Most of you blues lovers probably didn't miss these five albums the first time around, but most of these releases came out during a time when I really didn't have the budget to buy everything I wanted to buy. Over the past couple of months I've made a stop or two at the Little Big Store in Raymond, MS, where I seem to always find something that I've always wanted to hear, and I also have visited Discogs a few times, which had just about every album or CD that you could possibly want. I still love to be able to plug a new disc into a CD player and I found a portable player this summer that would fit in my new (to me) car. That said, here are a few "new" finds that I've been playing quite a bit.
The Smokin' Joe Kubek Band featuring Bnois King - Best of....Served Up Texas Style (Bullseye Blues): Bullseye Blues was one of my favorite labels during the 90's, but for some reason, I never did pick up any of this band's work. By the time I came around, it was the early 2010's and they were recording for Delta Groove Records, who sent me review copies of their two releases. This set captures their finest sides on Bullseye Blues and makes me sad that I missed it the first time, but glad that I wised up. Kubek is a monster guitarist and can lay down some great Texas Roadhouse guitar as well as anyone, but I really like King's vocals as well. It's hard to believe that he didn't start singing until later in his career because he has a wonderful voice and is nearly as formidable a guitarist as Kubek. These sides are good enough to encourage me to check out their recordings for Alligator and Blind Pig Records.
Paul "Wine" Jones - Mule (Fat Possum Records): Jones was never a professional musician...he was a professional welder. His brother, Casey Jones, was one of the go-to drummers on the Chicago scene for many years, but Paul Jones only played music as a side gig, working on farms and eventually welding around Belzoni, MS. Discovered by Robert Palmer (Deep Blues), Jones cut a couple of albums for Fat Possum and Mule was his debut. Backed by drummer Sam Carr and guitarists Kenny Brown and Big Jack Johnson, he probably was responsible for one of the rawest, grittiest, greasiest blues releases of the mid 90's. This is the real deal Delta blues and, thankfully, there's none of the bells and whistles that Fat Possum began adding to their traditional blues albums shortly after this release.
Rocky Hill - Texas Shuffle (Tomato Record): I really enjoy listening to WNCU's Blues Time show on Saturday nights out of Durham, NC. The host, Bruce Friedman, joined up at our Black Top Records Facebook page and he invited me to listen to this show and a jazz show he hosts on Monday nights. In the meantime, he has introduced me to some really cool blues and jazz recordings (stay tuned for another one shortly). I had heard of Rocky Hill for years....that he was an amazing talent who could play just about anything on guitar, but he was his own worst enemy and made some bad choices over the years before passing away in 2009 in his early 60's. He was the brother of bassist Dusty Hill and they played in a trio with drummer Frank Beard before the latter two left to join Billy Gibbons as ZZ Top. Rocky Hill finally got to record an album in 1982 with Johnny Winter, Dr. John, the Leon Russell singers, and the Muscle Shoals Horns and it's a jaw dropper for blues rock fans. Sadly, he wasn't able to follow through. This one probably would have caught fire if it had been released about five years later.
Eddie Shaw - In the Land of the Crossroads (Rooster Blues): Okay, I had this one on cassette back in the early 90's and it was a favorite. It took me until about two months ago to find it on CD at an affordable price, but let me tell you it was great to finally hear it again. I absolutely love everything I've heard by Shaw, especially that wonky saxophone and his big, brassy vocals. However, I especially enjoy the guitar playing from his son, Eddie "Vaan" Shaw, who manages to mix the traditional sounds of the blues with some feisty rock-edge fret work. The elder Shaw is also a great songwriter with a humorous streak that is really effective, and he has great taste in cover material as well. I liked the way Rooster Blues recorded their albums...it was like Jim O'Neal just stuck microphones in the studio and let the band just wail away, giving it a live on-stage quality. If you can track down any of Rooster Blues Records' catalog, you will be glad you did, and this is one of their best.
John "Juke" Logan - The Chill (Razor & Tie): Okay, you might not have heard of Juke Logan, but you have probably heard Juke Logan at some time during your life. Logan's harmonica playing was featured on a couple of popular TV shows in the 90's (Roseanne and Home Improvement) and he was also prominent on a couple of movie soundtracks (Crossroads and La Bamba), appeared on dozens of albums, backed Dobie Gray, Leon Russell, and Dave Alvin, and wrote songs for Poco, John Mayall, and Gary Primich. In 1995, he released The Chill and the people that heard it loved it. I never got to hear it because I couldn't find it in 1995. The aforementioned Blues Time radio show has played several of the tracks on this album as well as other Logan albums, which are also on my radar. This set is all blues, but he mixes in rock, jazz, funk, zydeco, and Latin music and it's still the blues. Some of the guest stars on this album include David Hidalgo and Conrad Lozano of Los Lobos, and guitarists Junior Watson, Brenda Burns, and Denny Freeman. This disc is great from start to finish and you can't help but feel good after listening.....just a lot of fun! Logan passed away from cancer in 2013, but he left some fine recordings that fans of any kind of music would enjoy.
