood Blues” and a fun “Tennessee Jed.” The set closes with a percolating “Lazy Lightning” into torrid “Supplication.” Those not knowing that the Dead always performed (at least) two sets, would have been satisfied with this sixty-minute prelude of what was yet to come.

Set Two opens with a carefully executed “Scarlet Begonias” into a slightly more upbeat “Fire On the Mountain,” as I felt the band hadn’t yet wanted to unleash their “knowing” that they had plenty left in the tank for later. It’s Disco-Dead time with their danceable take on “Dancing In the Streets” for fifteen minutes, into a very lengthy drum segment (almost twenty minutes). Thank goodness for the fast-forward function on the remote! Out of the drums comes a raucous “Not Fade Away” that sweetly flows into the hypnotic “Stella Blue,” that rocks into “Around and Around” that would have made Chuck Berry smile, and perhaps be envious too, as Garcia’s having a blast playing Berry’s licks. The encores included a fun cover of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves Of London,” a tune the Dead covered limitedly, and another tribute to the father of rock ‘n’ roll on Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” What a night! Were you there? If yes, you’d remember it.

As with any Dead sets, there are some quibbles such as Weir’s ill-chosen overuse of his slide guitar playing (a stint that was later demanded by other bandmates to cease and desist). And the mostly MIA Keith Godchaux’s piano, not sure if he was mixed down on purpose (his playing had been in rapid decline at this time) or if he just wasn’t up to it that night. That being said, Keith is not missed as Lesh, Garcia, and Weir (when playing regular rhythm guitar) were functioning on all cylinders and beyond on this mystical evening.

Yeah again for the Real Gone Music people for keeping this Grateful Dead Dick’s Picks collection alive, as I’m not certain about the length of time www.Dead.net will keep this series of over thirty performances in print.

Note: Every volume of Dick’s Picks has its own caveat emptor warning about the sound quality, but I thought (especially on the second night) these shows sounded pure, clean, and were mic’d perfectly as each instrument (other than Keith’s piano) and all vocals were as detailed sounding as I could ever expect from a live recording. Last but not least and also noted in the liners: “Dick’s Picks 25 was mastered from the original analog 2-track tapes, recorded live at 7.5 ips and 15 ips, and may exhibit some minor effects of the ravages of time. However, the music contained on these four discs is quite remarkable, and by far makes up for any slight anomalies in the recording. Enjoy.” Sonically speaking this statement is very humble, but from a performance perspective, they are right-on as most of these two performances were remarkable indeed!

Bob Putignano www.SoundsofBlue.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmr3o0_92f0

The Grateful Dead

First Set

Jack Straw

Dire Wolf

Beat It On Down The Line

Peggy-O

Mama Tried

Mexicali Blues

Funiculi Funicula

Row Jimmy

New Minglewood Blues

Loser

Lazy Lightnin’

Supplication

April 12, 1978

Cameron Indoor Stadium

Durham, North Carolina

Bonus Track!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT5KDz8XemE

The Grateful Dead & The Allman Brothers

“Dark Star”

February 11, 1970

Fillmore East

New York, New York