Album of the Week 11-11-23
Afternoon folks!
This week we've got albums from Chicago blues guys Lil' Ed and the Imperials and Johnny Littlejohn. There's blues-rock from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (with Mick Taylor), Johnny Winter and most of a Steppenwolf album (the gods of copyright were not entirely pleased). Following that we've got the country-ish stylings of Leon Russell, a bluesy/jazzy collection of songs from Phil Alvin, some great 50's guitar music from Santo & Johnny and we finish up with an album of Trinidadian steel pan music from Boogsie Sharpe.
Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Here 'tis:
Lil' Ed And The Blues Imperials - Chicken, Gravy And Biscuits
Johnny Littlejohn - So-Called Friends
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers - Bare Wires
Johnny Winter - Still Alive And Well
Leon Russell - Hank Wilson's Back
Santo & Johnny - Santo & Johnny
Boogsie Sharpe - Steel & Brass Equals Gold
Comments
Good afternoon Joe. Heh, showing my age I guess, but
there's something about Santo & Johnny, je ne ce'st pas. But then again, I was always hung up on instrumentals.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
The Santo & Johnny song I recall is Sleep Walk (Sonámbulo), 1959
My childhood song!
It was pretty good back then, nickel in a jukebox got 3 plays...
To be young again.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
afternoon el...
they just have great tones. i remember hearing sleepwalk when i was a kid and it really grabbed me. years later, i heard danny gatton doing it in a bar and it set me on a quest to find the original record, which eventually turned up in a used record store downtown.
have a great weekend!
omigod! Steel Pan drums!
I had a blast in Trinidad, attended 2 steel pan drums bands playing in restaurant/bar venues.
I always get a kick out of foreign music venues, from Trinidad to Kenya, China to Croatia. Sooner or later, they will do their version of the famous Sinatra song, "My Way"!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Heh, back in '62 or '63 I hooked a copy of
Jamaican Drums by the "Royal Steel Band of Kingston Jamaica" out of a record store discount bin and become semi-addicted almost immediately. The album had a mix of local music and classical pieces like Schubert's Serenade. Sadly, my one trip to Jamaica got cancelled half-way there.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
My experience with that music was
a movie about the Olympics. "Cool Runnings." When I went to Trinidad on a complete whim with a pal who had free plane tickets and some discount through her company for a 1st class hotel, I rearranged my work schedule, and off I went. We hired a local guide to drive us around to see all the cool tourist places, but I was the one that arranged for the music stuff.
And...the driver dropped us off. And...we got beer from an outside bar...and we sat on benches under the sky...and we listened to bands that had won awards in their national competition. And...the taxi driver picked us up, and we talked about it all the way back to the hotel.
My pal and I did that twice.
I will never forget it.
My travel pal died recently while sitting on a sofa at her parent's home in Oklahoma.
RIP, Tammie.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
afternoon otc...
glad that the music brings back happy memories for you. it's hard to imagine steel band music not making people happy though i suppose, it's such pleasant music.
have a great weekend!
great sounds!
Hey Joe,
Awesome batch of albums man!
Do ya think Johnny Winter liked the Stones?
I love his every take on every Stones song he ever did. when most trying to do Stones covers suck. These are two great examples.
Steppinwolf's 'Don't Step on the Grass, Sam' was held in anthem level reverence in LA.
Some good Mick Taylor on that Mayall too!
Thanks!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
afternoon dystopian...
heh, i think winter and rick derringer both might have had a thing for the stones catalog, both of them having dipped into it from time to time. their covers are among the best stones covers i can think of.
yep, that bare wires album is quite good and probably underappreciated.
have a great weekend!
My mother had LPs of island steel drum
music, and Harry Belafonte (of course). So, I was into island music long before ska and reggae became household words. I am also a yuge Leon Russell fan. Have 5 of his must-have LPs, saw him live twice, and read his bio. What a musical genius he was! He overcame birth defects, and made tremendous contributions to both rock and country. He was a brilliant band master and could read, score, produce, and arrange. An Okie who did very good!
Excellent selection, joe s. i always feel proud of myself when I check your music list, and can recognize at least half the artists listed. LOL. What did you think of the country artist John Combs (I hope that's correct?) who won CMSOY with his cover of Tracey Chapman's iconic Fast Car? Rec'd and How!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
afternoon orlbucfan...
i have some more leon russell albums that i'll get around to posting eventually, including another in the "hank wilson" series. i've always enjoyed russell's work, though i am partial to his more countryish stuff.
i thought that the cover of fast car was musically well done, the arrangement was good and it sounded good. i personally think that the original is better and the emotions expressed seem more authentic. (oh, i think it's luke combs)
have a great weekend!
joe, I asked some CM fans about that and
it is Luke Combs. He did a great job on it, and I have Chapman's original album.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.