This week, FBF offers a bit of news and a couple of reviews for blues fans to check out........
A few months ago, some videos showed up on YouTube and few people were even aware of it. Ted Giola wrote about them on his Substack page, which attracted a lot more attention. According to Giola, sound restorer Nick Dellow managed to get his hands on a shellac master "test pressing" of Robert Johnson. The disk was made in 1940 from the original metal parts by George Avakian, a young producer at Columbia Records who was a big jazz and blues fan. They were left forgotten in Columbia's storage facility at Bridgeport, Connecticut. The YouTube video that Giola was describing was Take 2 of "Cross Road Blues," recorded by Johnson in San Antonio in 1936 (Take 1 was the track that was released). Check it out below. The sound quality is just amazing!
Here's Take 1 of "Come On In My Kitchen," also recorded by Johnson at San Antonio in 1936....Take 2 was the released take. Again, the sound quality is just amazing. The original pressings that most blues fans have on CD or LP are pretty clear, considering their age, but these really bring out the qualities of Johnson's guitar work and vocals even more. I'm hopeful that there are more of these sides to be heard and that Dellow will share them. You can check out his YouTube page for more even more classic blues recordings remastered and updated.
Last weekend, we were able to catch Tab Benoit and Samantha Fish during their recent visit to the MSU Riley Center in Meridian, MS. Both did a good job, but I would give the edge to Ms. Fish. They both had a great rapport with the audience, but I think her guitar work was more dynamic and daring and she had a bit more variation in her set list. A lot of folks I talked to felt differently about it (I think this was many of the attendees' first exposure to Samantha Fish), but, hey, that's the way it goes.
Here are a couple of Friday Blues Picks for you to check out.....
Rick Vito - Slidemaster (MoMojo Records): I've heard several of Vito's solo releases.....he's been a member of Fleetwood Mac and Mick Fleetwood's Blues Band and played on numerous sessions with Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall, John Fogerty, Christine McVie, Leon Russell, Boz Scaggs, Bob Segar (that's his slide guitar solo on "Like A Rock"), and many others. Slidemaster is an all-instrumental album and it features new songs by Vito mixed with some older tunes that he remixed and remastered, plus several choice covers, including two by Fleetwood Mac founding member Peter Green. Vito covers a lot of ground on these tracks, all of which are firmly rooted in the blues. His slide work is beautiful, almost singing on several tracks, and the two Green covers may send blues fans unfamiliar with the early edition of the band scrambling for their recordings. Definitely a must-listen for fans of guitar, especially slide guitar.
Eliza Neals - Thunder In The House (E-H Records): Neals is a Detroit-based vocalist with an appropriately soulful delivery. She is also a great songwriter, having learned at the feet of the legendary Motown songwriter Barrett Strong. I've listened to her last seven releases and she continues to improve with each subsequent album. This is her strongest effort to date....she co-produced with Michael Puwal, who provides superb guitar work throughout the album, and she also provides all the vocals on the disc, lead and background, with effective and impressive results. With great songs and powerful vocals, plus a dynamic stage presence, Eliza Neals deserves to be heard by blues fans. She's a real talent and this is an album that blues and blues-rock fans will enjoy.
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