Customer Reviews

Blue Magic

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unfortunately, this is what Chicago's baddest bluesman sounds like when he's been defanged. Better to start your collection with "Snakebite" or the classic "Gravel Road." Time marches on and this is not the same band without John Primer and Nick Holt. One star added for including the PC video.

...but it still is pretty damned good. If you've ever seen Slim and the Teardrops (as I have a couple times at the tiny B.L.U.E.S. in Chicago) you're probably already a fan. The best thing about Slim is his ability to use a stripped down, guitar intensive arrangement to transform even the most venerable (and often boring) blues tunes into something fresh and compelling. Coupled with his own catchy, driving originals, albums like "Black Tornado" crackle with energy.

Unfortunately, this album is uneven. Whereas with "Black Tornado" one can just enjoy listening to a killer blues band, this one sounds like it's self-conciously trying to be an album. In my opinion, that doesn't work as well for Slim. In spots, Popa Chubby's production is too much, taking some of the spontaneous grit away from the performance. Slim's guitar playing is, as always, magnificent, but it sounds a bit more processed than before--a real shame, because he has some truly killer tone.

As an introduction to Magic Slim, I can't recommend this album. But it's still Slim, and that's pretty damned good!

I DON`T CARE WHAT YOU ALL SAY THIS CD MAKES ME WANT TO GET MY[self] DOWN TO THE WHISKEY STORE AND GET ME A BOTTLE OF BEAM,AND TURN IT UP TO 10 AND GET INTO SOME FINE BLUES MUSIC.MAGIC IS JUST A GREAT GUITAR PLAYER AND HE KNOWS ABOUT THEM BLUES.BUYS THIS IF YOU A BLUES FAN.

A new Magic Slim album is always a good thing. But "Blue Magic," his fifth album on Blind Pig, seems like less of a good thing than usual. In fact, of the eight Magic Slim albums I own, I'd rank this, well, eighth. Sliced down to 10 tracks from the usual 11 or 12, and featuring some of Slim's least inspired self-penned songs, "Blue Magic" seems a bit tired and lacks the full-out commitment of other Magic Slim discs. Popa Chubby, who as an artist seems to be trying to shake up the blues world, seems to try to give Slim a few nudges into the unfamiliar, but his production, though somewhat inconsistent from track to track, is neither here nor there. Slim tries to bluesify a country song, Merle Haggard's "I Started Loving You Again" and, while interesting, it might have been better left to a live show. The funky "Chickenheads," also not written by Slim, is pretty strong. It's Slim's originals that are lacking. Really, the disc is still pretty good - Slim can't make a bad album - but it seems a bit tired, certainly miles behind his best work such as the brilliant and diverse "Black Tornado." Interestingly, Slim's guitar seems to be mixed a little too high (something I never thought I'd say) and is a bit too piercing and strident. Perhaps the absence of Slim's brother Nick Holt on bass (I'm not sure what happened there) can explain the disc's shortcomings; perhaps it's all about chemistry. Still, Magic Slim is Magic Slim, and "Blue Magic" is certainly worth owning, but if you're being selective there's lots better Slim out there.

In my mind, Slim is the greatest blues guitarist currently residing on planet earth. Not the most popular, not the most famous, not a whole lot of things... But, if you ever want to witness what a blues man does when a blues man does what he does, this is the man to listen to. While this is not my favorite Slim album (that's Black Tornado) I've yet to listen to a bad, or even not good, Slim album. When the funds permit it, I hope to eventually own every album he's ever recorded. Yeah, I'm a fan.

For the most part, this is another wonderful album in the Slim collection. My only gripe is that it seems that Poppa Chubby (I'm a fan of his as well) got a bit too involved here. The role of "Producer" is a touchy one. There's no doubt that producers should push, guide and encourage artists into their best performances. I'm also a fan of producers sometimes encouraging an artist to step out of their comfort zone and try something new (see Daddy Mack Blues Band's "Slow Ride" album for a great example) but, if crucial elements of what makes a great artist a great artist get lost as a result, then the producer has overstepped their role. I think that happened a little bit here. In my mind, Slim's at his best when he's being Slim and I love him for it!

Obviously I gave this album 4 stars so I still think it's still well worth whatever you've got to pay for it to get it into your collection. If you like straight ahead, no frills blues, you're going to love Slim!

if you like ruff and tumble knock you in the head with a beer bottle juke joint blues Magic Slim is the man for you...like most of Slims work Get Your Business Straight Rocks this is not a sweet soft belly rubbn' blues .but hey sometimes you need a night out with dah Boy's

Magic Slim's new release is probably the best of his career. Produced and recorded by Popa Chubby for Blind Pig, Slim's vocals and chops have never sounded better. The CD is enhanced so, if you pop it into your computer, you will be able to watch the video of Magic Slim in a garage band setting kicking off "Goin' To Mississippi" with the announcement that "I ain't drunk, but I'm drinking". Watching Slim play on the video is something to see. He is intense and yet fluid with his guitar licks and the rest of the band smoothly goes with the flow. It's a good video and an excellent performance by Slim. My gripe with these enhanced video's is that they take over your entire computer not allowing you to run the songs in the background while doing other work. So, in order to free up your computer, after watching the video, it will be necessary to take the disc out and put it into a regular CD player.

The band, in addition to Danny O'Conner on bass, Michael Dotson on guitar and Allen Kirk on drums, features multi-instrumentalist Popa Chubby ( The Good, The Bad and The Chubby) playing guitar, bass and drums on Bobby Rush's "Chickenhead" and handling the guitar work on "Lonely For Your Love", "I Want To See You In The Evening" and "I Started Loving You Again". As a guitarist, I marvel at Magic's gritty, take no prisoner solo's as can be heard best on "Evil Woman Blues" and Popa's performance on all instruments on "Chickenhead" is spectacular. These two songs together with "Goin' To Mississippi" are probably the highlights of the disc. Slim's vocals are a bit rough and somewhat reminiscent of the Fat Possum recording artist R.L. Burnside or Asie Payton. But that rawness, combined with the raunchy guitars of Slim, Chubby and Michael Dotson are what make this disc so unique.