I'm not sure how I missed M.C. Records' 2022 Big Jack Johnson release. Johnson was one of the first blues men I listened to, beginning with his first Earwig Records release, The Oil Man, in the mid 80's. He had one of the most distinctive guitar tones and big vocals to go with it.
After hearing The Oil Man, I found his Jelly Roll Kings release on Earwig with Sam Carr and Frank Frost (Rockin' The Juke Joint Down) and loved it as well, so I tried to keep up with his career the best that I could, following him to M.C. Records in the 90's, where he released some fine albums as well, as well as his Rooster Blues sides that were released to limited distribution by P-Vine Records in Japan, and a couple of independent albums he did on his own.
Johnson passed away in 2011, but I still listen to his music a lot, so I was surprised when I saw a picture of the album cover for Stripped Down In Memphis, which M.C. Records released in 2022. It consists of sides recorded in 1998 with Wild Child Butler and 2000 with Kim Wilson and let me tell you that it warmed my heart to hear The Oil Man like I'd never heard him before in unplugged format.There are nine tracks on the disc, Wilson and Johnson on five and Butler and Johnson on the rest. The tracks are a mix of covers and three Big Jack originals. The Butler/Johnson tracks are all original, with each writing two, and Butler provides vocals on one of his track. Their good-natured banter is a highlight.
The Wilson/Johnson tracks are all cover tunes recorded during their The Memphis Barbecue Sessions collaboration, which won a Handy Award for Acoustic Album of the Year. The pair had never played together before, but you'd never know it. Johnson plays mandolin on a cover of "Part Time Love," and Wilson plays only acoustic harmonica on these tracks.
All of these tracks are great listening and the musical interplay between the two duos is dynamite. If you did acoustic blues played right, then check out Stripped Down In Memphis.
True Blues was originally released in 2013 on Telarc Records and it's a collaboration between Taj Mahal, Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Shemekia Copeland, and Phil Wiggins. It consists of thirteen tracks recorded live at multiple locations across the U.S. The set list is a mix of originals and some terrific covers and each artists appears on at least a couple of tracks.There are a number of highlights as all of these performers are on the top of their game during these shows. Among the highlights are Shemekia Copeland covering her father Johnny's song "Bring Your Fine Self Home" (backed by Harris, Hart, and Wiggins), Harris doing Sleepy John Estes' "Everybody Ought To Make A Change," and the closer, Robert Johnson's "Ramblin' On My Mind," which features Harris, Copeland, Hart, and Wiggins.
True Blues is another one that acoustic fans should seek out and they should be on the lookout for the sequel, which will be released in a couple of weeks on Yellow Dog Records featuring Harris, Hart, and Davis. We'll be looking at that release in a few weeks and, trust me, it's really good, too!
I can't believe I missed both of these albums when they were first released. Glad I was able to backtrack and pick them up, so I didn't have to miss out on this wonderful music.



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