blues Archive
20 Jan 2014
Leo “Bud” Welch: A Long Journey, Part One
Every so often I’ll stumble across a story that is so note-perfect, so finely wrought, that my cynical side, the suspicious dimension of my nature is engaged. And since the arts are often home to some serious myth-making, when such stores concern musicians, I am doubly skeptical. But on the rarest of occasions, stories such
17 Dec 2013
Album Review: Blodwyn Pig — Pigthology
On their two well-regarded late 1960s albums, Blodwyn Pig forged a singular musical path, one some might say paved the way for such acts as Roy Wood’s Wizzard. This is epecially true on tracks like “Drive Me” from 1970’s Getting to This. Elsewhere they sounded not wholly dissimilar to Jethro Tull; this is unsurprising in
06 Dec 2013
Clearing the Backlog: Ten Micro-reviews
As the end of 2013 closes in, I look at my inbox and see a massive stack of CDs. Best as I try, I don’t always follow a first-in/first-out policy with regard to covering releases I find worthy. And while my occasional capsule reviews do help reduce the pile of CD on my desk, today
26 Nov 2013
Album Review: Various — Pete Townshend’s Jukebox
UK-based Chrome Dreams has released a number of these Jukebox titles over the last few years, including titles exploring the influences upon Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and even The Grateful Dead. And while some of these artists have endeavored to do something similar themselves (McCartney’s 1999 Run Devil Run comes to mind), the
29 Oct 2013
Album Review: Humble Pie — Rockin’ the Fillmore: The Complete Recordings
Ruminating on chronicles of excess, I recall that it was just about two years ago that Rhino Handmade released The Grateful Dead‘s Europe ’72: The Complete Recordings. Some 22 complete shows on 73(!) discs, you’d think it’d be more Dead than anyone could ever want. Of course if you thought that, you’d be – like
16 Oct 2013
Shuggie Otis at The Orange Peel, Asheville NC 9 October 2013 (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… Once the doors opened, we entered and secured our barstools, settling in to wait for the show. Minutes earlier, the Orange Peel’s Facebook event update status had informed us that the opening act had canceled last-minute, and as such Shuggie Otis would be taking the stage earlier than usual. At this
15 Oct 2013
Shuggie Otis at The Orange Peel, Asheville NC 9 October 2013 (Part One)
One evening early in September 2013, I was on the phone with a good friend. “Shuggie Otis is playing next month at The Orange Peel,” I announced. “What?! No…” Clearly I was mistaken, he thought. “He’s dead.” No he’s not, I assured my friend. But that belief is a common, understandable mistake. Son of famed
29 Aug 2013
Album Review: Magic Sam and Shakey Jake — Live at Sylvio’s
Maybe you don’t know who Magic Sam is. With a moniker like that, you might guess he’s a character from Willie Dixon‘s “Wang Dang Doodle.” But the blues guitarist born Samuel Gene Maghett had an album career that lasted a relatively brief twelve years, 1957 to his death in 1969. And his first album under
23 Aug 2013
August Capsule Reviews
Here’s another in my occasional series of quick cuts. This time ’round I’m covering recent releases by names who’ve been around the block a few times. These are people whose work you’ll know (or will recall once I remind you) but who perhaps haven’t had a high profile of late. My self-imposed limit for each
15 Aug 2013
Let George Thorogood Tell You Something, My Friend (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… Those early years were tough ones, Thorogood said. “For Jeff [Simon, drums] and I, from 1975 until the time we put out the second record, those were not pleasant years. We were constantly banging our heads against the wall. Day in, day out.” Thorogood recounted a 1977 conversation he had with