This meeting of Muddy Waters Band alumni thrives on subtle turns of virtuosity. Session leader Margolin proves how beautifully he can approximate Waters’s soul-probing, staccato slide guitar as he adds its whinnying tone to Pinetop Perkins’s barrelhouse piano and voice on "Sweet (Little) Black Angel." Harp legend Carey Bell puts a sharp edge on "One Day You’re Gonna Get Lucky," spitting out lyrics and letting his harp rock the melody. And drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith incites the Elmore James-inspired shuffle "Always on My Mind," shouting and pounding out its heartbreak as Margolin slides again. "Last Time" is a rare acoustic showcase for guitarist Hubert Sumlin. And there’s room for newcomers, too. Jimmy D. Lane picks slow and easy like his dad, the late Jimmy Rogers, on "Mean Old Chicago," and Margolin’s bassist Mookie Brill comes off as an MVP, offering laid-back propulsion throughout and singing his campy original "My New Baby Owns a Whiskey Store." Together they all raise the spirit of great early Chicago blues so effectively that, if not for its excellent sound, this album could have been cut in the late 1950s. --Ted Drozdowski
My introduction to this album was when I saw these musicians playing it live at the Union Chapel a couple of years back, when Pinetop Perkins was 91. The rest of the Band comprised Bob Margolin, Hubert Sumlin, Carey Bell, Tom "Mookie" Brill and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.
The Tracks are:
Brutal Hearted Woman by Johnny Shines.
Sweet (Little) Black Angel by Robert Nighthawk.
One Day Your Gonna Get Lucky by Carey Bell Harrington the
harmonica player.
I'll Take Care Of You by Brook Benton.
Juke by Little Walter.
Mean Old Chicago by Bob Margolin Lead Guitar and Vocals.
Always On My Mind by Willie Smith the drummer.
Easy To Love You by Carey Bell Harrington.
Last Time by Jimmy Rogers.
Maybe The Hippies Were Right by Bob Margolin.
Country Boy by McKinley Morganfield.
Crazy 'Bout You Baby by Bob Margolin
My New Baby Owns A Whiskey Store by Thomas Brill the bassist.
Goin' Down Slow by James Oden.
Just A Closer Walk With Thee. (Trad).
Bob Margolin gave us a bit of history before the band played each song at the concert on this last song is Pinetop playing piano.
Apparently Pinetop is religious, so declines to play blues on a Sunday, He was invited to the recordings on a Sunday to hang out with the rest of the musicians, while they recorded.
Pinetop was scheduled to record his songs the next day. He sat down at the piano and played "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" a gospel song, as it was a Sunday. Bob states that he has known Pinetop for thirty years and has never heard him play anything but the Blues. He asked Pinetop to sing and play it on the album, but Pinetop only knew the piano part, as his mother did the singing.
A nice end to a fine Blues Album.
Bob Margolin gives a few lines about the song or history of it after every track in the sleeve notes
The album is the same as they were live.
Bob Margolin came out to his audience in the interval and even signed the cd I bought.
We also sat next to the drummer in the pub across the road before the concert.
This is an excellent album, buy this if Blues is your thing, some of these musicians have played in Muddy Waters Band. Pinetop Perkins for twelve years.
How's that for a recommendation for an album?
Thanks for reading.
